WVU at South Florida

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WVU at South Florida


West Virginia Mountaineers at South Florida Bulls (+3, 47.5)

The skinny

For the third straight season, South Florida started the season at least 5-0 before suffering a midseason losing streak. The Bulls lost two straight games to ranked Big East opponents and now face a do-or-die situation against WVU before they close their season with a difficult stretch of games.

West Virginia is heading in a completely different direction. After an 11-point loss at Auburn on Sept. 19 (a game in which WVU out-yarded the Tigers 519-400), WVU has won four straight by an average of 13.7 PPG.

The Mountaineers enter this game after an emotional comeback victory over UConn while the Bulls enter it after a 27-point shellacking at the hands of Pittsburgh. Both teams could really use a victory to gain a little credibility in the Big East.

QB problems

After USF Senior QB Matt Grothe was lost for the year with a torn ACL, redshirt freshmen BJ Daniels stepped in and led the Bulls to two straight wins and it looked as if South Florida was going to be alright.

But Daniels has regressed in the last two games, completing just 47 percent of his passes for 131 yards per game and throwing four interceptions and one touchdown.

Daniels was benched in the Bulls? blowout loss to Cincinnati a week ago and now he faces a West Virginia defense that has allowed just 52 percent completions and forced nine interceptions the past four weeks.

Mountaineer QB Jarrett Brown is also suffering through a cold streak. He was knocked out of the game against Marshall and has thrown for a meager five touchdowns and five interceptions the past five games.

?Devine? Mountaineer

West Virginia running back Noel Devine has had quite an October. He has rushed for 592 yards on a 6.8 YPC average with six total touchdowns with a chance to add to those numbers Friday night. In the second half of last week?s game against UConn, Devine had 14 carries for 171 yards and the game including a winning 56-yard touchdown run.

South Florida has allowed 403 rushing yards in its last two games on a 5.1 YPC average. Last week, Pitt running back Dion Lewis racked up 111 yards and two touchdowns.

They have had good success against WVU however, holding the potent Mountaineer rushing attack to just 153 YPG the past three years.

Line movement

This line opened with West Virginia as a 3-point road favorite. It moved to -3.5 at a few spots, however, the consensus has kept the Mountaineers as field-goal chalk. The total on this game opened at 47.5.

Trends

West Virginia is just 3-7 ATS in its last 10 conference games, 2-6 ATS in its last eight games as a favorite and 1-4 ATS in its last five games overall. The Bulls are 5-2 ATS in its last seven games as an underdog and 13-6 ATS in its last 19 home games.

WVU has finished over the total in five of the last seven games overall and USF is 4-1 over/under in its last five games. The Bulls are also 9-3 over/under in last 12 home games but the last four meetings between these two teams have stayed under.

West Virginia has been favored every time it?s faced the Bulls but it has only covered once since 2005. It?s split 2-2 SU with the average of just 35 total PPG.

Weather

The high in Tampa on Friday will be very hot at close to 90 degrees. By game time it will still be in the 80's with very little chance of any precipitation.

 

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West Virginia at South Florida

West Virginia at South Florida

West Virginia at South Florida


The Big East takes center stage in college football Friday night when South Florida plays host to West Virginia in Tampa. Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened WVU as a three-point favorite with a total of 48. As of early this morning, most books had the Mountaineers favored by three with the total in the 47-48 range. Bettors can take USF on the money line for a plus-130 return (risk $100 to win $130).

West Virginia (6-1 straight up, 2-4 against the spread) has won four in a row since suffering its lone loss of the year by a 41-30 count at Auburn back in Week 3. However, the ?Neers are 1-3 ATS in those four victories.

Once again, they failed to take the cash in last week?s 28-24 home win over UConn as eight-point home favorites. In fact, Bill Stewart?s squad needed Noel Devine?s 56-yard touchdown dash with 2:10 left to emerge with the outright victory.

Devine enjoyed a monster performance against the Huskies, who were trying to pull the upset in honor of their slain teammate, Jasper Howard. But Devine wouldn?t let it happen, rushing 23 times for 178 yards.


WVU senior QB Jarrett Brown completed 16-of-27 throws for 153 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Brown also had 10 carries for 41 yards, including a five-yard TD run. Tavon Austin returned the opening kickoff of the game 98 yards for a touchdown.

