#2 South Florida (6-0, 1-0 Big East) at Rutgers (4-2, 1-1 Big East)
Thursday, October 18
7:30 PM ET on ESPN
Rutgers Stadium (FieldTurf)
You certainly could have made a lot of money over the past few years going against Florida State and Miami. These two programs have become the definition of mediocre in a conference that defines mediocrity. No, this isn’t exactly the scenario the ACC envisioned when the Seminoles and later the 'Canes, Virginia Tech and Boston College joined the conference. Hey, at least the Eagles are having a nice season.
The point is, there was no real reason – outside of its now fading reputation – for FSU to be favored on the road last week by six points over the reigning ACC champ, Wake Forest. But as is often the case, the betting public is easily swayed by long-standing reputations and those very clearly signaled that the Seminoles should take down the Demon Deacons.
Of course, that didn’t happen as FSU melted down in the second half en route to its second loss of the season. Wake Forest as a 5 1/2-point 'dog was my third consecutive Thursday night winner and put my record for the year at 5-2.
One last note on FSU and Miami before we move on to this week’s game: The Canes and Noles hook up this weekend for their annual clash and it’s kind of depressing to consider this will be the first time since 1977 that neither team is ranked. If that’s not a sign of how far these two programs have fallen, nothing is.
Speaking of the ACC, when that conference raided all the supposed top talent from the Big East, many wondered what would become of the conference that now had West Virginia and Louisville as headliners. Those questions no longer linger as the Big East has had a magical run over the past few seasons to become the darlings of college football.
The magic really started at the end of the 2005 season when West Virginia pulled off a shocker, taking down the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl, 38-35. Even more impressive is the fact that the game was played in the Georgia Dome, practically making it a home game for the Bulldogs. That proved of little importance to Steve Slaton who rushed for a record 204 yards and three touchdowns.
At that point the Big East was marked as an up and coming conference with talented athletes that could play with anyone. But even the most die hard Big East supporter couldn’t have envisioned the great things that were yet to come for this conference or the programs that would deliver them.
Rutgers was easily the story of the year in 2006. And I’m not just talking about in the Big East – I’m talking in all of college football, heck maybe in all of sports.
The Scarlet Knights, long a laughing stock of college football, went 11-2 in 2006, capping their season by destroying Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl. Suddenly the Big East wasn’t just about the Mountaineers and Cardinals.
And just when you thought nothing could top the story of the Scarlet Knights, along comes South Florida.
There had been whispers that coach Jim Leavitt was building something special in Tampa but – not to get repetitive – I don’t think anyone saw this coming.
The Bulls, in only their 11th season of college football, their seventh season of I-A football, and third season in the Big East, are now sitting at #2 in the nation after racing out to a 6-0 record that includes wins at Auburn and against West Virginia. It’s laughable to consider their previous best start to a season was in 1998 when Leavitt and crew started 4-0 with victories over Slippery Rock, Valparaiso, Liberty and The Citadel.
Yeah, it’s safe to say this program has come a long way over the past 11 years.
And so it is that these two programs, both in the midst of what is easily the most success they have ever had in college football, will meet on Thursday night.
South Florida (4-1 ATS) boasts a solid, if not spectacular offense led by playmaker extraordinaire, QB Matt Grothe. As his stats would suggest, Grothe can burn defenses with his legs just as easily as he can with his arm. The sophomore from Lakeland, FL is coming off his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game while having already thrown for over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns.
But the calling card for this team is their rock solid defense. The Bulls rank 11th nationally in total defense and are led by LB Ben Moffitt and a pair of lockdown cornerbacks in Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams.
Often leaving Jenkins and Williams out on an island in single coverage, the South Florida defense is free to stuff the run and put intense pressure on the opposing quarterback.
Nasty defense is certainly nothing new to Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. After all, the Scarlet Knights (3-2 ATS) enter this Thursday just behind the Bulls in the national defensive rankings, at 14th.
But unlike South Florida, whose offense is ranked 58th in the nation, Rutgers also has a highly ranked (11th) offense.
Behind RB Ray Rice, QB Mike Teel and WR's Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt, the Scarlet Knights can torture defenses in multiple ways.
Rice is definitely the headliner and the Bulls know they will have their hands full. In two games against USF the junior has gained 360 yards, the most allowed by the Bulls to any running back.
In last year’s 22-20 win over USF, Rice rushed for 202 yards, making him the last running back to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bulls, a span of 15 consecutive games. That streak includes last week when USF shut down the nations’ leading rusher, Central Florida's Kevin Smith. Smith was averaging 172 yards, but was limited to 55 yards in a 64-12 beatdown.
This one certainly has all the markings of a great game and I would be very surprised if it wasn’t ultimately decided late in the 4th quarter.
There isn’t a great body of work to consider when reviewing the history between these two programs. This will be the third meeting between the schools, with the visiting team winning the previous two meetings.
