West Virginia: Coldest USF game ever?

The news that USF's regular-season finale Saturday at West Virginia will have an 8 p.m. kickoff begs a chilling question: Will this be the coldest football game in Bulls history?

The Bulls have only played two games with temperatures below 40 degrees at kickoff -- they won at Pittsburgh last season in 35 degree weather, and lost at Connecticut in 2005 in a game that was 33 degrees at kickoff, dropping into the 20s during the game.

The 10-day forecast at Weather.com has Saturday with a high of 40 degrees and a low of 25 -- that's Fahrenheit, not the 25 degrees Celsius we had in Tampa this weekend. Snow is forecasted in Morgantown on Thursday and Friday, so you could easily have snow on the ground for Saturday's game.

When the Bulls won at West Virginia two years ago, they dodged the cold weather completely, with the temperature at kickoff an unseasonably warm 59 degrees. They won't be as lucky this time around ...

Attinella's three blocked PKs: 'Unheard of'

I like penalty-kick shootouts.

I know, it's like saying you like the designated hitter. Penalty kicks, I agree, are an abrupt way to decide a college game played remarkably closely by two teams for 110 minutes. Having said that, they're one of the most exciting things in sports -- simple and decisive.

Throughout the regular season, if a soccer game is tied after overtime, it ends in a tie. In the postseason, when one team must advance, soccer turns to penalty kicks. Each team picks five players, and they each get one shot on goal, alternating between teams.

Before hosting the Big East tournament, USF set up temporary bleachers behind each goal -- just little four-row portable deals, but they give fans a chance to get right behind the net. USF didn't take a penalty kick all season, and its opponents took two. Bulls keeper Jeff Attinella blocked them both.

So USF coach George Kiefer had confidence going into overtime against UNC Greensboro, telling his team if the game went to penalty kicks, Attinella would win the game for them. Penalty kicks are at such a close distance that a single save in a shootout is impressive -- two is outstanding. Three, as Kiefer said, is unheard of.

UNCG should not be in penalty kicks in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans finished the regular season 5-11-2, got three upsets in the Southern Conference tournament to get an NCAA Tournament spot, then knocked off Duke and Loyola (Md.) to reach Saturday's game. They'd scored two minutes into the second half against USF, leading for 35 minutes until Jordan Seabrook scored with 7:25 remaining, putting in a rebound after Zak Boggs' header went off the right post.

"Our team fought really hard to get us to that position," Attinella said. "Down 1-0, there were about 20 minutes there where you could tell we were thinking our season was over. We fought hard, and were fortunate to get into that situation."

UNCG got the first kick, and Attinella stopped it cold, guessing correctly and blocking a low kick to his right. Joris Claessens, a senior who had played in only five games this season, has USF's first kick, and he sends it high and to the left. You could hear it nick off the UNCG keeper's glove just before it went into the net. 1-0, USF.

The Spartans kick again, and again, Attinella guesses right, going low to his left for a second stop. USF's Javed Mohammed converts his kick, low and to the right. 2-0, USF, meaning any combination of two Bulls kicks or Spartans misses will give USF the win.

UNCG converts its third kick, as the shot goes low and left as Attinella dives right. USF's Jason Devenish answers, however, with a shot that's low and to the left, giving USF a 3-1 lead. One more kick or one more Attinella save and the Bulls are in the Elite Eight.

UNCG's E.J. O'Keefe lines up for the fourth kick, knowing a miss will end the Spartans' wild season, as the first team ever to make the Sweet 16 with a losing record. Their coach, Michael Parker, is the winningest active coach in college soccer, and this is the first losing season he's ever had. Soccer games that go to penalty kicks don't count as losses or wins -- they're officially draws (ties) toward a team's record, and UNCG advanced to their conference championship game by winning on penalty kicks, so they had fresh experience with shootouts.

O'Keefe's kick is high and to the left, but Attinella guesses right, and punches his left hand out to block it away. USF doesn't even need its final two kicks -- the Bulls have won. The crowd -- announced at 1,823 fans, and that was before they started spilling over from basketball -- goes crazy, and USF has finished its season unbeaten on its home field.

