SB Nation - Matt Grothe

Don't Bet On It!: National Games of Interest

T Kyle King — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:45:12 -0000

Now that we have taken our weekly trek around the SEC, we may turn our attention to the noteworthy games around the country. I somehow managed to go 4-0 in last week’s national forecasts to improve my non-SEC ledger for the fall to 16-17. It should go without saying that, when even an undefeated week can’t boost my prognosticating record to .500, you need to take me seriously when I say: Don’t Bet On It!

The following games are scheduled to be played on Saturday, October 17, except where I have indicated otherwise:

Cincinnati Bearcats at South Florida Bulls (Oct. 15): After a knee injury cut short Matt Grothe’s senior season to end a college career that seemed longer than John Blutarsky’s . . .

Seven years of college sound bite Animal House sound bites

. . . USF still managed to keep it together, but the Bearcats’ ability to maintain their position atop the Big East despite losing somewhere in the neighborhood of thirteen or fourteen defensive starters---all right, that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point---is one of the season’s more impressive feats. I’m not picking against Cincy until I’m given good reason to do so.

Pittsburgh Panthers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Oct. 16): I mentioned a moment ago that Cincinnati stood astride the Big East like a Midwestern Colossus, although that isn’t entirely true; technically, Pitt leads the league with a 2-0 ledger in conference play. The State University of New Jersey languishes at 0-1 in Big East outings, but the Scarlet Knights very quietly have put together a 4-1 record. However, those four wins have come against downtrodden Maryland, a Sun Belt squad with a name eye-rollingly reminiscent of an IHOP, Division I-AA Texas Southern (which isn’t the team from "Necessary Roughness"; it’s the team that lost to the team from "Necessary Roughness"), and some guy named Howard. I somehow doubt that 4-1 record is going to hold up against the Panthers.

(Obligatory photograph of Rutgers alumna Kristin Davis.)

Iowa Hawkeyes at Wisconsin Badgers: If you want to know why I make fun of the fact that every Big Ten game played after October 1 involves two teams duking it out over some worthless bizarre artifact someone unearthed in a fallow field or an abandoned mining camp or the ruins of a closed General Motors plant, this is why: Iowa and Wisconsin battle for custody of the Heartland Trophy, a brass bull that dates back to 2004. 2004?!?! Are you kidding me? The all-time series boasts more than a century of history and is tied 41-41-2, but we need to gussie this rivalry up with some weird flea-market knickknack (I mean, come on . . . a brass bull?) to make it a trophy game? That’s just ridiculous. When people try to make up this kind of foolishness here in the South, we ignore it, which is why, even though some dufus came up with some useless trophy to hand out at the end of the Georgia-Georgia Tech game, we in Bulldog Nation still hear the words "Governor’s Cup" and think the term refers to the piece of protective gear kept preserved in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall in a glass case with Sonny Perdue’s jockstrap. Anyway, I’m picking the Hawkeyes to take a commanding 4-2 lead in the Heartland Trophy series.

Virginia Tech Hokies at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: How big a difference do you think the Ramblin’ Wreck’s home field advantage will make? Ha, ha . . . Georgia Tech’s home field advantage . . . I crack myself up. But, seriously, when two technical schools square off on the gridiron, always go with the one that lacks any sort of academic reputation as a training ground for actual engineers. You wouldn’t pick Cal Tech or MIT to beat an agricultural and mechanical school that doesn’t really teach anything about mechanics, would you? Well, that ought to tell you that what Virginia Tech lacks in the classroom will be made up on the scoreboard.

Oklahoma Sooners v. Texas Longhorns: In a stark departure from recent tradition, this year’s winner of the Red River Shootout will have the inside track to the Big 12 Championship Game. Bob Stoops’s troops come into this game with an 0-2 record against ranked opponents, which is worse even than the Longhorns’ 0-0 record against teams that could fight their way out of a paper bag. Everyone who thinks Mack Brown’s squad will win, say "aye." Everyone who thinks the Sooners will pull off the upset, say "no." It seems the ayes of Texas are above the nos of Oklahoma.

You should know by now that my predictions are offered strictly for their entertainment value---and, really, they only barely qualify even in that superficial category---so no disclaimer ought to be needed, but, just to be on the safe side, I’ll remind you once again . . . Don’t Bet On It!

Coming Soon: National Game of Disinterest.

Go ‘Dawgs!

The Big East Game Of The Year Is...Cincinnati vs. South Florida?

Sean Keeley — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:50:14 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Browse more photos »

If, in 1999, I would have told you that the Big East Football game of the year would be the University of Cincinnati vs. the University of South Florida, you would have:

A) punched me in the face

B) kicked me in the groin

C) dumped whatever beverage you were currently holding on me

D) all of the above

The correct answer? C. You're a lover, not a fighter. And plus, you would have seen me as a lunatic worthy of ridicule, not bodily-harm.

Yet...here we are. Cincinnati will take on South Florida on Thursday night and the winner will be in the driver's set for the Big East crown as the only unbeaten team left in the conference. Chances are that no game this season will feature two Big East teams with rankings this high (No. 8 for Cincy, No. 21 for USF). No Big East game this year will have the spotlight as firmly affixed on it as this one will when the Bearcats and Bulls showdown on ESPN in primetime.

Now take a moment to realize how ludicrous all of this sounds. Five years ago neither of these teams were even in the Big East Conference. Ten years ago one of these teams was in 1-AA and the other was lucky if it qualified for the Motor City Bowl. Fifteen years ago one of these teams didn't even exist!

So what is the Big East, and more importantly, the country, supposed to make of all this? Well as far as Cincinnati is concerned, they want to make sure everyone knows last season was no fluke.

Written off this preseason as a one-hit wonder, it was hard to find anyone who expected Cincinnati to follow up last year's 11-3 campaign that culminated in a Big East title and Orange Bowl berth. The Orange Bowl defeat to Virginia Tech seemed to reinforce to many that the Bearcats were just the latest in a line of pretenders from a conference that just couldn't measure up.

Unranked at the beginning of the 2009 campaign, Brian Kelly's squad has already put the team's misconceptions to bed. Whether or not they can change the outlook of the conference as a whole, well, that remains to be done.

The Bearcats are 5-0 this season thanks in large part to QB Tony Pike who has thrown for 1,493 yards and 13 TDs with only 3 INTs. To put things in perspective, as good as he was last season, he's already only six touchdowns shy of last year's 12-game total. It doesn't hurt to have targets like WRs Marty Gilyard (38 catches, 517 yards, 7 TDs) and Armon Binns (22 catches, 279 yards). Don't sleep on the Cincinnati offensive line either, which has allowed a mere three sacks so far this year.

The Bearcats are offensive-minded and currently ranked third in the country in scoring with 43.2 points per game. They're so proficient on offense that they often score too fast for their own good. In the last two games the offensive unit has spent a grand total of 35 out of 120 minutes on the field, putting the pressure on their defense to try and shoulder most of the burden. That defense has had trouble holding up over the game thanks to injuries and poor third-down stoppages, an area both teams will be focusing on before the game.

One person in particular who will have his eye on Cincy's defensive unit will be Joe Tresey. Currently the USF defensive coordinator, Tresey held the same position at Cincinnati a year ago. Certainly there's going to be some tension on the sidelines, given that Kelly fired Tresey in the off-season. Despite the Bearcats' change to a 3-4 defense from Tresey's scheme, you can bet he has some insight in how to work Cincy's defensive unit.

"He gave us some insights on what they do. Some of their calls, stuff like that," Selvie added. "But you know in the end, it’s just going to be having to play football. They’re going to do what they do and we’re going to have to try and stop them."

Speaking of South Florida's defense, that's the unit most people are talking about when they mention the Bulls this year. Led by DL George Selvie, the Bulls once again feature a dominant defense, ranked third in the nation in forced turnovers, fifth in scoring defense and 10th in total yards allowed. In fact the Bulls didn't allow a passing touchdown until Syracuse's Greg Paulus slipped one by them two weeks ago. Mind you, Paulus also had five interceptions that day and the Bulls won 34-20.

Before the season started, this game looked to be a showdown of the conference's two best quarterbacks. Cincy's Pike and USF's Matt Grothe. Sadly for Grothe, he went down with a season and college career-ending injury earlier this season. While seemingly crushing, it opened the door for freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels, who many quietly whispered was actually going to be better than his predecessor.