South Florida (5-2 SU, 3-3 ATS) started the season 5-0 but has been soundly beaten in back-to-back Big East contests. Two Thursdays ago, the Bulls played host to Cincinnati in a battle of undefeated squads. When the dust settled, the Bearcats remained unbeaten thanks to a 34-17 win as two-point road favorites.

Jim Leavitt?s team went down again last week at Pittsburgh, where the Panthers dealt out a 41-14 shellacking as 6 ?-point home favorites. Bill Stull threw for 245 yards and a pair of TDs, while Pitt freshman RB Dion Lewis had 111 rushing yards and one touchdown.

USF?s redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels inherited the starting job when senior Matt Grothe sustained a season-ending knee injury in a 59-0 win over Charleston Southern back on Sep. 19. Daniels got his first start in his hometown of Tallahassee, where he was a star athlete at Lincoln High School and garnered Tallahassee Democrat Player of the Year honors in both football and basketball in 2007.

On Sep. 26, Daniels returned home and led the Bulls to a 17-7 win at Florida State as 14-point road underdogs. Daniels threw for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Seminoles. He also ran for 126 yards on 23 carries.

Daniels followed up that performance by leading USF to a 34-20 win at Syracuse the following week. Bettors backing the Bulls cashed ticket as 7 ?-point road favorites, as Daniels threw for 208 yards and two TDs without an interception.

Since then, however, things have gone south for Daniels and the Bulls. He threw a pair of interceptions in both losses to Cincy and Pitt, as they were outscored by a combined tally of 75-31. For the season, Daniels has a team-high 415 rushing yards and four touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He has connected on just 53.1 percent of his passes for 864 yards with a 7/6 touchdown-interception ratio.

Brown had huge shoes to fill in taking over the starting QB job at West Virginia. After all, Pat White is the only QB in NCAA history to lead a school to four consecutive bowl victories. But Brown has risen to the occasion.

Through seven games, he is completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,362 yards with a 9/6 TD-INT ratio. Brown is also averaging 4.2 YPC and has a pair of TD runs.

Brown has the luxury of handing off to Devine, one of the country?s most explosive offensive players. Devine is seventh in the nation and second in the Big East in rushing yards with 912. The junior has 10 rushing TDs and is averaging 6.7 YPC.

Brown?s go-to guy in the passing game is junior WR Jock Sanders, who has 53 receptions for 513 yards and two TD catches.

When West Virginia came down to Tampa in 2007, it dominated USF in first downs (21-13) and yardage (437-274). However, the Bulls captured a 21-13 win as seven-point home underdogs. Last year in Morgantown, WVU exacted revenge in a 13-7 triumph, but USF backers were winners catching seven points.

WVU covered the number in its only road favorite spot so far this year, trashing Syracuse 34-13 as a 10-point ?chalk? at the Carrier Dome. USF went down in its only home ?dog situation, the aforementioned loss to Cincy.

The ?over? is 4-2 overall for USF, 2-0 in its home games. Regardless of the venue, the Bulls have seen three straight ?overs.? The ?over? is also 4-2 overall for WVU, 1-1 in its road assignments. However, the ?under? has cashed in four consecutive head-to-head meetings between these schools.

Rain is not expected Friday in Tampa, while temperatures are forecasted to be in the 70s.

ESPN2 will provide television coverage at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.



--Since 2002, USF owns a 6-5 spread record as a home underdog.

--Idaho failed to cover the number for the first time this season in last week?s 70-45 loss at Nevada as a 16-point road underdog. On the flip side, Illinois did take the cash for the first time in 2009, but the Illini still lost 24-14 at Purdue as a 10 ?-point road underdog. Nevertheless, the Illinois AD has come out strong in support of Ron Zook, who took the school to the Rose Bowl two years ago but has a 10-32 record if you take out the 9-4 campaign of 2007. But seriously, what else is the AD going to say in late October?

--Minnesota WR Eric Decker, an All-American candidate, is out for the rest of the regular season with a strained foot suffered in Saturday?s loss at Ohio St. Decker has 50 receptions for 783 yards and five touchdowns. Head coach Tim Brewster is optimistic Decker could return for a potential bowl game if the 4-4 Gophers garner an invite. They have three straight home games looming (vs. Michigan St., Illinois and South Dakota St.) before closing the regular season at Iowa.