With a Big East championship and as one of eight teams that will still be alive in the NCAA Tournament after this weekend, Kiefer's soccer team is having one of the greatest seasons in any sport in USF history. The Bulls will find out Sunday who they will face in next weekend's quarterfinals, and it'll likely be top-seeded Wake Forest, the defending national champions and college soccer's dominant team this season.

"We know we have a special team here," Attinella said. "We've been working really hard this entire year for a situation like this."

Attinella keys soccer win in penalty kicks

USF got a tying goal from Jordan Seabrook with seven minutes left in regulation, then beat UNC-Greensboro 3-1 in penalty kicks, getting three saves from keeper Jeff Attinella to advance to the NCAA's Elite Eight.

The win matches USF's deepest NCAA Tournament run ever and allows the Bulls to finish their season unbeaten at home. Attinella stopped UNC-G's first two penalty kicks, and a crowd of 1,823 erupted when he punched the clinching shot away.

"I said it to the team going into overtime, that if we go to PKs, Jeff will win the game for us," coach George Kiefer said. "He's got a knack for reading them, so we feel good when we go to them with him in goal. It takes pressure off our shooters as well, because you know Jeff's going to make a save or two. But three? That's unheard of."

UNC-Greensboro (10-11-3) had won five straight to win the Southern Conference crown and two NCAA Tournament games. The Bulls (15-4-3) now play next weekend against the winner of Sunday's game between Dartmouth and top-seeded Wake Forest.

Bulls get really defensive in 55-37 win

TAMPA -- It wasn't a record-setting defensive performance, but it came awfully close for USF in Saturday night's 55-37 win against Northeastern in the Sun Dome.

"I thought it was our best performance, maybe even last year as well, especially from the defensive end," said coach Stan Heath, whose team allowed the second-fewest points in USF's 38 seasons of basketball. "We really defended well."

The Bulls (3-1) held Northeastern (3-3) to 11 points in the first half on 13.7 percent shooting -- it wasn't until two minutes remained in the game that the Huskies shot well enough to avoid the worst opposing shooting percentage in Bulls history. They finished at 24.1 percent; the record of 23.3 came against Florida Atlantic in 2005.

The Bulls, who shot 46.3 percent as a team, got 19 points from guard Dominique Jones and another strong game from forward Aris Williams, who had 11 points, matching the career high he set in Tuesday's win against High Point.

Jones had four assists and two steals, but missed four 3-pointers, dropping him to 1-for-15 on the season.

"His best (performance) this year, clearly," Heath said. "Good all-around floor game. His best defensive performance. Free throws, 8-for-8, terrific. Now if we can get him to make a three, we're in business."

Heath said the key to the game was guard Chris Howard's defense on Huskies guard Matt Janning, who came in averaging 20 points per game. He went 1-for-11 from the field, scoring 3 points. Northeastern already had a road win against a Big East team this season, having won at Providence.

It was an ugly start for the Bulls, who trailed 11-10 with 5:20 left in the first half. USF ended the half on a 12-0 run, however, and Northeastern got no closer than 11 in the second half. The game drew an announced crowd of 2,818 to the Sun Dome.

In its history, USF had held opponents under 40 points just four times, and only one (against UNC-Wilmington in 1995) in the past 23 years. The record low of 34 points came against St. Peter's in 1985. Northeastern scored eight points in the final three minutes to avoid that record.

The Bulls' next two games are on the road, with a game at Alabama-Birmingham on Wednesday, then a trip to Central Florida on Saturday. They return home Dec. 14 against Niagara.

Bulls in control, up 39-23 on Northeastern

There's still a little intrigue here at the Sun Dome as to whether either of USF's all-time defensive records can fall against Northeastern. The Bulls lead 39-23 with 7:46 to play, so both are within reasonable range -- the low for points allowed is 34, set by St. Peter's in 1985, and the low for opposing shooting percentage is 23.3 percent, set by FAU in 2005.