Well all Daniels did in his first game was lead South Florida to the biggest win in its program's history, a 17-7 win over Florida State. The win shattered the status quo of college football in the state of Florida and marked the true arrival of the Bulls as they try to compete with the Seminoles, Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes (whom the Bulls will play November 28th).

To be fair, the Bulls have played a schedule consisting mostly of cupcakes otherwise. With two FCS teams (Wofford, Charleston Southern) and a winless Western Kentucky on the books, USF hasn't impressed many even with their 5-0 record. Some have their schedule ranked as low as 113th (out of 199 FBS teams) while the Sagarin rankings have them lower than a handful of FCS teams' schedules to date.

So far Daniels have delivered on his potential, throwing for 602 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs in five games, two as the starter. If he can lead the Bulls to victory, it will mark the end of a precipitous slide for the program since 2007. Since being ranked No. 2 in the nation and becoming a sensation for their rapid ascent, the Bulls have gone 6-8 in Big East play and taken on a reputation for starting strong in September and folding once October comes around.

They will have no better opportunity to reverse that trend than this Thursday. The Big East will be watching. So will the nation. Both teams would represent the conference well, the Big East just hopes everyone like what they see.

#BeatUSF

Sean Keeley — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:28:54 -0000

View full size photo »

USF: When your league is desperate to replace more desirable schools that left for the ACC. #BeatUSF

The mullet may have been invented in Maine, but it was perfected at South Florida. #BeatUSF

University of South Florida: Located in Central Florida since 1956 #BeatUSF

You can't spell "Eat my balls, South Florida" without "South Florida." #BeatUSF

If you mess with the USF Bull, you won't get the horns. You will, however, probably get an STD of some kind #BeatUSF

USF arrived in Syracuse yesterday in their usual mode of transportation: Everglades fan boats. #BeatUSF

At South Florida, you need 120 credits and a tramp stamp to graduate. #BeatUSF

USF: Because Tampa will be in South Florida once this global warming thing happens. #BeatUSF

Ummm, this: http://bit.ly/H5TKJ #BeatUSF

South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt looks like he should be teaching heating and air conditioning repair somewhere in Missouri. #BeatUSF

USF has more than 224,000 alumni. There are also approximately 224,000 sex offenders in the state of Florida. Coincidence? #BeatUSF

The Chicago Olympic bid was rejected after the IOC learned it was only 1,170 miles from USF. #BeatUSF

Tampa's main exports are Yuengling beer and inflated sense of self worth. #BeatUSF

Little known fact- The college in the new NBC show 'Community' is based completely on South Florida - students/teachers/everything. #BeatUSF

#BeatUSF, because #BeatPoncedeLeonU would have been too wordy.

Tampa sports teams would rather named themselves after the dirty mass of water off the coast than the city itself #BeatUSF

#BeatUSF because U of west central FL would be too correct a description of their geography

USF... when you can't get into the U, but still need a second rate degree. #BeatUSF

USF, for when Florida State seems too wordly. #BeatUSF

The safety safety school #BeatUSF

If your institution only awards GEDs can you still play college football? #BeatUSF

The University of South Florida: 46,000 students, 46,000 drooling bibs. #BeatUSF

South Florida has an amazing theater program. I can't tell you how many South Florida graduates I've seen on COPS. #BeatUSF

70% of strippers cite their college as USF because it is the most believable option #BeatUSF

Can you even get a degree from South Florida or does the school just confer certificates of attendance? #BeatUSF

At USF, a violation involving alcohol is manditory for graduation. #BeatUSF

USF, where Rhodes Scholars are as rare as finding that Jesus cup in The Last Crusade. #BeatUSF

USF has the number one cancer research facility, but still can’t remove the tumor that is their football program. #BeatUSF

#BeatUSF because the St. Petersburg Bowl just won't be the same without them.

At USF, you get your choice of barbed wire or tribal band tattoo upon matriculation. #BeatUSF

USF: the world's premier Leper colony #BeatUSF

B.J. Daniels is a scholar-athlete. His first name is short for "Big Jenius." #BeatUSF

Playing for USF was so embarrassing that Matt Grothe's knee committed seppuku. #BeatUSF

Bubba The Love Sponge is among Tampa's slimmer residents. #BeatUSF

only thirteen percent of USF's student body lives in a university residence hall, the rest live in their parents basements #beatusf

at USF you can major in Wal-Mart Greeting sciences #BeatUSF

USF is to tradition as Michael Moore is to physical fitness #BeatUSF

what's 100 yards long and has 3 teeth? The line to register at USF #BeatUSF

In Tampa, FL, "horticulture" means bringing a prostitute to a museum. #BeatUSF

Calling a Tampa school "South Florida" is like trying to make it seem like SU is near NYC. Oh wait, Dr. Gross actually does that... #BeatUSF

South Florida is kind of like the American financial industry: Too dumb to fail. #BeatUSF

Saying that South Florida students and alumni are fat, drunk, and stupid is a bit of a fib. They smell like pancakes, too. #BeatUSF

Do you know how to make a South Florida sandwich? You start with bread and cheese, and then shit all over it. #BeatUSF

At USF a slurpee contains the contents of a used condom. #BeatUSF

I've never been to Tampa, and unless I someday open my own meth lab, I don't plan on visiting. #BeatUSF

I'll say it again. Flamerica University. #BeatUSF

I travel to south florida quite often, its 200 miles south of USF #BeatUSF

USF: because UConn has to have better academics than someone #BeatUSF

South Florida has the third best football program in the 46th best state. #BeatUSF

65% of the people who watch America's Got Talent attend USF. #BeatUSF

October for USF is like the Greg Robinson era for SU - no wins. #BeatUSF

Freshman orientation at USF includes a cavity search and a stern lecture from the warden #beatusf

USF was built on an abandoned airstrip - the new school devalued the property #BeatUSF

USF students are constantly reminded by Tampa prostitutes "even off campus I am still referred to as Professor" #beatUSF

#BeatUSF because Grothe tore his ACL to avoid being SHAMARKO'd!

Twinkies and Mr. Pibb, the recommended diet for all children in South Florida #BeatUSF

The original screenplay for "Doubt" was about the USF football team going into the game against Syracuse. #BeatUSF

There's a 45% chance that your USF freshman roommate will be named "Machine" #BeatUSF

National unemployment plummets to 1.8% when adjusted for USF grads #beatusf

#BeatUSF, cause you don't see Syracuse calling itself South New York State University.

Most USF students find The Wicker Man remake with Nicolas Cage to be the height of cinema. "HOW'D IT GET BURNED???" #BeatUSF

I'm not saying that attending South Florida will give you herpes, but until science proves otherwise . . . . #BeatUSF

When @BH_Orange44 cues the crying child, they are the children of USF football players #beatUSF

Gallagher is a South Florida graduate. Gallagher! The guy smashes watermelons for a living! FUCKING GALLAGHER! #BeatUSF

The University of South Florida: 88%of our tuition revenue is generated by Mons Venus lapdances. #BeatUSF

USF: Where the men are women and the women are bulls. #beatusf

USF to offer seniors college prep course #beatusf

Roman Polanski was en route to USF to pick up a lifetime achievement award when he was arrested. #BeatUSF

According to their website, USF is "one of the nation's top 63 public research universities." So...you're 63rd. Just say 63rd. #BeatUSF

USF: Where the wave has and always will be supported (until a real one from the ocean destroys their homes). #BeatUSF

USF students think that reading the funny pages makes someone a part of the literati. #BeatUSF

Also, USF students don't know what "literati" means. #BeatUSF

Not much is known about the people of Tampa before settlers. The only items found were cigarette butts and Native Juggs Magazines. #BeatUSF

Top 10 reasons to go to USF shortened to 5 to accommodate students' mathematical limitations #beatusf

Other notable USF alums: an "early phone phreaker," a Real Worlder and "teacher noted for having an affair with student." #BeatUSF

South Florida is responsible for the 2000 Presidential election situation in Florida as 74% of its students voted for "Sprinkles!" #BeatUSF

The last thing parents ever want to tell their child: "We're getting divorced. It's all your fault. And you're going to USF." #BeatUSF