--Kentucky cornerback Trevard Lindley, one of the nation?s premier cover corners, is expected to miss his fourth straight game this week with an ankle injury. In addition, LB Micah Johnson is "doubtful" for the 4-3 Wildcats, who are set to host Mississippi St. as 3 ?-point home favorites Saturday in Lexington. Johnson has a strained MCL. When UK left spring practice, it felt it had three All-American candidates in Johnson, Lindley and DE Jeremy Jarmon, who was ruled inelgible. None of the three are expected on the field this weekend.

--Florida?s non-cover in its 29-19 win at Mississippi St. as a 22-point road ?chalk? ended an 8-0 ATS run for the Gators as road favorites. On several radio shows this week, I've been asked, "what's wrong with Florida?" My answer: Nothing. The Gators lead the SEC in scoring offense (35.3 PPG), scoring defense (10.1 PPG), total offense (457 YPG) and total defense (229.6 YPG). They are also unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country. If that represents "problems," then we should all aspire to have problems.

 

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Preview:
West Virginia at South Florida
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, October 30, 2009
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Quick Hits

Overall Team Offense

The South Florida Bulls are ranked 60 on offense, averaging 379.4 yards per game. The Bulls are averaging 177.7 yards rushing and 201.7 yards passing so far this season.

The West Virginia Mountaineers are ranked 28 on offense, averaging 420.9 yards per game. The Mountaineers are averaging 191.7 yards rushing and 229.1 yards passing so far this season.

Home and Away

The South Florida Bulls are 2-1 at home this season, 1-2 against conference opponents and 4-0 against non-conference opponents.

At home the Bulls are averaging 38.7 scoring, and holding teams to 13.7 points scored on defense.

The West Virginia Mountaineers are 1-1 while on the road this season, 2-0 against conference opponents and 4-1 against non-conference opponents.

On the road, the Mountaineers are averaging 32.0 scoring, and holding teams to 27.0 points scored on defense.

 

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Trends - No. 20 West Virginia at South Florida

Trends - No. 20 West Virginia at South Florida

Trends - No. 20 West Virginia at South Florida

ATS Trends

West Virginia
Mountaineers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 conference games.
Mountaineers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games on grass.
Mountaineers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Mountaineers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games in October.
Mountaineers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a S.U. win.
Mountaineers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite.
Mountaineers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Mountaineers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Mountaineers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss.
Mountaineers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
Mountaineers are 1-7 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.


South Florida

Bulls are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game.
Bulls are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
Bulls are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog.
Bulls are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 home games.
Bulls are 3-11 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game.
Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog of 0.5-3.0.
Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in October.


OU Trends

West Virginia

Over is 4-1 in Mountaineers last 5 games on grass.
Under is 4-1 in Mountaineers last 5 Friday games.
Over is 4-1 in Mountaineers last 5 vs. a team with a winning record.
Over is 4-1 in Mountaineers last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Over is 9-3 in Mountaineers last 12 games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Over is 5-2 in Mountaineers last 7 games overall.
Over is 5-2 in Mountaineers last 7 games following a ATS loss.
Over is 7-3 in Mountaineers last 10 games following a S.U. win.


South Florida

Over is 5-1 in Bulls last 6 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Bulls last 5 games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Under is 4-1 in Bulls last 5 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Bulls last 5 games overall.
Over is 9-3 in Bulls last 12 home games.
Under is 6-2 in Bulls last 8 vs. a team with a winning record.
Under is 10-4 in Bulls last 14 games as an underdog.
Over is 5-2 in Bulls last 7 games following a ATS loss.
Over is 14-6 in Bulls last 20 games on grass.

 

[Lumi]

South Florida Bulls (2-2) (0-1 H) vs West Virginia Mountaineers (5-0) (1-0 A)

Game Time: 8:00 p.m. EDT Friday, October 30

Stadium: Raymond James Stadium Surface: Grass




RECORD ANALYSIS
STRAIGHT-UP VS. SPREAD OVER/UNDER
West Virginia Mountaineers HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL

Year-to-Date 5 - 0 1 - 1 6 - 1 1 - 3 1 - 1 2 - 4 3 - 1 1 - 1 4 - 2
Last 5 games 3 - 0 1 - 1 4 - 1 0 - 3 1 - 1 1 - 4 2 - 1 1 - 1 3 - 2
YTD vs. Conf. 1 - 0 1 - 0 2 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 1
STRAIGHT-UP VS. SPREAD OVER/UNDER
South Florida Bulls HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL
Year-to-Date 2 - 1 3 - 1 5 - 2 0 - 1 2 - 2 2 - 3 1 - 0 2 - 1 3 - 1
Last 5 games 1 - 1 2 - 1 3 - 2 0 - 1 2 - 1 2 - 2 1 - 0 2 - 1 3 - 1
YTD vs. Conf. 0 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 2 0 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 2 1 - 0 2 - 0 3 - 0
AWAY VS. SPREAD HOME VS. SPREAD
Year-to-Date FAV DOG GRASS TURF FAV DOG GRASS TURF
West Virginia Mountaineers 1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 3 0 - 0 0 - 0 1 - 3
South Florida Bulls 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 0 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 0 0 - 1