Northeastern, buoyed by 23 percent shooting in the second half, is up to 16.7 percent for the game -- another four or five field goals and they'll probably get safely above the FAU mark. The points, too, could come down to the final minute. Guard Matt Janning, who came in averaging 20 points per game, is 0-for-8 tonight with one point.

Dominique Jones has 16 points to lead USF, which is shooting 46.9 percent from the field.

Dominique 14, Northeastern 14

Rough, rough night for Northeastern basketball, which has raised its shooting percentage to 14.7 percent -- that's 5-for-34 -- but trails USF 30-14 six minutes into the second half.

Again, this is a Northeastern team that got a road win at Providence, so it'd be a nice win for USF if the Bulls don't collapse. RIght now, the more engaging battle is USF guard Dominique Jones vs. Northeastern -- he has 14 points, so he's tied with his opponent, all by himself.

USF is in a bit of tenuous position with fouls, with 13 minutes left and Jones, Alex Rivas Sanchez and B.J. Ajayi all with three fouls. As long as nobody gets their fourth real soon, shouldn't be a problem for USF.

Women's hoops beats Texas Tech, 71-61

Another huge win for USF women's basketball, which beat Texas Tech 71-61 in the Virgin Islands on Saturday night, finishing the game on a 15-4 run after trailing with five minutes to play.

The win comes one day after the Bulls got an overtime win against Iowa -- it's two quality wins that will help the Bulls in March if they're on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. We'll have details on the win shortly.

Halftime at soccer, and USF and UNC-Greensboro are locked in a scoreless tie. Well, locked is probably a strong word. Stuck? Mired?

Ugly first half: USF 22, Northeastern 11

The positive spin? Defensively, USF just played its best half of basketball under Stan Heath, statistically. The Bulls have held Northeastern to 4-for-29 shooting -- that's 13.8 percent.

The ugly side? With 3:07 left in the half, it was an 11-11 game here at the Sun Dome. The Bulls woke up and finished the half on an 11-0 run -- again, that's as many points as they scored in the first 17 minutes -- and are in control against Northeastern.

It's easily the lowest points a Stan Heath team has allowed in any half, and interestingly, it resets a mark set in ... the very last half played. High Point mustered just 18 in the second half Tuesday -- before that, the record was an ugly 19 points scored by Rutgers in the second half of last season's 68-45 USF win.

Despite the late burst, it's USF's lowest-scoring half under Heath -- they've had five 24-point halves before this one.

And, since you're wondering, the USF record for fewest points allowed? That'd be the 34 points scored by St. Peter's in 1985. USF's record low for scoring is 36, against Marquette in 1997. The record for field-goal defense is 23.3 percent shooting by FAU in a 2005 game.

USF-West Virginia set for 8 p.m., ESPN2

You loyal readers know how we feel about early kickoffs.

So I don't even have to tell you how I feel about news that USF's regular-season finale at West Virginia will have an 8 p.m. kickoff, with national broadcast on ESPN2. Pittsburgh-Connecticut is on ESPN at noon.

It's 10-9 here with six minutes left in the half. Soccer, just getting started, may outscore this game.

Bulls up 10-7 early on Northeastern

Like defense? Northeastern hit just one of its first 13 shots against USF on Saturday night, but the Bulls are up just 10-7 halfway through the opening half at the Sun Dome.

Junior center Alex Rivas Sanchez's first start hasn't gone well, as he picked up two fouls in the first five minutes and spent the next five on the bench as a result. He's back in with two fouls, which says how little anyone else in the post is getting done. Slow start for both teams tonight ...

Live blog: Rivas Sanchez gets first start

Greetings from the Sun Dome, where it's another modest showing in the stands for the men's basketball game against Northeastern. This is the third time hoops has gone directly up against a postseason soccer game, so some of the dropoff can be attributed to Bulls fans choosing another sport.

The news here is that center Alex Rivas Sanchez is making his first career start -- and he has USF's first points, on a free throw. Senior guard Jesus Verdejo, who bruised his lower back on a fall under the basket in Tuesday's win against High Point, is also starting and appears to be fine.