Floridians refer to USF as the herpes sore on Americas dong #beatUSF

When you care enough to send the very worst, send them to South Florida #BeatUSF

Son: "I'm going to USF." Dad: "I really wish you'd reconsider dropping out of school." #beatusf

South Florida-where students who do the wave belong #BeatUSF

Everyone featured on www.peopleofwalmart.com/ is a USF grad #BeatUSF

Hey USF: Just because it's in SOUTH America does NOT mean Rio is closer to you than Chicago...Stop Cheering! #BeatUSF

USF fans punch babies and kick puppies #BeatUSF

USF: Where dyslexic kids who want to go to FSU go. #BeatUSF

South Florida: putting the "USF" in anusfister since 1956. #BeatUSF

Whores. #BeatUSF

A Tale Of Two Quarterbacks

Sean Keeley — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:07:01 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

Browse more photos »

Back in April, if I had told you the starting quarterbacks for the Syracuse-South Florida game would be Greg Paulus and B.J. Daniels, you'd have punched me in the face, stolen my wallet, purchased $500 worth of kitchen appliances from Bed, Bath & Beyond, avoided legal action that I would have brought against you, left the country as a fugitive, taken up asylum in Burma, started a new life, gotten caught up in a gun-smuggling operation, decided to help some hostages in need and spent the rest of your life in a Burmese prison so that they could walk free.

You would have been busy.

And yet, here are we. Redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels not only stepped in and replaced the injured Matt Grothe, he led the program to arguably it's biggest win ever.

In the first-ever meeting of the teams, he threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns, including two completions for 70-plus yards. Daniels also ran for 126 yards, becoming the first quarterback since 1986 to rush for 100 yards against the Seminoles.

Doug Marrone has high praise for Daniels. Even praising the fact that he is, in fact, alive.

"He is able to throw the ball vertically down the field. He has a nice live arm and he’s obviously great on his feet."

He has two nice live arms, actually. Two nice live legs. A nice live torso and even a nice live head.

Coincidentally, Daniels is also a basketball player. He appeared in 19 games for the Bulls last season though he didn't see too much action.

The other basketball guard on the field this weekend, Greg Paulus, is settling into his second month as a college quarterback. Things have progressed quickly for Greg and it's all about keeping the momentum up as the season progresses:

"It's about taking advantage of what we have," Paulus said. "We're lucky enough to have another game. We've won two straight. We've got to get to three. That's what we're thinking about. As a team, myself, keep getting better, keep the progression going. It's not about media or question or other outlets. It's about what this team is doing and where we're headed."

Some other notable news o'the day for Syracuse..

Arthur Jones will play! Thank the lord. The Orange are "planning" on playing him as well as "planning" on playing WR Donte Davis, who missed practice Tuesday. Freshman Brandon Sharpe remains day-to-day after what is assumed to have been a concussion in the Northwestern game.

Marcus Sales caught a TD pass last week, his second catch of the season overall. Sales wants to be more of a force on the Syracuse offense and is ready to make it happen:

"I'm not really happy with my production," Sales said. "I think I can do better blocking and helping my other teammates, but whenever my number is called again, hopefully I'll make the play again."

And finally, what's with all the long games, huh? The Maine game took 3 hours and 43 minutes to play and the team is averaging games that last 3:26. Only four teams average longer. Penalties and injury timeouts marred the Maine contest, hopefully we can cut down on both.

CGB Top 25 - Week 4

ragnarok — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:27 -0000

After 4 weeks, creating a Top 25 list is starting to get easier -- and a whole lot harder. We've finally got a decent pile of data to work with, but some of that data starts contradicting itself as teams start giving uneven performances. Miami (FL) looked good in winning its first two, but was outclassed at Virginia Tech. Cal erased all memory of its 3-0 start in getting blown out of Autzen Stadium, and did the same Iowa team that needed two blocked kicks to beat Northern Iowa at home actually beat Penn State on the road? Really? Anyway, here's this week's best guesses:

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	1
2	Boise State	3
3	Virginia Tech	7
4	Florida	2
5	Cincinnati	1

Alabama benefits when Virginia Tech takes out Miami, reclaiming the top spot in our poll. VaTech benefits quite a bit themselves, while Boise State is aided by Oregon's resurgence. I have no idea why Florida jumped Cincy and Texas; probably because I didn't look at last week's ballot when I voted this week.

Rank	Team	Delta

6	Texas	3
7	Houston	8
8	LSU	1
9	Southern Cal	4
10	Auburn	13

Have you compared LSU's résumé to Auburn's? They're remarkably similar. LSU - W 31-23 @ Washington, W 23-9 vs. Vanderbilt, W 31-3 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, W 30-26 @ Mississippi State. Auburn - W 37-13 vs. Louisiana Tech, W 49-24 vs. Mississippi State, W 41-30 vs. West Virginia, W 54-30 vs. Ball State. Other than LSU's willingness to play (and win) on the road, there's not much difference. Is UW a better win than West Virginia? Is playing Miss St at home that much an advantage? Frankly, I can't see much reason why LSU is in the Top 10 while Auburn is unranked.

Rank	Team	Delta

11	Ohio State	3
12	TCU	13
13	UCLA	1
14	Iowa
15	Miami (Florida)	14

TCU jumps as a whole bunch of teams lose. Probably too high, but I'm guessing they'll come down to earth soon enough. That win at Clemson can only be worth so much. Iowa jumps back in our poll after taking out Penn State on the road. Impressive, or was PSU just overrated to begin with? Meanwhile, Miami drops a bunch, especially coupled with Florida State's choke job vs. South Florida, but two good wins still means they can only drop so far.

Rank	Team	Delta

16	Oregon	8
17	Oklahoma State	4
18	Wisconsin
19	Nebraska	1
20	South Carolina

Oregon takes a big leap for obvious reasons. Wisconsin jumps into our poll for mysterious ones, while South Carolina gets a vote of confidence after surviving an ugly win over Ole Miss. Blame Avi for that one; I didn't think either team merited Top 25 consideration.

Rank	Team	Delta

21	Georgia
22	Michigan	2
23	Oklahoma	6
24	Missouri
25	South Florida
Last week's ballot

Michigan almost lost to Indiana. At home. That's almost a fireable offense right there; what they're still doing in the Top 25 is a mystery to me. South Florida beats FSU to debut in our poll, but how much is that win worth? The Seminoles looked great in beating BYU the week before, but nearly lost to Jacksonville State the week before that. Will the real Florida State please stand up?

Dropped Out: California (#8), Penn State (#9), Florida State (#11), Washington (#16), Brigham Young (#19), Mississippi (#22).

I don't think I really need to explain why most of these teams dropped out of our poll, but it's probably worth noting that BYU dropped because Florida State gagged vs. South Florida and their non-Matt Grothe quarterback. If I don't vote for FSU, I certainly can't vote for BYU at this point, road win over Oklahoma or not.

Welcome Back, Flamerica University

Sean Keeley — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:44:15 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

2 months ago: South Florida quarterback B. J. Daniels, left, runs for fourth-quarter yardage as Florida State's Ochuko Jenije moves in to make the tackle during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in Tallahassee, Fla. South Florida won 17-7.(AP Photo/Phil Coale)

Browse more photos »

No Syracuse football team has ever defeated a South Florida football team. Ever. Not in the hundred years that we've been doing this.

It's true. Science and all. In fact, we've never scored more than 13 against USF and they've never scored less than 27, breaking the 40+ point barrier 50% of the time they play us.

Okay, so they've only been doing this for a couple decades and we've only been playing each other since 2004. But still...it's not exactly one of the top bullet points on our resume (for college football program jobs?).

USF comes to town this weekend as both teams open Big East play. Things are a little different than the last time we played. Greg Robinson and Matt Grothe are no longer involved, and both are a good thing for SU fans. The question is...can we actually win?

So before we get started, I really need to repeat this paragraph that I noted last year from Wikipedia. It truly is the gift that keeps giving:

USF was founded in 1956. However, the university was not officially named until the following year, and courses did not start until 1960. Some of the original proposed names included "Citrus State University", "Sunshine State University," "The University of the Western Hemisphere," "Ponce de Leon University," "Flamerica University," and "The University of Florida at Temple Terrace."

Sadly, they've removed the Flamerica mention from the current write-up. Possibly because it was untrue but more likely because it would have meant that everyone could see they almost called the place FLAMERICA UNIVERSITY. (They're all great name choices though, aren't they?)