TEAM LOGS/SCHEDULE:
( * = overtime)

West Virginia Mountaineers
LINE OVER/UNDER
DATE DAY OPP SCORE SU OPEN CLOSE ATS &
MARGIN OPEN CLOSE O/U &
MARGIN G/T
09/05/09 Sat LIB 33 - 20 W 0 0 W 13 0 0 O +-53.0 T
09/12/09 Sat ECA 35 - 20 W -7.5 -6 W 9 43 44 O +-11.0 T
09/19/09 Sat @AUB 30 - 41 L +4.5 +7 L -4 51 52 O +-19.0 G
10/01/09 Thu CO 35 - 24 W -15 -17 L -6 54 55.5 O +- 3.5 T
10/10/09 Sat @SYR 34 - 13 W -10.5 -10 W 11 52 55 U -8.0 T
10/17/09 Sat MRSHL 24 - 7 W -17 -20 L -3 52.5 51.5 U -20.5 T
10/24/09 Sat CT 28 - 24 W -7 -7.5 L -3.5 46 46.5 O +- 5.5 T


South Florida Bulls
LINE OVER/UNDER
DATE DAY OPP SCORE SU OPEN CLOSE ATS &
MARGIN OPEN CLOSE O/U &
MARGIN G/T
09/05/09 Sat WOF 40 - 7 W 0 0 W 33 0 0 O +-47.0 T
09/12/09 Sat @WKTY 35 - 13 W -24.5 -26 L -4 0 0 O +-48.0 G
09/19/09 Sat CHARSC 59 - 0 W 0 0 W 59 0 0 O +-59.0 T
09/26/09 Sat @FLST 17 - 7 W +12 +14 W 24 48 50.5 U -26.5 G
10/03/09 Sat @SYR 34 - 20 W -9 -7.5 W 6.5 47 47.5 O +- 6.5 T
10/15/09 Thu CIN 17 - 34 L -1.5 +1.5 L -15.5 49.5 49 O +- 2.0 T
10/24/09 Sat @PITT 14 - 41 L +7 +6.5 L -20.5 48 48.5 O +- 6.5 T



PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

LINE OVER/UNDER
DATE DAY VIS SC HOM SC OPEN CLOSE ATS &
MARGIN OPEN CLOSE O/U &
MARGIN G/T
11/25/06 Sat SFLA 24 WV 19 -21.0 -22.0 WV --27 56.0 54.0 U -11 T
09/28/07 Fri WV 13 SFLA 21 +8.5 +7 SFLA +15 58.0 56.5 U -22.5 T
12/06/08 Sat SFLA 7 WV 13 -7.5 -7.0 WV --1 48.0 47.0 U -27 T




STATISTICAL AVERAGES:


AWAY/HOME RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
WV (off) 32.0 21 40 167 4.2 38 25 0.7 280 7.4 447 2.5 1.0
SFLA (def) 13.7 14 35 140 4.0 24 12 0.5 127 5.3 267 0.7 1.0
RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
WV (def) 27.0 15 33 86 2.6 29 15 0.5 225 7.8 311 1.0 0.5
SFLA (off) 38.7 22 38 196 5.2 29 19 0.7 230 7.9 426 1.0 0.3
ALL GAMES RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
WV (off) 31.3 20 38 192 5.1 29 19 0.7 229 7.9 421 1.0 1.7
SFLA (def) 17.4 17 34 133 3.9 30 17 0.6 181 6.0 314 1.3 1.3
RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
WV (def) 21.3 17 31 86 2.8 37 19 0.5 236 6.4 322 1.7 0.6
SFLA (off) 30.9 18 38 177 4.7 23 14 0.6 202 8.8 379 1.3 0.7



SCORING AVERAGES:

West Virginia Mountaineers (away) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 17.5 6.5 24 4.5 3.5 0.0 8
POINTS ALLOWED 5.0 5.0 10 6.5 10.5 0.0 17