-- We can randomly drop football notes in here as we go, so it's worth noting for the St. Petersburg Bowl that both Southern Miss and Memphis earned their sixth victories Saturday, so Conference USA has enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all six of its contracted bowls. St. Pete will likely get their pick of those two schools, and USF is on the other sideline at Tropicana Field, they'll get a rival from their C-USA days ...

 

Live blog: Rivas Sanchez gets first start

Greetings from the Sun Dome, where it's another modest showing in the stands for the men's basketball game against Northeastern. This is the third time hoops has gone directly up against a postseason soccer game, so some of the dropoff can be attributed to Bulls fans choosing another sport.

The news here is that center Alex Rivas Sanchez is making his first career start -- and he has USF's first points, on a free throw. Senior guard Jesus Verdejo, who bruised his lower back on a fall under the basket in Tuesday's win against High Point, is also starting and appears to be fine.

Big night for USF soccer, basketball

It's another busy night on USF's campus, as the Bulls' men's soccer team plays host to UNC-Greensboro in the NCAA Tournament's third round -- a win would match the deepest run in USF soccer history. We'll call it another Lot 6 doubleheader, as for the third time this month, a big soccer home game coincides with a home date across the lot for USF's men's basketball team, which plays tonight against Northeastern.

Considerably farther away, USF's women's basketball team wraps up three games in three days with a game against Texas Tech to finish the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. USF got a big overtime win Friday against Iowa, which beat Texas Tech on Thursday, so it's a game the Bulls should win.

We'll blog live throughout the night, so check back around 7 and we'll have lots of updates from all over ...

Women's hoops gets OT win vs. Iowa

Less than a day after a 30-point loss to No. 3 California, USF's women's basketball team rebounded with a big win, holding off a charge from Iowa in an 82-79 overtime victory in the Virgin Islands.

The Bulls (5-1) saw a 12-point lead disappear in the final eight minutes of regulation, with the Hawkeyes forcing overtime on Wendy Ausdemore's 3-pointer with three seconds remaining. Guard Shantia Grace had a game-high 27 points -- albeit on 6-for-21 shooting -- but four of her teammates scored in overtime to seal the win.

USF never trailed in the extra period, getting baskets from Brittany Denson, Jasmine Wynne, Porche Grant and Alexis Givands in overtime. Grant played 37 minutes off the bench, getting nine points and nine rebounds. The Bulls forced 27 turnovers, which helped offset a 50-37 rebounding edge for Iowa. Up three with nine seconds to play in overtime, Grace missed two free throws that would have put the game away, but Iowa's Kelly Krei missed a three with one second left.

Bulls senior guard Jazmine Sepulveda had six assists and zero turnovers in 41 minutes, adding nine points and a game-high four steals.

It's too early for computer ratings to mean too much, but to appreciate the significance of the win, USF went into the game with an RPI of 89, according to realtimerpi.com; Iowa (4-2) was rated No. 11..

The Bulls now face one more tough game in the Paradise Jam tournament, facing Texas Tech on Saturday. Iowa beat the Red Raiders 76-68 on Thursday. If you want to see 32 photos from the game, check out the Paradise Jam's official site here.

Could Bulls earn return to Meineke Bowl?

Pittsburgh's 19-15 win against West Virginia on Friday keeps afloat one scenario that wouldn't have USF playing in the St. Petersburg Bowl -- that the Bulls could earn a spot in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, where they made their bowl debut in 2005.

With Cincinnati taking the league's BCS berth and Pittsburgh the best guess for the Sun (presuming Notre Dame loses to USC and the Gator takes Nebraska), the Meineke folks would be choosing between USF and West Virginia, or Rutgers if the Knights can beat Louisville. To be considered for Charlotte, the Bulls would have to win at West Virginia, but such a win would put them at 8-4 with two straight wins, while West Virginia would be 7-5, having lost three of four. Connecticut played in Charlotte last season, so they're not a reasonable option. Rutgers, with a win against Louisville, would be 7-5 but with a six-game win streak, giving Charlotte all kinds of options.