So USF beat Florida State last weekend 17-7. In Tallahassee. Without Grothe. The merits of beating 2009 FSU are up for debate but this was such a big win for the program, Jim Leavitt looked to quantum physics to explain it's impact:

"It changes history."

I know what he means, but then again...I don't.

The win was so big the Bulls were named the Tostitos National Team of the Week, whatever the hell that means. While they're still not ranked in the AP (though they are in this Power Ranking Top 25), the Bulls are once again on the verge of storming the national landscape just like they did a few years back.

But a few years back, and every year it seems, the Bulls faded once Big East play started up. As ESPN's Brian Bennett shows us, they're the Mr. September of college football:

2007: The Bulls started 6-0, with a monumental win at Auburn. That start, though, was followed by three straight losses and a Big East record of 4-3. Final record: 9-4.

2008: USF began the year 5-0, including a thrilling last-second win over Kansas. That start was followed by a 1-4 stretch and a 2-5 league campaign. Final record: 8-5.

B.J. Daniels will attempt to do what Matt Grothe couldn't. Push the Bulls past that first layer of success and into the next level. The Bulls went to the Sun Bowl in 2007 but got crushed. Last year they settled for the St. Pete Bowl. This year they'll have the chance to push their way through to next level. Gator Bowl? BCS Bowl? All possible, given the state of the Big East.

Of course, it starts with Syracuse this weekend. USF might have opened the door into becoming one of the guys at the table in Florida and they might have become one of the Big East's better programs, but it's all about what you've done lately that will define USF this season. We're no Florida State but, you know, we are 2-2. Perhaps you guys heard about that.

Greg Paulus: Best Syracuse QB Ever?

Sean Keeley — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:01:22 -0000

More photos » by Kevin Rivoli - AP

2 months ago: Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus (2) throws to receiver Donte Davis during the second quarter against Maine in an NCAA college football game in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Browse more photos »

Okay, maybe not in terms of history or memorable moments or championships or even wins...but check out this nugget from Dave Rahme:

Despite being away from the sport for five years, Paulus is averaging 222 passing yards per game, behind only Marvin Graves’ school-record average of 231.5 in 1993. The last time an SU starter averaged more than 200 was Donovan McNabb in 2007 (207.3). If he maintains his current pace Paulus will end the season with 2,664 yards, a school record. Remarkable.

What? WHAT? WHAAAAAAAT?

Remember, it's not like Paulus is pulling a Matt Grothe and putting up these numbers against Wofford and Directional Florida Tech A&M. He's played three Big Ten teams as part of this schedule. All the more impressive.

At what point do Pat Forde, Anonymous Big East Coach and everyone else who painted Paulus' one-year reign as a spectacular failure-in-the-making get on their knees and start slurping? Any day now will be just fine...

Monday Morning Coffee Lets Out A Whoooooop

Peter Bean — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:24:49 -0000

More photos » by Nick de la Torre - AP

Texas A&M defensive lineman Eddie Brown and linebacker Von Miller celebrate with an embrace, in compliance with the Spirit Council's recent ban on leaping hip-daps. Councilmembers unanimously ruled the popular on-field celebration to be "unbecoming of a True Aggie (TM)."

Browse more photos »

Housekeeping. As you've no doubt noticed, I'm struggling to get Morning Coffee together on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (Big Roy has Tuesday-Thursday). Or maybe you haven't noticed, since Dimecoverage now provides us with the best daily link round up imaginable. In any case, as unfriendly as is my schedule to Morning Coffee, I'm aiming to keep my focus on my other weekly posts, while shifting my schedule to compose a Morning Coffee to run each Monday morning, with thoughts on the past weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Your first Monday Morning Coffee begins after the jump.

'Tis but a scratch. Barely a year after my barely platonic mancrush on Robert Griffin first began, news arrives that Baylor's superstar quarterback is done for the year with a knee injury. Perhaps not surprisingly, Griffin also does injury with otherworldly superiority: Though he first injured his knee on a 4th and 2 on the Bears' opening drive of the game, suffering pain Griffin described as a "10" on the severity scale, he spent only a few minutes on the bench before getting up to jog around and test the injury. Feeling better (the pain down "to a 4 or 5"), Griffin said he could go back in the game, where he proceeded to complete 11 of his next 14 first half passes, racking up 198 yards and 3 touchdowns by halftime, with the Bears in front 41-10.

Robert Griffin: Better on one leg than you are on two.

More Griffin. Beyond mere mourning for the loss of one of the game's brightest young stars, a couple additional thoughts on the Robert Griffin injury: First, while I couldn't feel anything but badly for Sam Bradford when he went down in the opening week, there was undeniable joy in contemplating the pain as pertained to Bob Stoops. Likewise, while my joylessness about Griffin's injury runs even deeper, I'm again pleased as pie that the quarterback's coach will suffer. The last time Art Briles was on Texas' fans radar came at the conclusion of last year's regular season, when the first-year Baylor coach might as well have cast Mack Brown's name in urine on his Coaches Poll ballot, voting Oklahoma #1 and Texas #5. It's gonna be fun when half the crowd in Waco this November stays to the end of a 50-point throttling to sing the Eyes of Texas.

Moving beyond retribution, the plague of injuries to high profile quarterbacks this year (Bradford, Griffin, Matt Grothe, Tim Tebow) demonstrates how quickly plans can change. While the need for McCoy to get going in 2009 has dictated he take most of the team's snaps during the first four games, Mack Brown would be wise to shelve his starter as early as possible in any future blowouts, both to protect McCoy and to continue to provide meaningful looks to Garret Gilbert. Not only would that help prepare Gilbert for any nightmare scenario this season, but also for next year, when Texas will have a loaded roster of returnees capable of contending for the title. From what we've seen so far, Gilbert is every bit as good as advertised; with the national picture clearing a clean path to Pasadena, Mack Brown should let his freshman QB run the show for as much of every second half as the lead allows.

Saturday night study time. A decade later, the debates about Mack Brown's scheduling philosophy have reached the same end point as the "field" of literary criticism -- increasingly nuanced, decreasingly useful. There's little left to be said beyond what is well-established: Mack's strategy serves us well for an undefeated run to the title game and poorly to emerge atop any one-loss scrum. Though I would prefer a different approach, there are merits to his method, at least insofar as the scheduling situation neatly serves Texas' Rose Bowl interests this year. The team can't lose, but among contenders, their path to Pasadena is the one of least resistance.

If Exhibit A was Oklahoma's opening week loss to BYU, Exhibit B will be on full display Saturday evening hen OU travels to Miami. ABC announced over the weekend that the contest between the Sooners and 'Canes will be the Saturday evening showcase (7 p.m. CT, ABC). The Longhorns, meanwhile, will get to spend their bye-week Saturday night studying how Oklahoma plays a top-tier opponent. Certainly, we won't know for a while yet how all this plays out -- a one-loss OU team that beat Miami and Texas en route to winning the Big 12 might get into Pasadena -- but the situation as it stands at the close of September clearly favors the Longhorns. Texas will have two weeks to rest and prepare for their next two opponents, Colorado -- a team that doesn't look capable of competing with the Longhorns in Boulder, let alone Austin -- and Oklahoma.

Red River Shootout preparation begins in earnest right now; join us here at BON on Saturday night when we, like the football team, will settle in to study the Sooners.

One of these things is not like the other. Answer: "Through four weeks, college football's top eight offenses in total yards per game." Question: "Who are Houston, Florida, Auburn, Texas, Hawaii, Kansas, Alabama?"

A good guess -- and good for you for remembering that offensive witch doctor Gus Malzhan is on the Plains -- but not quite right: The aforementioned are CFB's second- through ninth-ranked offenses in total yards per game. Topping the list is... Texas A&M? Can that possibly be right?

Ball don't lie. Okay, maybe a little -- the Agros rank 13th in yards per play (6.7 on the season) -- but the basic point is undeniable: Texas A&M is not sucking against crappy teams. Progress! Open your wallets, Aggie comrades, the Bill Byrne Reclamation Project is turning a corner.

