South Florida Preview
December 01, 2005 12:34 PM | General
December 1, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez says any notion that his team will take South Florida lightly was taken care once his players began watching tape of the Bulls. South Florida is talented, athletic, and extremely tough to beat at home.
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| Running back Steve Slaton has scored 15 touchdowns in his last five games.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“Not only have they not been behind at home, but it hasn’t even been close,” said Rodriguez.
South Florida (6-4, 4-2) has won all four of its home games this year against Florida A&M, Central Florida, Louisville and Cincinnati by an average of 24.3 points per game. The most impressive result was a 45-14 victory over No. 9-rated Louisville that knocked the Cardinals out of the national title hunt.
The Bulls operate an offensive system that is very similar to Rodriguez’ no-huddle spread offense. South Florida offensive coordinator Rod Smith played for Rodriguez at Glenville State. And while the schemes may be similar, each team’s method of attack is different.
“We’re running our quarterback and they’re not,” said Rodriguez. “They’re running him some but not to the extent that we are.”
But South Florida is running senior tailback Andre Hall quite a bit, to the tune of 120.9 yards per game. Rodriguez admits that on film Hall might be the best runner West Virginia has faced in the last couple of years.
“He runs behind his pads and runs low to the ground,” Rodriguez said. “He doesn’t give you a whole lot of surface to tackle. In the games I’ve watched we haven’t seen a lot of guys get good shots on him because of the way he runs and his athletic ability.”
The former JUCO All-American has already established himself as the most productive runner on South Florida history, rushing for 2,538 yards in just 21 games. Hall has run for more than 200 yards in a game three times for his career, including a 222-yard, three-TD performance in a win at Syracuse earlier this year. His career-best of 275 yards came at Alabama-Birmingham last year.
Hall is also the only USF back to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, gaining 1,357 yards last year and posting 1,181 yards heading into Saturday’s game against West Virginia.
“He’s got all of the tools and he’s the key to their offense, there’s no question in my mind,” Rodriguez said.
South Florida quarterback Pat Julmiste has made steady improvement since taking over the starting job in the second game of the season against Florida A&M. The 6-foot-3-inch, 220-pounder is completing 51 percent of his passes for 1,275 yards and six touchdowns. Andre Hall is USF’s top pass catcher with 21 receptions for 257 yards and a pair of TDs, but Julmiste likes to throw the ball up to a trio of tall receivers in 6-foot-5-inch Amarri Jackson, 6-foot-3-inch S.J. Green and 6-foot-5-inch Johnny Peyton.
Jackson, Green and Peyton have combined to catch 49 passes for 576 yards and four touchdowns.
“They’re going to throw the ball up,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve got big, tall wide receivers and they’re going to try and create some jump-ball situations.”
South Florida’s offensive has three seniors in the middle in left guard frank Davis, center John Miller and right guard Chris Carothers. The Bulls are expected to start a freshman at right tackle (Marc Dile) and a junior at left tackle (Theodric Watson).
“They used to be a little more spread but in the last four or five games they have been a little more tight end orientated,” Rodriguez said.
Defensively, Rodriguez is impressed with South Florida’s four-man defensive front of Jon Simmons, Allen Cray, Tim Jones and Terrence Royal. Cray (sophomore) is the only underclassman of the group.
“Up front they’re as fast and as athletic as anyone we’ve seen since Virginia Tech,” Rodriguez said.
Sophomore linebacker Ben Moffitt is USF’s top tackler with 78 total stops. Moffitt collected a season-high 14 tackles in the Louisville win and has also blocked a pair of punts against Pitt and Florida A&M.
South Florida has produced 34 sacks this year and is plus-eight in turnover margin.
“They’ve got a good scheme,” said Rodriguez. “They bring a lot of pressure and they’re got two experience coordinators; they’ve got athletes, too.”
South Florida ranks third in the Big East in total defense and 17th nationally giving up 304.9 yards per game. The Bulls are 30th nationally in rushing defense permitting 128.0 yards per game.
West Virginia’s defense is ranked second in the conference giving up 285.8 yards per game and is seventh in the country. WVU is first in the Big East in rushing defense and eight overall giving up just 94.3 yards per game.
“Our defensive system is so different than theirs,” Rodriguez mentioned. “Our system is based on an odd-stacked front which is unique in itself. Theirs is based on an even front and they do a lot of zone pressure and a lot of movement.”
As has been the case all year, West Virginia’s formula for success against South Florida will be its nationally ranked running game that is averaging 258.2 yards per game.
“We’ve got to establish the run game, but what formations we’re doing it out of and who’s doing it that’s yet to be seen,” Rodriguez said.
Freshman Steve Slaton has run 151 times for 838 yards and scored 13 touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Slaton has also caught a pair of TDs to lead the Mountaineers with 90 points.
Freshman quarterback Pat White ran for 220 yards in last Thursday night’s win over Pitt and now shows 698 yards and five touchdowns on 96 carries. White’s rushing total is the sixth highest among NCAA quarterbacks this year.
Fullback/tailback Owen Schmitt doesn’t get many carries but when he does run the ball he’s usually effective. The sophomore has run 34 times for 256 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. He is averaging a team-best 7.5 yards per rush.
White only attempted 10 passes in the seven-degree wind-chill conditions last Thursday night against Pitt, but is completing 54.4 percent of his passes for the year and has thrown six touchdowns.
Brandon Myles and Darius Reynaud are West Virginia’s top two receivers, catching 29 and 21 passes respectively.
Junior linebacker Kevin McLee leads a stout West Virginia defense with 71 tackles, six tackles for losses and a pair of sacks. Strong safety Mike Lorello shows 65 tackles, seven tackles for losses and three sacks. Sophomore Keilen Dykes leads the team with five sacks and seven tackles for losses.
Despite losing to UConn last Saturday to eliminate it from Big East title contention South Florida still has a great deal riding on this game, according to Rodriguez.
“Number one, this is their senior’s last home game which can never be overlooked,” he said. “Two, if you win you’re going to guarantee yourself a bowl slot. They are bowl eligible but being bowl eligible and going to a bowl is different.”
Saturday’s game is a make up of the postponement of the Oct. 22 date in South Florida due to Hurricane Wilma. This is the second time in two years South Florida has had to reschedule a home football game due to threatening weather.
Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm and there is no television for the contest. Fans can follow the action via the Internet by accessing CSTV All-Access or on Satellite Radio on Sirius channel 121. MSN air time is 7 pm.
CSTV will also provide live GameTracker stats for the game.