South Florida Bulls (home) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 11.7 8.7 20.4 10.3 8.0 0.0 18.3
POINTS ALLOWED 3.3 4.7 8 2.3 3.3 0.0 5.6



West Virginia Mountaineers (all) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 9.4 8.1 17.5 5.7 8.0 0.0 13.7
POINTS ALLOWED 6.3 5.7 12 3.3 6.0 0.0 9.3



South Florida Bulls (all) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 7.0 8.7 15.7 8.3 6.9 0.0 15.2
POINTS ALLOWED 3.3 7.3 10.6 2.4 4.4 0.0 6.8



VALUE INDEX COMPARISON TO LAS VEGAS LINE:

LV POINTSPREAD VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX
OPEN CURRENT RATING LINE EDGE
West Virginia Mountaineers 63.5 -6.5 3.5
South Florida Bulls 53
LV OVER/UNDER VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX
OPEN CURRENT RATING EDGE
OVER/UNDER 42 UNKNOWN

 

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(20) West Virginia (6-1) at South Florida (5-2)



Friday, October 30th, 8:00 p.m. (et)




GAME NOTES: The 20th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers invade the Sunshine State this weekend, as they tangle with the South Florida Bulls in Big East action at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

The Mountaineers head into the bout with a full head of steam, as they have won four straight games since suffering their lone loss to Auburn (41-30) back on September 19th. Most recently, WVU hosted an emotionally charged UConn club and needed a late touchdown run to survive in a 28-24 decision this past weekend.

"We just found another way to win, whether it be on the ground or in the air, we found a way to win," said head coach Bill Stewart. "We very much stayed in- tune in the game."

WVU has now won 24 of its last 30 Big East games and is very much in the running for the league title this year. However, the team still has a tough road ahead and that includes a trip to Cincinnati and a home bout versus Pittsburgh in November.

As for the Bulls, they raced out of the gates with wins in each of their first five games, including an upset of Florida State, propelling them into the Top 25. USF however, was brought back to reality over the last few weeks, losing to two of the premier teams in the Big East. The Bulls were first handed a 34-17 setback by eighth-ranked Cincinnati before being trounced by 19th-ranked Pittsburgh, 41-14, this past weekend.

"Nobody likes to lose, but that was really encouraging to me that the guys were really battling," said head coach Jim Leavitt about his team's effort against Pitt. "I came away feeling a lot better about that part of it."

Leavitt and company will need to put last weekend's loss behind it, as USF is now set to face its third straight and fourth ranked opponent of the campaign. The Bulls and Mountaineers have split four prior encounters on the gridiron, with the Mountaineers capturing a 13-7 win in Morgantown last season.

Noel Devine capped off a terrific performance with a 56-yard touchdown run with 2:10 remaining, giving WVU a 28-24 win over UConn this past weekend.

"We left Noel the free safety to beat, and he beat him" said coach Stewart. "He just put the jets on and just burst right by him. It was an unbelievable run."

The speedy and elusive Devine finished the game with 178 yards on 23 carries, helping WVU amass 234 yards on the ground. Devine is certainly one of the fastest and most dangerous backs in the nation and he has already rushed for 912 yards and 10 touchdowns, while averaging 6.7 yards per carry. He is the primary reason for the team's solid rushing average of 191.7 ypg.

Another threat for the ground attack is quarterback Jarrett Brown, who has gone for 250 yards and two scores on the season. The dual-threat gunslinger is also a decent passer and is completing 67.1 percent of his tosses. Last weekend, Brown threw for 152 yards and a score, in addition to rushing for 41 yards and another touchdown.

Jock Sanders is clearly Brown's favorite target through the air and he pulled in eight balls for 81 yards last weekend. For the season, Sanders has recorded 53 receptions and 514 receiving yards for a WVU club that isn't all that known for its passing attack.

WVU's defense didn't have its best game last weekend, but the unit did come up big several times and forced four turnovers, including three picks to preserve the 28-24 win over UConn.

"Our defense came up with the stops when they had to and kept us in that game," coach Stewart stated. "They also came up with the big plays."

The Mountaineers have made some big plays on defense this season, as the unit has forced 16 turnovers, including 12 interceptions. The takeaways were certainly needed last weekend considering WVU allowed a whopping 501 yards of total offense to a UConn team that is by no means an offensive juggernaut. The Mountaineers are allowing only 322.6 total ypg, including just 86.3 rushing on the season, so it was a big surprise to see them get shredded by UConn.