Speaking of which: I was fortunate to receive an advance release of the opening to Byrne's Wednesday Weekly; let's take a look and see what he's got to say about the team's strong start:

The wheels are turning, brothers and sisters. Our ship is set to sail! Or better put: our rowboat is about to begin its rowing... (Perhaps needless to say ((you knew I'd say it anyway)), the top-seeded Lady Ags won the Southwest Region Rowing Championships this past weekend. that other university in a city centrally located in our state did not even win their heat. Whoooooop! (((For future reference, when I italicize the text it is to indicate audible commentary. Thus, when I wrote Whoooooop! a moment ago, I bellowed a hearty Aggie Whoooooop! when I typed out the sentence. Readers are encouraged to join along by reading aloud future italicizations.))))

If you could not tell from my opening salvo, I am in quite the mood for metaphors today. So let me propose another: The Fightin' Texas A&M Football Team is fearsomely marching behind their General Sherman. (No need to say those aloud, Friends. Here, I italicized for emphasis, to be sure you picked up on my metaphor. Maybe I should use underlining to indicate audible portions of the text? Or perhaps CAPS LOCK, which seems to be the preferred method on the Internet for indicating a raised voice. If you have a strong opinion about which you'd prefer, I invite you to use the AggieAssist texting service.) ((It occurs to me that the Sherman marching line may be a pun, not a metaphor. I am tempted to revise this blog, but as I hope is very clear I am making every effort to be "genuine" with each blog I write. My understanding is that there is a stream-of-consciousness element to the endeavor; I strive to welcome you "inside my head," metaphorically speaking, (Whoooooop!), where we can meander together through the great passions that unite the Aggie Family.))

Damn. Maybe we'll get more in the full text on Wednesday.

It's fair to point out that A&M's offensive aptitude has come at the expense of three miserable teams (New Mexico, Utah State, and UAB), but let's face it -- this is progress for a team that a year ago managed just 14, 28, and 21 points in a home loss to Arkansas State and narrow wins over New Mexico and Army. Having distance between Stephen McGee and a football field is undoubtedly helping, but the Aggies have thus far been more than "Not As Inept As McGee." The excellent tailback duo of Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael are taking pressure off of quarterback Jerrod Johnson, a talented player coming into his own as a full-time starter. Whether the offensive line will fare so well against stiffer competition is another question, but A&M is at least fielding playmakers well-suited to Big 12 play.

Texas fans might ponder the question Scipio Tex and I discussed on our podcast: Among the final four games on Texas' schedule (vs UCF, at Baylor, vs Kansas, at A&M), which opponent looks to present the toughest game? Even before Griffin was injured, both of us wondered whether the season finale in College Station might be the trickiest challenge. The Jayhawks are the superior team, but must travel to Austin. Time will tell, perhaps as quickly as this weekend, when we'll get our first look at A&M against a competent team, as the Aggies and Razorbacks square off in Jerryworld.

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Tommy Dorman	2	--	2	3	66.7	0	0	7.3	0	0	3	16	8	5.3	0	-	-
Jerrod Johnson	3	167.1	75	111	67.6	0	0	8.7	9	0	38	196	65.3	5.2	4	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Tommy Dorman	2	3	16	8	5.3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cyrus Gray	3	44	200	66.7	4.5	2	6	37	12.3	6.2	0
Jerrod Johnson	3	38	196	65.3	5.2	4	0	0	0	0	0
Christine Michael	2	28	187	93.5	6.7	1	3	35	17.5	11.7	0
Uzoma Nwachukwu	3	1	39	13	39	1	8	168	56	21	3
Ryan O'Bryant	1	1	-1	-1	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bradley Stephens	3	17	88	29.3	5.2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jay Tolliver	1	5	17	17	3.4	0	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Don Bishop	1	1	1	1	1	1
Jeff Fuller	2	12	136	68	11.3	1
Cyrus Gray	3	6	37	12.3	6.2	0
Brandal Jackson	2	6	43	21.5	7.2	0
Terrence McCoy	1	3	24	24	8	0
Jamie McCoy	3	13	169	56.3	13	0
Kenric McNeal	2	3	57	28.5	19	1
Christine Michael	2	3	35	17.5	11.7	0
Howard Morrow	3	9	96	32	10.7	0
Uzoma Nwachukwu	3	8	168	56	21	3
Ryan Swope	1	2	12	12	6	1

South Florida Bulls @ Florida State Seminoles Preview: can the Noles avoid the Bulls' horns?

FSUncensored — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:30:37 -0000

This is part 1. Here is part 2: http://www.tomahawknation.com/2009/9/25/1054873/the-preview-part-2-south-floridas

For the first time ever, the South Florida Bulls will take on the Florida State Seminoles. Gametime is Noon. The game is on ESPNU.

I'm scared of this game. Not because I think USF is good, but because I think the Seminoles are in a bad spot. Riding high off their 54-28 win over #7 ranked BYU, FSU is banged up. Really banged up. They are without DT Moses McCray and DT Justin Mincey. Their only healthy defensive tackles are undersized senior Kendrick Stewart, promising freshman Jacobbi McDaniel- who has a bum MCL, and the high on energy but low on effectiveness Budd Thacker. Additionally, both rovers, senior Corey Mangum and freshman Nick Moody are banged up. Additionally, FSU's lame duck defensive ends coach, Jody Allen, continues to hold a grudge and insists on starting the worst starter in my lifetime (both '85)- walk on defensive end Craig Yarborough.

There are also some situational factors in this game. USF has played the worst schedule in the country, and it is not close. The Bulls faced two 1-AA teams and Western Kentucky, a team that either is or should still be a probational 1A team (easily the worst team in 1A). So making a read on their current in-season performance is a bit tough. I did watch their games, or what I could find of them, so I'll do my best.

I was asked to describe my thoughts on this game, and in a sentence, I said that I thought FSU was a much better team than USF, but that I didn't like the matchup. I just have a bad feeling about this game.

But is it more than a feeling? Let's start with USF's offense against Florida State's defense. Over the summer, I wrote this comprehensive preview of USF's offense.

The Bulls went 8-5 in 2008. They were perfect in the non-conference, with wins over two terrible defensive teams in Kansas and NC State, and an overtime victory against UCF. In the worst BCS conference, however, they were just 2-5, and their two wins came over UConn and Syracuse. To say that USF feasted on bad teams would be an understatement. Yet voters, who often see nothing but a team's record and not the competition they face, had the Bulls as high as #10 at one point. They would lose 4 of 5 down the stretch to finish unranked. This season, as I noted above, they are unranked and have played a terrible schedule.

The Bulls were just 4-5 against BCS conference teams and 2-4 against teams ranked inside the Fremeau Efficiency Index Top 40. Put another way:

Wins	S/ F+	Losses	S/ F +
UT Martin	NR	Pittsburgh	17
@ UCF	NR	@ Louisville	74
KAN	33	@ Cincinatti	19
FIU	NR	Rutgers	24
NCST (w.o their QB)	47	@ WVU	49
Syracuse	90
UConn	26
Memphis	NR

S/ F is a combination of S&P + and FEI, the two widely recognized advanced metrics for evaluating college football teams. The quality of their opponents in wins was far less than that of their opponents in losses.

This year, the Bulls schedule around the 'Noles game looks like this:

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Wofford
Sept. 12 @ Western Kentucky
Sept. 19 Charleston Southern
Sept. 26 @ Florida State
Oct. 3 @ Syracuse

The Bulls have a very easy schedule before facing Florida State. They essentially play three 1-AA teams (W. Kentucky is a provisional 1A school, the worst team in 1A). This can help and hurt a team. Having a month of pre-season assures that the Bulls will be able to work out some kinks, ~~and that they will be healthy (starters playing fewer minutes in blowouts means less opportunity for injury)~~. It can also hurt, however, because FSU will be the Bulls' first test of the season. 'Nole fans saw this phenomena last year when they lost to Wake Forest after opening the season with two 1AA cupcakes.

Based on their talent an performance, the Bulls were probably a top 25 team last season, though they were too high early and probably too low late. They did have three close losses in Big East play, and close wins or losses are a great indicator of a team being lucky or unlucky.