In talking with people involved in the Big East's bowl selection process this week, it seems the Bulls would be very much on the Meineke's radar in such a scenario, though USF would still have a good job of winding up in St. Petersburg, which would be ideal for the first-year bowl. To have any shot at Charlotte, the Bulls would have to beat West Virginia for the third year in a row ...

-- USF receivers coach Mike Canales said Friday that he was on his way to interview for the head coaching vacancy at Utah State. "It's my alma mater. It's a dream job, but it's a destination, too," said Canales, who will be back in Tampa on Saturday. The Bulls don't practice again until Monday as they prepare for their regular-season finale at West Virginia. For more on the Utah State job, the Deseret News' USU blog has been all over it ...

Soccer: Cinderella coming to town

If USF's men's soccer team can win Saturday night against upset-crazy UNC-Greensboro, they will have gone as far as any Bulls soccer team in the program's history by reaching the NCAAs' "Elite Eight." To do so, they'll have to stop UNC-G's wild ride that has seen the Spartans win as many games in the post-season (five) as they did in the regular season.

UNC-G, you see, was 5-11-2 when the Spartans started the Southern Conference tournament. Their first win came only because of an own goal on a corner kick and a game-winner from midfield. The next win came on penalty kicks, but the Spartans kept winning, getting the Southern's automatic bid to the NCAAs -- again, UNC-G was 2-5 in conference during the season, 3-0 in the tournament.

They're just the sixth team in 50 years of the NCAA soccer tournament to make the field with a losing record. They haven't just made the field -- they've knocked off Duke and ninth-seeded Loyola (Md.) -- rallying from a goal down in the final 20 minutes in Baltimore. Now they're 10-11-2, and it's worth noting that their coach, Michael Parker, who has six national championships at the Division III and Division II levels, has never had a losing record in 32 years of coaching.

USF is 10-0-1 at home this season and should have another strong crowd Saturday night, even while playing directly opposite the men's basketball team. ESPN.com's preview of the NCAA Sweet 16 seems to think the Bulls can end Cinderella's run in Tampa. Win there, and a trip to top-seeded Wake Forest would likely be next, which could put USF in the Cinderella role ...

Not so fast: Bulls fall to No. 3 Cal, 85-55

After four high-scoring home games to open the season, USF's women's basketball team had its first challenge of the season -- one of the biggest it will face all season -- against No. 3 California in the Virgin Islands on Thursday. The result? An 85-55 loss, which saw the Bulls score 43 points less than they'd averaged in their first four wins. A more realistic test? Seeing how the Bulls bounce back, with a quick turnaround for games Friday and Saturday against quality teams from Texas Tech and Iowa. If the Bulls want to show something in the nonconference season, they need at least one win between the next two games ...

Report: Canales to interview at Utah State

USF receivers coach Mike Canales, in contention for the head coaching vacancy at his alma mater, is expected to fly to Utah State for an interview this weekend, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Three other candidates already have interviewed for the job, according to the report.

The 1984 graduate of USU, who played quarterback for the Aggies, was a finalist for the position the last time it was open. Canales, who also has the title of passing game coordinator at USF, is in his second stint with the Bulls, having served as USF's original offensive coordinator when the program launched in 1997.

Hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving ...

Basketball and soccer: Leftover thoughts

Busy night tonight at basketball, then hurrying over to USF's soccer field, where the Bulls got a big 2-1 win against Harvard, gaining the right to host another home game -- also simultaneous with another home men's basketball game -- Saturday against UNC-Greensboro.

-- Again, High Point two days before Thanksgiving with soccer across the parkng lot isn't ideal for drawing a basketball crowd, but quite a weak turnout -- announced at 2,529, the lowest for a Bulls home game since 2,114 saw the Bulls play Bethune-Cookman. Stan Heath won't want to hear that more people turned out for a soccer game, but with Northeastern coming in Saturday, it could happen again. I think USF will have a decent record when the Big East season begins in January, which should make for much better crowds, but it's not a promising start in the stands.

