West Virginia vs. South Florida Football 2009
Mountaineers Take on Bulls in Critical Big East Matchup
Oct 26, 2009
The Mountaineers are undefeated against conference opponents along with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. All three are the main teams in the running for the conference title. WVU faces the Bearcats and Panthers in November, but they must first focus on the Bulls.
South Florida will come out trying to rebound after back-to-back losses to Pitt and Cincy in the Bulls’ past two games.
2007 was the last time that West Virginia played at Tampa and the Bulls derailed the then No.5 Mountaineers’ national title hopes.
West Virginia has to get their offense to improve before facing the strong Bulls defense. South Florida gave up 41 points to Pittsburgh, but it still has one of the strongest defenses in the nation.
USF coach Jim Leavitt has helped build a program that has a solid defense every year. West Virginia has only averaged 15 points in its last three meetings with the Bulls, going 1-2.
WVU Offense
WVU has a strong offense, but quarterback Jarrett Brown did not look very impressive in the Mountaineers’ victory over UConn Saturday. He suffered a concussion that took him out of the game against Marshall the week before, and the concussion seemed to affect him against UConn.
He needs to be ready and play strong this weekend in order for the offense to get past this tough defense. A lot of the offense will also depend on Noel Devine and Jock Sanders. Sanders is the leading receiver for the Mountaineers and is also a quick rusher.
Devine is seventh in the nation in total rushing and the offense had to rely on him last week to win the emotionally charged game against UConn. Devine’s 56-yard touchdown run with 2:10 to play gave WVU the 28-24 win.
WVU may again have to rely on Devine offensively, but Brown has got to step up in order for the Mountaineers to get past the Bulls’ stubborn defense.
USF Offense
South Florida looks different offensively than it has in the past few matchups against the Mountaineers with B.J. Daniels at quarterback this year in place of injured Matt Grothe. Grothe has given the Mountaineers plenty of trouble in the past and this may seem to look up for WVU, but Daniels is a very talented freshman.
Daniels defeated Florida State in his first game starting for the Bulls. He has looked strong despite losing the past two games, and both games were against opponents ranked in the top 25. This will make their third game in a row facing a ranked opponent with WVU coming in at No. 21 in this week’s poll.
Daniels will also be motivated to come out in improved after his poor play last week against Pitt. He finished just 4 for 8 for 54 yards and two interceptions. His legs are a big weapon, but he will have to look to throw more against the Mountaineer defense, which is ranked ninth nationally against the run.
Mountaineers Over Bulls
This matchup should be a good Big East game as these two teams seem to be building a nice rivalry amongst them.
West Virginia should be able to come out with the win unless Brown still looks as bad as he did this past week. Brown is a tough player and should come out ready to play hard against the Bulls.
WVU should certainly win if the game is close and comes down to field goals. South Florida’s kicking has been very poor this season.