Last season, the Bulls Offense looked something like this:

Fremeau Efficiency Index: 48th
Varsity Numbers (aka BeyondTheBoxScore at RockMNation.com, the brainchild of Bill Connelly) S&P+ (measure of ball movement and explosiveness): 21st (34th rushing, 16th passing)
Forget the fact that South Florida led the Big East in total offense and finished second in scoring. It did most of its damage against lesser opponents, while failing to score more than 20 points in the final five regular season games.
In conference play, the Bulls had the 6th best offense (of 8 Big East teams), with the 4th best ground game and the 5th best passing attack. Only UConn and Syracuse were worse (though they were a lot worse).
USF had an unsustainably high success rate on passing downs (2nd and 8+, 3rd/4th and 5+) http://footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2009/varsity-numbers-2008-offensive-buffet As the article discusses, USF was really goot at converting 3rd and long, compared to their other talents. That's just not realisticly sustainable. What team is consistently better on 3rd and long than 3rd and 4?
USF averaged less than 350 yards and less than 5.4 yards per play in conference games. (For reference, 400 yard games equal out to about 6.2 yards per play over 65 plays in an average game).

The Bulls run a spread scheme under new Coordinator Mike Canales, featuring a heavy dose of the zone read game. It's 4-wide, pretty much all the time. They will go into trips as well, which gives FSU fits. They force the opposing defense to account for the QB's legs. Canales was the Bulls' passing game coordinator last year and stepped into the OC role after Greg Gregory took another job.

Quarterback

Here's what I wrote about Grothe:

Matt Grothe has led the Bulls in rushing in each of the past three seasons. He's also a big risk taker who often struggles to read defenses, possibly because of his 5'11" stature. He's tossed up 42 picks over three years, while throwing 47 TD's. He's been consistent in his erratic nature, throwing 14 INT's each year. More troubling, however, for Bulls fans was the way he ended the Big East season: Against Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, UConn, and WVU, Grothe threw 11 Interceptions and just three touchdowns, while being sacked 13 times.

There's more:

Matt Grothe Games QB Rating Yards/ Attempt TD INT

All Games 13 136 7.7 18 14

v. Conference 7 119 7.1 7 12

v. Non-Conference 6 156 8.4 11 2

v. Winning 6 109 6.5 4 10

v. Non-Winning 7 162 8.8 14 4

4 TD 10 INT against Bowl teams? That's not impressive, and really, none of Grothe's passing numbers stand out. He is a dangerous runner, of course. And FSU has been ripped by teams utilizing the mobile quarterback over the past two seasons, particularly out of the shotgun, as USF does. In fact, Grothe had 117 rushes for 828 yards, which is 7.1 yards per carry. Simply put, Grothe is a playmaker with his legs. He runs the zone read play quite well and making him one-dimensional is a primary goal for any team facing USF.

If he stays healthy, Grothe will surpass Pat White for the conference record in Total Offense, but I have to wonder how much of that record is due solely to playing time? Almost any 4-year starter with mobility would have a shot at the record.

So obviously I didn't think Grothe was that good. He tore his ACL and his career is over. His backup is Redshirt Freshman B.J. Daniels, a highly recruited kid out of Tallahassee Florida. FSU wanted him as an athlete, because they already had E.J. Manuel as their only QB in the recruiting class. This kid has a great arm. It is a total cannon. But he's not entirely accurate and lacks touch. Kinda one of those kids who rifles everything. He is a physical beast. USF calls him 6'1 or 6'2" in various media guides, but he's somewhere between 5'11" and 6'2". About 215lbs. Fast as heck. USF's offense isn't particularly complicated, and I expect that it is about to get simpler, but it is the exact design of offense that makes Mickey Andrews look washed up and incompetent. Daniels scares the heck out of me because he is a much better physical talent than Grothe, who I didn't think was all that good. He reminds me of a combination of NC State's Russel Wilson, and Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli. USF runs the zone read play as their base run play. Here's the video:

Here's a diagram:

That's the one where the QB in the shotgun reads the backside defensive end. The line blocks away from him. If the end stays at home to keep the QB in check, the QB will hand the ball off because they have the numerical advantage. If the end "crashes down", the QB will keep the ball. As linked above, FSU does not do well against this at all. This stuff is the number one weakness of FSU's defense. By far. And this defense is banged up, undisciplined, and unsurprisingly not well coached by a disinterested and fractured defensive coaching staff. I would choose to run this against FSU even if I didn't have the personnel to do so. That is exactly what Boston College did to beat FSU last season with their terrible offense.

So how do you stop this? FSU's defensive coaches have no idea. Good defensive line play helps. Someone must win their one-on-one matchup. Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com has some ideas here.

Now, I know we rip on Craig Yarborough quite often. The kid tries hard, but he is a bad player. That said, his discipline could be somewhat of an asset in this game for the Noles. In order to beat the zone read, a team must have a plan, and everyone must follow the plan. I'm not talking about "everyone go out and make plays" stuff, that's not a plan. Yarborough can help by simply following his assignment here, even if he doesn't physically do it all that well. This is particularly important when he is the read defender on the backside. In Chris Brown's piece linked above, in the 2nd photo, think of Yarborough as the "E" (end) crashing down, and Nigel Bradham as the scraping linebacker. There's an opportunity here for Bradham to have a huge game here.

The zone read is difficult to stop. FSU must have a good gameplan and must change up their looks. I do not have much confidence in FSU to do that. However, I do think FSU has some advantages here. FSU's linebackers are very fast and better than most in coverage. That will allow FSU to stay in a base defense or a nickel defense against USF's 4 wide receiver look. Many teams are forced to use 6 defensive backs against USF's look, but because of FSU's linebackers, the Noles can use only 5 defensive backs. Obviously when trying to stop the run, linebackers are better than defensive backs.

Running Backs

This summer, I wrote:

Mike Ford is a special talent and a likely NFL back. He was a Five-Star recruit coming out of high school but had terrible grades and had to go to through the preparatory school route. Last season, Ford battled numerous injury issues and had a disappointing year. In 2007, however, he was excellent.

2008 2007

Opponent Att Yards Avg. Opponent Att Yards Avg.

Tenn.-Martin 15 61 4.1 Elon 6 83 13.8

@ UCF Did Not Play @ 15 Auburn 21 74 3.5

Kansas 1 3 3.0 North Carolina 6 13 2.2

@ Florida Int'l 14 24 1.7 6 West Virginia 5 42 8.4

@ North Carolina St. 11 64 5.8 @ Fla. Atlantic Did Not Play

Pittsburgh 14 73 5.2 UCF 8 39 4.9

Syracuse 11 51 4.6 @ Rutgers 4 9 2.3

@ Louisville 5 13 2.6 @ Connecticut 7 27 3.9

@ 17 Cincinnati Did Not Play 17 Cincinnati 7 13 1.9

Rutgers 1 2 2.0 @ Syracuse 28 134 4.8

Connecticut 8 20 2.5 Louisville 24 140 5.8

@ 23 West Virginia 14 62 4.4 @ Pittsburgh 16 63 3.9

+ Memphis 8 34 4.3 + 23 Oregon 6 8 1.3

Totals 102 407 4.0 Totals 138 645 4.7

This year, he's apparently lost 20lbs, making him 6'2" 210 rather than the 230 he played at last season. He is apparently quicker and now healthy. You can bet that USF will not risk injuring him against their cupcake schedule before they play FSU.

Canales has been vocal about trying to throw the ball to the backs more often, but Ford has not shown great hands. He may catch a few more now that he is at a better weight, but he's really not that type of back.

Mo Plancher represents another option to carry the ball. At 5'9" and 200lbs, he has surprising quicks, gaining 330 yards on 69 carries last year.

Jamar Taylor is an ex fullback type who tried to carry the load for USF into the bowl season, rushing for 300 yards on 62 carries. He has the savvy and knows the offense well, so he is often asked to handle blitz pickup duties on 3rd downs.

Richard Kelly is a very versatile back for the Bulls. At 6' 0" and 250lbs, he is a receiving threat out of the backfield and also an excellent blocker. Think of him as USF's H-Back.

USF is very deep at the running back position

A few updates here. Ford was suspended for the first two games. He is now back. Plancher has been their best runner. The stuff about throwing to their backs is dubious at best, unless they've been saving it for this game, which is possible, because their backs have accounted for two receptions in three games. Also, Jamar Taylor is out for this game. I expect to see a lot of Ford/Plancher.