-- First name that Heath mentioned in his postgame comments? Alex Rivas Sanchez, who played only three minutes, limited by a sprained ankle that's sidelined him since the Virginia game. Rivas Sanchez scored four points, his second basket literally coming through a triple-team, with two rebounds. "I thought Alex sent a great message to our big guys," Heath said. "He comes into the game for three minutes, gets two offensive rebounds and four points. We had guys who had about one rebound in the first half, just weren't going the way they needed to go, the intensity level."

-- I'm pretty sure "guys" means center B.J. Ajayi, dropped from the starting lineup. He finished with one point in 12 minutes, missing his only shot from the field. He added two boards and an assist. If he's falling to such a small role before Gus Gilchrist joins the frontcourt, he has a very short window in which he can show Heath something before it'll be much harder to do that.

-- We mentioned in the live blog that the second sub in was walk-on guard Ryan Kardok, who played seven minutes, grabbing two rebounds. Heath said that because Kardok has two seasons of experience from junior college, he preferred his experience over the relative inexperience of freshmen Justin Leemow and Gaby Belardo. Bench scoring? Rivas Sanchez had four points -- the other subs went 0-for-3 in 24 minutes. Again, with Rivas Sanchez healthy and Gilchrist and Mike Mercer on board in three weeks, depth should be less of an issue.

-- Senior Aris Williams, starting for the second game in a row, had a career game -- 11 points, six rebounds, three blocks in 27 minutes. A lot of the commenters here wrote Williams off last summer, wanting him to go on medical scholarship, but he's come back strong after being limited by knee problems for much of the last two seasons. He was a huge part of tonight's turnaround, scoring eight points in a 10-2 run that put USF in control.

-- Even if Dominique Jones is shifting toward more of a scoring point guard type role, I don't think Heath wants to see him take as few as three shots in a half, as he did in the first half tonight. Jones didn't have a bad game -- 3-for-10 shooting, nine points, six rebounds, four assists and two turnovers in 37 minutes. "They stayed pretty tight to him, and they did a good job, when he did get the ball, I saw four guys with hands in his eyes," Heath said. "If he drove it, they brought the whole parade with him. They were sitting in the lane waiting for him. In the second half, he did a better job when he did drive of kickking it (out), making a pass, setting his teammates up with good opportunities. There are going to be nights like that -- he's getting a lot of attention. That's what's going to happen to him. Everybody knows he's the guy you've got to shut down."

-- Onto soccer, the Bulls got both goals from junior Zak Boggs, who's a good story. Started his career at West Virginia, where he helped them to the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. He transferred to Central Florida, where he was their leading scorer in 2006, then after a coaching change, decided to transfer again. He didn't get a waiver and sat out last season, but he's made a huge impact this year -- his two goals Tuesday tie him with Jordan Seabrook for the team lead at five. Boggs is super-smart -- was one of 12 soccer players named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team, with a 4.0 GPA in biomedical sciences.

Boggs, on his first goal, a header off a pass from Jason Devenish: "I snuck in behind them, and Devy turned around and hit it pinpoint to my head, and I headed it in, about 8 yards out. The second one was just a rebound. We've been saying 'Shoot the ball.' It's wet out here, the keeper's a little shaky, so shoot the ball. Just ripped it, and he couldn't get a hold on it."

Why has USF played so well in the last two weeks? "Coach has been saying every day in training that everyone is working," Boggs said. "From the first guy to the 26th guy, everyone's working hard. It's great to have a whole group of guys on the same page, ready to be part of something bigger than themselves."

-- I think it's barely, barely worth noting that I have been to the soccer stadium at UNC-Greensboro. Saw Toad the Wet Sprocket there my senior year in high school. Chilly night, great concert. This is the extent of my scouting report for Saturday night's game -- Google will help flesh that out over the next few days.

