Editor's note: Christian Alexander went 2-0 last Thursday by cashing the side and total in the Nebraska-Missouri game. Don't miss out on tonight's guaranteed winner!
#8 Cincinnati (5-0, 1-0 Big East) at #21 South Florida (5-0, 1-0 Big East)
7:45 PM ESPN
Raymond James Stadium (Natural Grass)
Sports.com Line: Cincinnati -2.5, O/U 49.5
ESPN is looking real smart right about now with its Thursday night matchup pitting two of the remaining nine undefeated teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. Not many folks would have picked South Florida and Cincinnati to be unscathed at this point in the season but it sure sets up an intriguing matchup in what should be a raucous Raymond James Stadium.
One might have envisioned Cincinnati being perfect through five games, although remember they were a five point dog to Rutgers to start the year, but nobody could have predicted this start for the South Florida Bulls. That’s especially true considering they lost one of their best players when QB Matt Grothe suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the Bulls' 59-0 blowout victory against Charleston Southern, ending his incredible USF career.
Coach Jim Leavitt plugged in redshirt freshman QB B.J. Daniels under center and the Bulls haven’t missed a beat on offense as the team is third in the league in total offense averaging 413.6 yards a game and are second in rushing (190.8). Individually, Daniels ranks eighth in the conference in rushing (58 ypg) and is seventh in passing (120 ypg), completing 57.1 percent of his attempts. Grothe who?
Daniels favorite target so far has been WR Carlton Mitchell, who leads the team with 21 catches for 377 yards and three touchdowns. Daniels, who hauled in an 85-yard touchdown reception in the win two weeks ago over Syracuse, is close to setting the USF record for receiving yards in just his junior year.
The one red flag for Leavitt’s crew on offense is the kicking game which has stumbled since the Bulls lost their starter, Maikon Bonani, to injury. Since that point Leavitt has tried a couple options and neither has been consistent. So far the kicking game hasn’t cost the Bulls but if this matchup comes down to a fourth quarter kick it could become a major issue.
On defense, the Bulls should look very familiar to the Bearcats, and not just because they play them every year. That’s because USF defensive coordinator Joe Tresey spent the past two seasons in that same role under head coach Brian Kelly at Cincinnati. Kelly fired Tresey following last season's Big East championship and Orange Bowl appearance saying he wanted to take the defense in a “different direction”.
As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another’s treasure and you can be sure that Leavitt is plenty happy with what Tresey is doing with the Bulls on defense thus far in 2009. South Florida currently ranks fifth in scoring defense, allowing less than 10 points per game and are holding opponents to a league-low 263 yards per game in total defense. USF has allowed opponents only four touchdowns in 13 trips inside their 20-yard line, making them No. 1 in red-zone defense.
The motor behind the USF defense is DE George Selvie who is constantly double and triple teamed to keep him from taking over games. That attention has kept his individual stats down but has allowed the Bulls defense to flourish.
Another key defender for South Florida this Thursday will be FS Nate Allen who is coming off a game against Syracuse in which he had two interceptions. Allen will try to slow down a Cincy passing game that is throwing for a Big East-high 298.4 yards a game. It would be very helpful if Selvie and crew can get some pressure on Cincy QB Tony Pike but he Bearcats have only given up three sacks in five games.
Pike will no doubt look early and often to WR Mardy Gilyard who has 38 receptions for 517 yards and seven touchdowns in just five games. The senior receiver is also a special teams terror, averaging 21.7 yards on kick returns.
Working a spread offense mainly out of the shotgun, Pike usually takes to the air but the Bearcats can run the ball with RB Jacob Ramsey, who torched Miami, Ohio for 103 yards and three touchdowns. Behind Pike and company Cincinnati ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense.
On defense, new Cincinnati coordinator Bob Diaco has the Bearcats running a 3-4 scheme and LB J.K. Schaffer has become a key contributor in just his sophomore season.
Cincy leads the all-time series 4-2 but the Bulls are 2-1 at home against the Bearcats. That said, the last time Cincy travelled to Tampa (2007), the Bearcats managed to pull out a victory, 38-33. Cincinnati also won last year's meeting, 24-10, at Nippert Stadium.