Pat Lazear led the way for WVU with 11 stops and a forced fumble last weekend and he tops the roster with 43 tackles for the season.

The Bulls had next to nothing going for them on offense last weekend, as they managed only 212 yards in a lopsided loss to Pitt. The team turned the ball three times as well as allowing four sacks in a poor performance.

Quarterback B.J. Daniels was guilty of two of the turnovers on interceptions and he finished the game with just 54 yards on 4-of-8 pass attempts. He did pace the team with 50 rushing yards, but that was little consolation for a sub par effort.

"I am extremely proud of B.J. Daniels and how hard he is going," said coach Leavitt, obviously trying to keep his quarterback's confidence intact. "He has started four games now and he has won a couple and lost a couple."

The dual-threat, who stepped in after starter Matt Grothe was lost for the year, has had his up-and-downs, throwing for seven touchdowns, but with six picks. He has been most dangerous when the ball is tucked away, leading the Bulls with 415 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Carlton Mitchell is the team's top wideout with 410 receiving yards to his credit, while Moise Plancher leads the tailbacks with 299 yards and four scores.

Defensively, USF had all it could handle against Pitt and was torched for 486 total yards, well above the 314.6 ypg it is allowing on the season. Normally solid against the run, the Bulls surrendered 214 yards on the ground to Pitt, which averaged 5.1 yards per carry.

"Defensively we had some coverage breakdowns'" said Leavitt. "You can't let the receivers get over the top of you."

The Bulls gave up several pass plays of 20 or more yards and they allowed Pitt to complete 20-of-30 pass attempts with three scores through the air. The defense had allowed just four passing touchdowns prior to last weekend, so it was an obvious disappointment from this group.

Kion Wilson had 14 stops and the team's lone sack in the setback and he is still the squad's leading tackler, with 49 for the year.

The Mountaineers are playing with a lot of confidence right now and they should be able to continue their surge behind the electric running of Devine and a solid effort from the defense.

Predicted Outcome: West Virginia 24, South Florida 20

 

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College Football Matchup - (20) West Virginia at South Florida

College Football Matchup - (20) West Virginia at South Florida

College Football Matchup - (20) West Virginia at South Florida

(20) West Virginia Mountaineers (6-1) at South Florida Bulls (5-2)
Date: Friday, October 30th
Kickoff: 8 p.m. (et)
Site: Raymond James Stadium (65,857) -- Tampa, Florida
Surface: Bermuda Grass
Home Record: West Virginia 5-0; South Florida 2-1
Away Record: West Virginia 1-1; South Florida 3-1
Conference Record: West Virginia 2-0; South Florida 1-2
Current Road Win/Loss Streak: West Virginia 1W
Current Home Win/Loss Streak: South Florida 1L
Television: ESPN2
Announcers: Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore
All-Time Series: Tied (2-2)
Last Meeting: December 6, 2008 (West Virginia, 13-7 at West Virginia)
Series Streak: South Florida has won two of the last three meetings.

Season Schedule/Results
West Virginia Mountaineers
Sep 5 - W vs. Liberty, 33-20
Sep 12 - W vs. East Carolina, 35-20
Sep 19 - L at Auburn, 30-41
Sep 26 - Open
Oct 1 - W vs. Colorado, 35-24
Oct 10 - W at Syracuse, 34-13
Oct 17 - W vs. Marshall, 24-7
Oct 24 - W vs. Connecticut, 28-24
Oct 30 - at So Florida, 8:00 PM
Nov 7 - vs. Louisville, 12:00 PM
Nov 13 - at Cincinnati, 8:00 PM
Nov 21 - Open
Nov 27 - vs. Pittsburgh, TBA
Dec 5 - at Rutgers, TBA
South Florida Bulls
Sep 5 - W vs. Wofford, 40-7
Sep 12 - W at Western Ky, 35-13
Sep 19 - W vs. Char Southern, 59-0
Sep 26 - W at Florida State, 17-7
Oct 3 - W at Syracuse, 34-20
Oct 10 - Open
Oct 15 - L vs. Cincinnati, 17-34
Oct 24 - L at Pittsburgh, 14-41
Oct 30 - vs. West Virginia, 8:00 PM
Nov 7 - Open
Nov 12 - at Rutgers, 7:30 PM
Nov 21 - vs. Louisville, TBA
Nov 28 - vs. Miami-Florida, TBA
Dec 5 - at Connecticut, TBA