-- I honestly had not heard of the new title sponsor of the St. Petersburg Bowl, a telephone-over-Internet product called magicJack, until the bowl's announcement this afternoon. A spokesman for the company said they put almost a million dollars a week into advertising, mostly on TV. Sure enough, I pop on the TV tonight and the first thing I see is a five-minute informercial for the gadget. Spooky.

Soccer edges Harvard, advances in NCAAs

I'm doing the two-sport thing tonight, hurrying over from Stan Heath's postgame press conference to get a few quotes on a big win for USF's men's soccer team, which got a 2-1 win over Harvard to advance to the third round.

The eighth-seeded Bulls (15-4-2) will face UNC-Greensboro, which knocked off eighth-seeded Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday and will come to Tampa for a 7:30 kick on Saturday night. Zak Boggs got both goals Tuesday night, first on a header in the fifth minute, then on a rebound off a shot from Sebastien Thuriere to break a second-half tie.

The crowd at USF Soccer Stadium? A robust 2,051 fans, and honestly, there were more there than at basketball, which had an announced 2,529. More to come ...

Williams steps up, leads Bulls to 59-46 win

Senior forward Aris Williams had a career-high 11 points, all in the second half, to spark USF past a sluggish start to a 59-46 victory against High Point on Tuesday night in the Sun Dome.

Williams, starting for the second game in a row, scored eight points in a pivotal 10-2 run that put the Bulls up 40-34 in the second half. USF (2-1) trailed by as many as seven points in the first half and didn't get its first lead until a Williams basket with 14:16 left.

Junior guard Chris Howard had 14 points and senior guard Jesus Verdejo had 12 for the Bulls, with sophomore guard Dominique Jones adding nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.

High Point (1-3), which lost 69-56 at N.C. State on Saturday, got 17 points from guard Eugene Harris, who hit five 3-pointers. The Bulls led 47-44 with five minutes to play, then scored the next 11 points to put the game away. Clearwater's Cruz Daniels had nine points for the Panthers.

The Bulls play at home again Saturday against Northeastern, then travel to play UAB on Dec. 3.

USF's men's soccer team leads Harvard 2-1 with 26 minutes left in the second half ...

Williams sparks Bulls to 40-34 lead

Senior forward Aris Williams has exploded here in the second half, and USF has not just its first lead, but a 40-34 lead on High Point after a 10-2 run in which Williams scored eight points in a four-minute span.

The Bulls had trailed 28-24 at the half, but they've woken up a bit here in the second half, with Williams getting back-to-back dunks -- both assisted by Dominique Jones -- to punctuate the run. For him to score eight points in four minutes is impressive, if only because his career high in two seasons at USF is nine points.

Soccer, which might have a bigger crowd than basketball, is tied 1-1 with Harvard at the half in their second-round NCAA Tournament match across Lot 6 from here ...

Rivas Sanchez in, USF down 28-24 at half

Rough first half for USF, which has struggled all over, enough so that coach Stan Heath has brought in center Alex Rivas Sanchez, who had not practiced since spraining his ankle against Virginia last week.

Rivas Sanchez made an immediate impact, scoring four points in his first two minutes and drawing a third foul from High Point forward Earnest Bridges. At the half, the Bulls are down 28-24, with High Point hitting five 3-pointers already. Jesus Verdejo leads the Bulls with seven points, while Chris Howard has six and Dominique Jones has four, having attempted only three shots.

Walk-on guard Kardok in early for Bulls

Proof that Stan Heath isn't afraid to mix things up a bit with his lineup -- the second sub in off the bench tonight is guard Ryan Kardok, a walk-on who made the team just before the season started.

Kardok -- who got a rebound in his first minute in the game -- was the first guard in, ahead of scholarship freshmen Justin Leemow and Gaby Belardo. Heath had told me the only injured player was center Alex Rivas Sanchez, so he's definitely sending a message to the freshmen with this move. Kardok joined the Bulls after two seasons at Broward Community College.