Wide Receiver

This summer, I wrote:

Who Left:

Name Yr Pos Rec. Yards Avg. TD Rec./G Yards/G Note

Taurus Johnson SR WR 38 498 13.1 6 2.9 38 Led team in TD's, 2nd in Yards & Cathes

Marcus Edwards SR WR 19 259 13.6 0 1.5 20 31 Career Starts

Cedric Hill SR TE 16 194 12.1 2 1.2 15 2nd Team Big East

Who Returns:

Name Yr Pos Rec. Yards Avg. TD Rec./G Yards/G

Jessie Hester SR WR 54 579 10.7 3 4.2 45

Carlton Mitchell JR WR 28 405 14.5 1 2.2 31

A.J. Love JR WR 30 354 11.8 2 2.3 27

Dontavia Bogan JR WR 26 354 13.6 1 2 27

Ben Busbee SR TE 7 99 14.1 2 0.5 8

Patrick Richardson SO WR 7 68 9.7 0 0.8 8

Trent Pupello JR TE 2 26 13.0 0 0.2 3

The bulls really spread the ball around to a number of receivers and they are really, really deep at this position.

Jessie Hester, is the son of former Florida State great Jessie Hester (1981-84) and is the Bulls best wideout. He was named Offensive MVP for 2008 after leading the the team with 54 receptions. He's been named to a few pre-season All-Big East teams. At 6' 0" 180lbs, he's not a burner but has enough speed to get open and runs very nice routes.

Carlton Mitchell is a 6'4" 215lb Junior who missed a good chunk of 2008 due to injury. When healthy he can be a redzone threat and is very strong and he had a great freshman season. Though he is a Junior, Mitchell is very raw. He's one of the best athletes on the team. FSU fans might compare him to Jarmon Fortson.

Dontavia Bogan at 6'1" 185lbs is an explosive threat who had a good spring. One of several bigtime breakout candidates. Excellent athlete.

A.J. Love was the Bulls' deep threat before injuring his knee in the Bowl game. He is expected back for Fall and is making progress with his rehab. It's anyone's guess as to whether he regains his pre-injury form.

6' 2", 180lb junior Ed Alcin had a very nice spring and could really surprise this year. Some USF fans believe he is the 2nd best wideout on the team, which is saying something considering his lack of playing time in his first two seasons.

Theo Wilson could also catch a few balls for the 'bulls.

The Bulls must replace Hill at tight end and will look to Andrew Ketchel who came on strong towards the end of the season and he started the bowl game. At 6'5" 240, he's the best pass-catcher of the tight ends. Senior workout freak Ben Busbee is primarily a blocking tight end, but he can catch a few balls as well.

Updates: Hester has a bum ankle and will either miss this game or be very limited. Mitchell and Bogan are now their best wideouts. They look to Mitchell a lot and I believe he is the fastest player on the field come Saturday. Love and Wilson get a few balls as well. This group is the polar opposite of BYU. They are very fast and very big. But they are undisciplined and don't run good routes. Hester was the only one who had good receiver and not just athlete skills.

Because they are pretty raw, USF tries to throw little short routes to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers in space. They throw deep jump balls (again, big tall fast athletes). They throw crossing routes. Their approach is to try and limit the number of routes they run which require precision.

As much as I fawned over Wilson above, there are some obvious difficulties for him. Besides having no game experience, Wilson almost assuredly doesn't have a good relationship with his wideouts. He didn't get as many snaps as Grothe in practice because he was the 2nd team guy. His timing with them can't be great. FSU must force USF to complete precise routes, particularly in the intermediate level. Those require touch, timing, and familiarity between QB & WR.

How will FSU do this? They need to play some zone defense. I would suggest cover-3. I like the cover-3 look because it takes away the deep ball, you can account for at least one flat, and still have 6 defenders in the box against the run. Hopefully by running a lot of cover-3, FSU will force USF to run passable routes and make their correct sight adjustments. USF will need to sit down in the voids in the zone and from watching them, they really don't do that well. I am not sure defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will do this, however, because he is very stubborn and has been badly outschemed for the better part of this decade. Next year, FSU will have a decent defensive staff. For now though, we wait and hope.

Offensive Line

This is clearly the weak link for the 2009 Bulls. USF must replace four Senior starters in Left tackle Ryan Schmidt, center Jake Griffin, right guard Matt Huners and right tackle Marc Dile . Dile and Huners were 2nd team ALL-Big-East players, and the departed quartet accounted for 118 starts (Dile had 36). The Bulls have a major issue here and will have a very tough time replacing those four.

That's not to say that the departed players were great- they weren't. The 'Bulls allowed 7.1% sacks (7.1% of passing plays ended in sacks), which is horrible. They were a lot better than the current crop and at least had some chemistry, however, something this new group will not have in 2009.

Worse yet, the Bulls were counting on help from the JUCO ranks and at least one big player simply won't be in Tampa this year. They expected JUCO transfer (and former 'Nole) Daron Rose to come in and start at one of the tackle spots. Rose didn't qualify, however, and will not be playing for the Bulls. Additionally, JUCO Tackle Carlos Savala is also ineligible. The Bulls really needed one of them to come in and take over a tackle position.

This off-season has been a disaster for the offensive line, and Head Coach Leavit said that none of the players were good enough to play on his OLine.

One position is definitely set. Junior right guard Zach Hermann is 6'3" 304lbs and made 13 starts as a freshman and 6 last year before injury struck. Herman is a pure run blocker and is the typical tough guard.

At the other guard spot might be 6' 4", 292-pound sophomore Chaz Hine. He didn't play much last year, but is a blue collar guy who could earn the job despite not being very talented.

The center position will hinge on a number of factors. At 6' 5" and 285lbs junior center Jacob Sims has the ability to play a lot of positions. The bulls are also considering him at tackle, but make no mistake, they want him at center. He'll play tackle if the potential tackles struggle. He had off-season finger surgery, but is expected to start somewhere on the line this year, either at Right Tackle, Left Guard, or Center.

At center, there's an experiment going on with former defensive tackle Sampson Genus who is one of the strongest players on the roster. He has looked good according to some reports. If Genus doesn't work out at center (and he's the better athlete but needs a lot of work), the Bulls will turn to 6' 2" 304lb Soph Kevin McCaskill. He's almost running even with Genus and was part of the big class the Bulls brought in after 2007.

The other tackle spot a complete mystery. One possibility is RsFr Jatavious Jackson, a decent recruit at 6' 4" 270lbs. He's very green and undersized at this point. RsFr OT Mark Popek is 6'7" 305 and got a lot of work in spring with Sims out due to injury (remember that the coaches want Sims at center but will move him back to tackle if need be). He's talented but young and inconsistent. He could challenge Sims for one of the tackle spots and USF hopes he wins so that Sims can play center. Pushing Jackson at left tackle is 6' 4" 314lb Soph Jeremiah Warren, who is already struggling in the classroom but does have a good bit of talent.

And don't count out Jamar Bass who is apparently looking reall good for the Bulls (at Left tackle).

The bottom line here is that the Bulls offensive line is very unsettled and even when it does settle, it will not be very talented. None of the bulls linemen are getting any press for an All-Conference selection. This group is definitely set up to run block, which is good considering that the Bulls run more than 60% of the time, but they will likely struggle in pass protection.Right now, their projected depth chart is this

Current projected lineup

LT Jeremiah Warren
LG Chaz Hine
C Sampson Genus
RG Zach Hermann
RT: Jake Sims

Warren is a sophomore who had 3 career starts (all this year). He is starting because Bass is inconsistent. Hine is also a sophomore with only these 3 games as experience. Genus is the strongest player on the roster and could present some trouble. He's a beast:

Genus is huge at "314" lbs (he is at least 320). But skinny ankles, no? He's also inexperienced. Right Guard Hermann is a decent player but a cheap shot artist. Sims is nothing special.

Because USF's offensive line isn't very good (being honest here, they didn't impress me, though FSU's beat up defensive line could make them look solid), USF does some things to limit their exposure. one of those is the quick game.

A few notes here. First, they ran this from two-tight singleback, which they don't often run. They've run this play 7 or 8 times from what I've seen. Opportunity here for the Noles to get a pick-6, but they must balance that with the obvious counter to this, which would be a double move.

These guys don't work well as a team in the run game. There will be gaps where FSU can get penetration and stop the run for loss. That's important because FSU wants to make USF one-dimensional.

