USF's season opener Saturday night against Stony Brook drew an announced crowd of 40,201, and while that was down slightly from the announced crowd of 40,360 from last year's opener against Wofford, there were actually more fans in the seats.

The actual attendance -- literally the fans in the stands -- was 32,870, according to the Tampa Sports Authority (the announced figure is for tickets distributed), and  that figure is about 2,000 better than the actual attendance for the Wofford game, which was 30,870.

That suggests the interest in being present for Skip Holtz's first game was enough to offset whatever economic obstacles have otherwise lowered expectations for attendance. And while it will be hard for USF to match last year's average home attendance of 52,553 (with two more relatively unfavorable draws in Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic), the crowd on Saturday exceeded the 35,000 that USF officials were anticipating midway through last week.

Speaking of crowds, Saturday's crowd at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville to see the Bulls play the No. 4 Gators will be the second-largest ever to see the Bulls play, trumped only by the 99,235 that saw USF play at Penn State in 2005. The current No. 2 crowd is the 83,524 that saw the Bulls beat Florida State in Tallahassee last season.