Aretha Franklin sang about it. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Pro athletes talk a lot about. RESPECT.
And Sports Illustrated is giving the USF Bulls football team plenty of it. RESPECT.
SI has USF at No. 17 in its preseason top 25 rankings. The magazine has Florida at No. 18. When have the Bulls ever been ranked ahead of the Gators in a preseason poll? Never. Sports Illustrated even has USF ranked ahead of Miami (No. 20).
Here's how Sports Illustrated sums up USF's' playoff hopes:
"The Bulls have the best chance of any Group of 5 team to run the table and steal a playoff spot—but their best non-conference opponent is Illinois (Sept. 15), so they’ll need chaos from the Power Five races."
SI has Alabama first in its rankings followed by Florida State. Those two teams meet in a blockbuster season opener for the Seminoles on Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. in Atlanta.
The ESPN-USA Today Coaches' Poll has the Bulls ranked 21st - the program's first preseason ranking since 2008.