No.24 South Florida Slight Favorites Over Rutgers On Thursday

Sports News - November 11th, 2009 - Written by Scott

No. 24 South Florida has finally ended their three game stretch against ranked opponents and will now look to face their Big East Rival Rutgers on Thursday night. The Bulls (6-2, 2-2) were 5-0 heading into the past three games and managed only one win, which came last week against West Virginia. The Scarlet Knights (6-2, 1-2) are coming off a close win over Connecticut two weeks ago and have now won six of their last seven games after their season opening loss to Cincinnati. It appears that both teams will need alot of help to be in the hunt for the conference title, but there will be plenty of motivation for South Florida as they have lost three straight to Rutgers, including last year's 49-16 route.

South Florida is led by their versatile freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels. Daniels has the ability to hurt teams both through the air and on the ground. He has thrown for 1,096 yards and 10 touchdowns and is the team's leading rusher with 519 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Bulls have also gotten steady play from running back Moise Plancher who has rushed for 385 yards and 4 touchdowns. They will need to establish their running game with Plancher in order to take the pressure off Daniels. South Florida has a great playmaker at receiver in Carlton Mitchell who has 542 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. Mitchell is coming off an ankle injury, but should be ready to go on Thursday.

The Bulls have two of the best pass rushers in the nation in George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul. It will be key for South Florida to get pressure on Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage, who is third in the Big East in passing yards per game.

The key to Rutgers' success has been their ability not to turn the ball over. Since the season opener, they have only committed 4 turnovers in 7 games. Savage is their leader on offense and has thrown for 1,341 yards and 8 touchdowns, with just 1 pick. Establishing a running game will be key for the Scarlet Knights and they are led by Joe Martinek who has rushed for 601 yards and 7 touchdowns. Their playmaker at receiver is Tim Brown who is averaging 21.9 yards per catch. He has 811 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns on the year.

The Scarlet Knights bring to the game a defense that ranks 3rd in the Big East and is allowing 322.9 yards per game. They have also forced 25 turnovers which could be key against South Florida and forcing Daniels to make freshman mistakes could give them the edge.

South Florida will be favored on the road by 1 according to Betus sportsbook with an over/under set at 45 1/2. The Bulls will look to end their 3 game skid against Rutgers as they continue to move up in the NCAA College Football Standings.

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