Post by dehayes35 on Sept 26, 2007 12:05:10 GMT -5
By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
September 26, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is preparing his team for an electric atmosphere on Friday night when the Mountaineers travel to Tampa to play South Florida at Raymond James Stadium.
West Virginia (4-0) has an opportunity to show the nation that it deserves its Top 5 national ranking, while South Florida’s meteoric rise could get an even bigger boost with a home victory over the No. 5 ranked team in the country.
They’re calling it the biggest home game in the 11-year history of the South Florida program. The school is expecting its first home sellout and should exceed the previous record for attendance by more than 20,000.
“We are playing a high quality team on the road at their place in supposedly the biggest game they have ever played,” Rodriguez said. “When you’re a highly ranked and you go and play somewhere people are going to sell out the stadium.”
The Bulls are 3-0 this season having defeated Elon, Auburn and North Carolina. In the North Carolina victory last weekend, USF’s defense limited the Tar Heels to just 79 yards rushing and 164 total yards in a 37-10 victory. Opponents are averaging just 79 yards per game on the ground against the Bulls and have committed 11 turnovers.
In South Florida’s 26-23 overtime win at Auburn, the Bulls forced five Tiger turnovers.
“Turnovers will play a part in it and with any emotional game you need to limit negative yardage plays,” Rodriguez said. “That includes penalties, tackles for losses and all of that.”
South Florida boasts the nation’s top pass rusher in 6-foot-2-inch, 242-pound sophomore defensive end George Selvie, who leads the nation with 8 ½ sacks to go with 14 ½ tackles for losses. Selvie broke the school record with six tackles for losses against Elon and is already just two sacks shy of breaking the school single season record.
Selvie scored a touchdown in last year’s game in Morgantown, picking up a Patrick White fumble at the West Virginia nine and running it in.
“Everybody says you should double but you have got to run what you run,” Rodriguez said when asked about how he plans to account for Selvie. “We played Dwight Freeney at Syracuse and he was a great pass rusher off the edge. You want to have some help on some passing plays where you could chip him or put a double team on him but it’s really hard to do without disrupting your whole offense.”
West Virginia must also contend with a couple of professional-caliber corners in Trae Williams and Mike Jenkins.
“They’re very talented,” Rodriguez said. “They’re two of the more talented ones in our entire league and they do a great job not just in the pass game but also in the run game as well. They’re very explosive players and I think they’ve got tremendous futures ahead of them.”
Rodriguez is equally impressed with South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe, whom he believes is the focal point of everything the Bulls do offensively.
Grothe is making a name for himself in the quarterback heavy Big East, completing 58 of 96 passes for 652 yards and four touchdowns so far in three games. In last week’s win at North Carolina the sophomore completed 17 of 30 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s the key to their entire team,” Rodriguez said. “You can just tell he’s their emotional leader. He’s a tough guy that runs and throws and will do whatever it takes.”
This year Grothe has been aided by one of the top running back recruits in the Big East in 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound freshman Mike Ford. In three games Ford has run for a team-best 170 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. The Bulls are averaging a respectable 154.7 yards per game on the ground to give new South Florida offensive coordinator Greg Gregory a balanced attack.
Gregory was moved up to his present role when Rod Smith left to take the West Virginia job last winter. Smith was also joined by offensive line coach Greg Frey. Rodriguez says having two former South Florida coaches on his staff won’t make that much of a difference in the game.
“I think it’s overrated because everyone is going to change things through the spring and summer,” Rodriguez said. “The only thing that Greg and Rod may be able to give us is more insight on individual players. They may know some of their strengths and weaknesses but for the most part you are going to get that on film anyway.”
West Virginia has defeated Western Michigan, Marshall, Maryland and East Carolina in a span of 22 days but was only really tested in the first half of the Marshall game, trailing the Herd 13-6 at the break. The Mountaineers went on to score 42 second-half points to run away with a 48-23 victory.
Two weeks ago at Maryland, West Virginia led 14-7 at halftime before using a 14-point third quarter to take a commanding 28-7 lead.
West Virginia’s defense came of age against the Terps, holding Maryland to just 269 yards of offense. Last weekend in a 48-7 victory over East Carolina West Virginia limited the Pirates to 162 yards of offense and a late touchdown.
“I think their confidence is starting to grow,” Rodriguez said of his defense. “We do have more experience there than we did last year. They’ve played well in stretches the first couple of games but at times we didn’t play as well as we’d like.
“In the Maryland game they got more confidence and certainly in the last game they played with a whole lot of confidence and really did an outstanding job.”
Offensively against the Pirates quarterback Patrick White played a near flawless game, completing 18 of 20 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. White is completing 71 percent of his passes this season for 617 yards and six touchdowns.
He is also second on the team in rushing with 286 yards and six touchdowns. Junior running back Steve Slaton has run for more than 100 yards in all four games this year and shows a team-best 502 yards and nine touchdowns.
True freshman Noel Devine has run for 267 yards and three touchdowns and has an 11.1 yards-per-carry average.
Darius Reynaud is the team’s top receiver with 23 catches for 335 yards and four touchdowns.
Linebackers Reed Williams, Mortty Ivy and Marc Magro are West Virginia’s top three tacklers with 35, 29 and 24 tackles respectively. Ivy and Magro each have four sacks.
“I’m anxious to see if we can keep getting better defensively,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the thing I have been pleased with. I think we have improved every game defensively not just in keeping the points down but also fundamentally.”
Kickoff is set for 8 pm and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN (Sean McDonough, Chris Speilman and Rob Stone). Fans can also listen to the game on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 123 or on the Internet through CSTV All-Access.