They've given up 3 sacks in 77 pass plays (3.9%), against by far the worst competition in the country. FSU, in comparison, against good competition, has given up 4 sacks in 108 pass plays (3.6%). This USF line is average at best. To attack the passing game FSU needs to play coverage, and not rush Daniels aggressively. The ends must not lose contain or attempt dumb spin moves. Just a light, straight rush, like Bama did to Tyrod Taylor. Once they lull Daniels into a sense of false confidence in the pocket, they must attack him via the DELAYED blitz. Delayed is the key. USF's offensive linemen will look to help each other out with the initial rushers, and there should be gaps open for Dekoda Watson to run though, as he did last season against Miami. With contain established, and a free rusher coming in untouched, USF could have some trouble, particularly if their back doesn't pick up the blitz well. What FSU can't do is telegraph the blitz, like they usually do with little success. Make this kid sit in the pocket and read a defense, finding his wideouts in traffic. He can't have that good of a relationship with them yet.

Bottom Line

Last summer, I wrote:

USF's offense will probably struggle this year, particularly against good teams as they did last season. There is a lot of optimism at the quarterback and skill positions, but I wonder if prognosticators are making the common media error of overlooking line play. If the Bulls are to have a top 50 offense, they must be able to establish the run. Despite the new coordinator's background being more pass-happy than USF has seen in recent years, he must stick to the run and play low-risk football, catering to the defense which should be this team's strength. The Bulls have talked about making more big plays this year, but big plays typically happen because a team is vastly superior to their opponent, or because the defense is cheating to stop something (like the run) and are burned by something else (play action pass). If USF can't consistently put itself in better situations this year, like 3rd and 4 instead of 3rd and 8, Grothe will be the same old Grothe- taking too many risks and forcing too many passes. If the offensive line gets it together, the Bulls could have a pretty decent offense as the skill position players are there, but that is a huge if. This is still a team that couldn't get to 350 yards per game in the lousy Big East. Expect a regression from South Florida's offense and a more conservative gameplan as the season rolls along.

Now add in "they have a very talented but completely inexperienced quarterback." Despite the fact that USF has been prepping for this game forever, their offense will stay pretty simple. Still, FSU has a way of making rookie quarterbacks look like heisman trophy favorites. Additionally, I worry because USF has some guys from that Norm Chow NC State team that gave Mickey and FSU fits. Yes, that was the game in which FSU made Daniel Evans look great, to say nothing of Phillip RIvers.

I predict USF to score 27 points.

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Thursday (9/24/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:03:08 -0000

Welcome By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, your daily dump for links and entertainment around WVU. Today we're sponsored by the Italian brew Forst.

Daily dump sounds too biological, don't you think? I warned you it was gonna be a slow news week. Today's WYMHM and NoN sections reflect that. We've got a little caption contest for you today. Send in your tips, requests, etc. as always. See you on the other side:

What You May Have Missed:

Coach Stewart Show - WVMETRONEWS.COM
The Coach talks about bringing back the old cheer. Let's get it going just before the team enters the field. Spread the word.

Sideline Spirit - AthlonSports.com
Here's your chance to vote for one of our cheerleaders.

St. John's names the Thunderbird as first sports mascot in nearly 10 years - NY Daily News
I have no words for this:

via assets.nydailynews.com

News of Note:

Starks likes to dish it out, too - The Charleston Gazette
He likes to hit people.

WVU quarterback likes the 'long handoff' - Charleston Daily Mail
...and no, he's not necessarily talking about the $%&*# middle screen.

WVU remains committed to passing game - The Times West Virginian

Stewart coaches like a parent - The Times West Virginian
Hertzel's column

Coach Stewart and his men looked to put Auburn game in rear view - wvillustrated.com

Mountaineers to spend off week ‘polishing’ - TheInterMountain.com

Around the League (and Beyond):

Cincinnati loses linebacker Curtis Young for up to six weeks - ESPN
Starting linebacker Curtis Young is expected to miss up to six weeks for No. 17 Cincinnati after having surgery on his right knee.

Successful season makes new facilities even more important - Cincinnati Enquirer
"Let’s suppose that UC goes on to win all 12 of its games, wins the Big East and lands in another BCS bowl game, maybe even in the national championship game." - I'd say somebody's getting a bit ahead of themselves. There's a lot of football to play this year...

Is Cincinnati the best team in Ohio? - ESPN
It's a bold question, but I would have to say yes. Not that I've been asked, mind you.

Grothe sprained shoulder on series before knee injury - Tampa Tribune
He wouldn't have played this week anyway.

USF football hoping to join the club - Tampa Tribune
"Sooner or later, there is going to be a new member of the state's marquee football programs."

Rutgers safety Joe Lefeged returning home, two years after controversial hit against Maryland - Star Ledger

Maryland's inexperience costing team as Rutgers prepares to visit - Star Ledger

Red zone too often dead zone for U of L - The Courier-Journal
Only five TDs on 14 trips inside 20.

SHAMARKO: The Legend Begins - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician

Pitt's Stull spreading the wealth - PPG

2009 Big East Fearless Picks: Week 4 - Scout.com

KU sports teams’ apparent feud spurs 2nd brawl - KUsports.com
BB and FB teams brawl each other. I've never heard of anything like this before.

Miami's Randy Shannon brings real life experience to program - SI.com

College Football Hall of Fame moving to Atlanta - ESPN
The mayor of South Bend, Ind., says the College Football Hall of Fame is moving from his city to Atlanta.

Mandel's Mailbag - SI.com

Recruiting:

Storm Coming to Morgantown? - eersports.com
RB re-opened his recruitment after LSU reportedly kept recruiting more tailbacks.

What's on Tap:

Mississippi Rebels vs. South Carolina Gamecocks - ESPN
Ole Miss goes on the road to face the Ole Ball Coach tonight on ESPN. Ole Miss is favored by 4.

Men's Basketball: Coaches vs. Cancer Dinner - MSNsportsNET.Com
It's at the Waterfront Place Hotel on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. and all proceeds are going to a very good cause. Please, support it if you are able.

Picture of the Day:

I think we need a caption contest for this one. Winner gets to pick a Miss Throwdown! Post your best ones in the comments below:

via joesportsfan.com

Video of the (Dis)Interest:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Riverdance Dog...

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is an American beauty with African and Italian heritage. Meet Leila Arcieri.

via www.iballer.com

Forst image via www.bontadeltirolo.jp

Matt Grothe	Games	QB Rating	Yards/ Attempt	TD	INT
All Games	13	136	7.7	18	14
v. Conference	7	119	7.1	7	12
v. Non-Conference	6	156	8.4	11	2
v. Winning	6	109	6.5	4	10
v. Non-Winning	7	162	8.8	14	4

2008				2007
Opponent	Att	Yards	Avg.	Opponent	Att	Yards	Avg.
Tenn.-Martin	15	61	4.1	Elon	6	83	13.8
@ UCF	Did	Not	Play	@ 15 Auburn	21	74	3.5
Kansas	1	3	3.0	North Carolina	6	13	2.2
@ Florida Int'l	14	24	1.7	6 West Virginia	5	42	8.4
@ North Carolina St.	11	64	5.8	@ Fla. Atlantic	Did	Not	Play
Pittsburgh	14	73	5.2	UCF	8	39	4.9
Syracuse	11	51	4.6	@ Rutgers	4	9	2.3
@ Louisville	5	13	2.6	@ Connecticut	7	27	3.9
@ 17 Cincinnati	Did	Not	Play	17 Cincinnati	7	13	1.9
Rutgers	1	2	2.0	@ Syracuse	28	134	4.8
Connecticut	8	20	2.5	Louisville	24	140	5.8
@ 23 West Virginia	14	62	4.4	@ Pittsburgh	16	63	3.9
+ Memphis	8	34	4.3	+ 23 Oregon	6	8	1.3
Totals	102	407	4.0	Totals	138	645	4.7

Name	Yr	Pos	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G	Note
Taurus Johnson	SR	WR	38	498	13.1	6	2.9	38	Led team in TD's, 2nd in Yards & Cathes
Marcus Edwards	SR	WR	19	259	13.6	0	1.5	20	31 Career Starts
Cedric Hill	SR	TE	16	194	12.1	2	1.2	15	2nd Team Big East