September 26, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is preparing his team for an electric atmosphere on Friday night when the Mountaineers travel to Tampa to play South Florida at Raymond James Stadium.
West Virginia (4-0) has an opportunity to show the nation that it deserves its Top 5 national ranking, while South Florida’s meteoric rise could get an even bigger boost with a home victory over the No. 5 ranked team in the country.
They’re calling it the biggest home game in the 11-year history of the South Florida program. The school is expecting its first home sellout and should exceed the previous record for attendance by more than 20,000.
“We are playing a high quality team on the road at their place in supposedly the biggest game they have ever played,” Rodriguez said. “When you’re a highly ranked and you go and play somewhere people are going to sell out the stadium.”
The Bulls are 3-0 this season having defeated Elon, Auburn and North Carolina. In the North Carolina victory last weekend, USF’s defense limited the Tar Heels to just 79 yards rushing and 164 total yards in a 37-10 victory. Opponents are averaging just 79 yards per game on the ground against the Bulls and have committed 11 turnovers.
In South Florida’s 26-23 overtime win at Auburn, the Bulls forced five Tiger turnovers.
“Turnovers will play a part in it and with any emotional game you need to limit negative yardage plays,” Rodriguez said. “That includes penalties, tackles for losses and all of that.”
South Florida boasts the nation’s top pass rusher in 6-foot-2-inch, 242-pound sophomore defensive end George Selvie, who leads the nation with 8 ½ sacks to go with 14 ½ tackles for losses. Selvie broke the school record with six tackles for losses against Elon and is already just two sacks shy of breaking the school single season record.
Selvie scored a touchdown in last year’s game in Morgantown, picking up a Patrick White fumble at the West Virginia nine and running it in.
“Everybody says you should double but you have got to run what you run,” Rodriguez said when asked about how he plans to account for Selvie. “We played Dwight Freeney at Syracuse and he was a great pass rusher off the edge. You want to have some help on some passing plays where you could chip him or put a double team on him but it’s really hard to do without disrupting your whole offense.”
West Virginia must also contend with a couple of professional-caliber corners in Trae Williams and Mike Jenkins.
“They’re very talented,” Rodriguez said. “They’re two of the more talented ones in our entire league and they do a great job not just in the pass game but also in the run game as well. They’re very explosive players and I think they’ve got tremendous futures ahead of them.”
Rodriguez is equally impressed with South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe, whom he believes is the focal point of everything the Bulls do offensively.
Grothe is making a name for himself in the quarterback heavy Big East, completing 58 of 96 passes for 652 yards and four touchdowns so far in three games. In last week’s win at North Carolina the sophomore completed 17 of 30 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s the key to their entire team,” Rodriguez said. “You can just tell he’s their emotional leader. He’s a tough guy that runs and throws and will do whatever it takes.”
This year Grothe has been aided by one of the top running back recruits in the Big East in 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound freshman Mike Ford. In three games Ford has run for a team-best 170 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. The Bulls are averaging a respectable 154.7 yards per game on the ground to give new South Florida offensive coordinator Greg Gregory a balanced attack.
Gregory was moved up to his present role when Rod Smith left to take the West Virginia job last winter. Smith was also joined by offensive line coach Greg Frey. Rodriguez says having two former South Florida coaches on his staff won’t make that much of a difference in the game.
“I think it’s overrated because everyone is going to change things through the spring and summer,” Rodriguez said. “The only thing that Greg and Rod may be able to give us is more insight on individual players. They may know some of their strengths and weaknesses but for the most part you are going to get that on film anyway.”
West Virginia has defeated Western Michigan, Marshall, Maryland and East Carolina in a span of 22 days but was only really tested in the first half of the Marshall game, trailing the Herd 13-6 at the break. The Mountaineers went on to score 42 second-half points to run away with a 48-23 victory.
Two weeks ago at Maryland, West Virginia led 14-7 at halftime before using a 14-point third quarter to take a commanding 28-7 lead.
West Virginia’s defense came of age against the Terps, holding Maryland to just 269 yards of offense. Last weekend in a 48-7 victory over East Carolina West Virginia limited the Pirates to 162 yards of offense and a late touchdown.
“I think their confidence is starting to grow,” Rodriguez said of his defense. “We do have more experience there than we did last year. They’ve played well in stretches the first couple of games but at times we didn’t play as well as we’d like.
“In the Maryland game they got more confidence and certainly in the last game they played with a whole lot of confidence and really did an outstanding job.”
Offensively against the Pirates quarterback Patrick White played a near flawless game, completing 18 of 20 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. White is completing 71 percent of his passes this season for 617 yards and six touchdowns.
He is also second on the team in rushing with 286 yards and six touchdowns. Junior running back Steve Slaton has run for more than 100 yards in all four games this year and shows a team-best 502 yards and nine touchdowns.
True freshman Noel Devine has run for 267 yards and three touchdowns and has an 11.1 yards-per-carry average.
Darius Reynaud is the team’s top receiver with 23 catches for 335 yards and four touchdowns.
Linebackers Reed Williams, Mortty Ivy and Marc Magro are West Virginia’s top three tacklers with 35, 29 and 24 tackles respectively. Ivy and Magro each have four sacks.
“I’m anxious to see if we can keep getting better defensively,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the thing I have been pleased with. I think we have improved every game defensively not just in keeping the points down but also fundamentally.”
Kickoff is set for 8 pm and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN (Sean McDonough, Chris Speilman and Rob Stone). Fans can also listen to the game on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 123 or on the Internet through CSTV All-Access.