With 7:30 left in the first half, High Point leads the Bulls 15-12, though USF is at the free-throw line shooting two. All the points have come from the starting backcourt, with Jesus Verdejo getting seven, Dominique Jones three and Chris Howard two. USF has yet to lead, but the game's been tied three times.

-- Soccer update: USF needed just four minutes to get on the scoreboard against Harvard, with Zak Boggs scoring on a header, with the assist going to Jason Devenish. It's 1-0 Bulls, very early ...

Live blog: Espinosa, Williams get start

Live blogging tonight from men's basketball's game against High Point, where the Bulls will likely be without center Alex Rivas Sanchez, who is sidelined with a sprained ankle.

How much has center B.J. Ajayi fallen out of favor with coach Stan Heath? Even with Rivas Sanchez out, Ajayi isn't starting, with Heath going with two power forwards in freshman Eladio Espinosa and senior Aris Williams. Ajayi started in USF's second game, at Virginia, but played only nine minutes.

Lots more to come here from the Bulls and Panthers, as well as NCAA second-round soccer (starting at 7:30) between USF and Harvard ...

CB Roberts wearing boot at practice

USF doesn't play for another 11 days, but you can add another injury to the Bulls' list, as senior Tyller Roberts, who started at cornerback in Sunday's win against Connecticut, was wearing a boot on his injured foot as the Bulls returned to practice Tuesday, according to correspondent Joe Rienzi.

Roberts injured what looked to be his foot or ankle late in the third quarter of Sunday's win -- he has started all but one game this season for the Bulls. Junior Jerome Murphy, who has been limited by a knee injury, also did not participate in Tuesday's practice, though he was able to play through the injury Sunday. With the two veteran players sidelined, USF had redshirt freshmen Quenton Washington and Tyson Butler working as the first-team cornerbacks.

St. Petersburg Bowl lands title sponsor

Less than a month before its kickoff, the St. Petersburg Bowl has picked up a title sponsor, magicJack, an upstart telephone company that has picked up 2-million customers in its first year.

"I think it's a good fit, in that they're a newer company and we're a newer company, and we're trying to get our names out there," said Brett Dulaney, the bowl's executive director. "I think it's great. It legitimizes the bowl, lets our bowl partners know we're heading in the right direction."

The agreement is a one-year deal with a one-year option. No financial details were disclosed, but based on other contracts with comparable bowls, it's likely in the low six-figure range. It's a local sponsor of sorts, as MagicJack's parent company, YMax, is based in Palm Beach, Fla.

The bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Regional, which has been seeking a title sponsor since the NCAA approved the bowl in April.

"We had set a drop-dead date where we would have moved forward without a sponsor, but this came in under the wire," said Chris Turner, senior director of programming and events for ESPN Regional. "This is very exciting. As with any bowl, the title sponsor is key."

MagicJack's product allows customers to plug any phone into a card that goes into the USB port on a computer with Internet access -- the magicJack retails for $40 and comes with a year of free local and long-distance calling.

The game, to be played at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 20 at Tropicana Field with national broadcast on ESPN2, will be branded as the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl. For information on magicJack, here's a story in USA Today.

Grace, scoring 44, 'didn't want to overdo it'

Senior guard Shantia Grace set a USF basketball scoring record -- men's and women's -- by scoring 44 points in USF's 97-43 win against Coppin State on Sunday afternoon. What might be most impressive about her game -- which included a USF record eight 3-pointers -- is that she outscored USF's opponent all by herself while playing only 28 minutes.

"I didn't want to overdo it," said Grace, who watched the final 4:39 of the game from the bench, against a team that won 22 games last year and made the NCAA Tournament.

Grace went for 44 points on 16-of-24 shooting -- the field-goal attempts doesn't even crack the top 17 listed in USF's media guide -- included an 8-for-13 effort beyond the arc. Grace had gone 1-for-10 on 3-pointers in USF's two exhibitions, then went 4-for-19 in the Bulls' first three games -- a 21 percent clip. She had totaled 37 points in those three games.

"I wasn't happy with my shot, so the day before, I was in the gym shooting, all day and all night," said Grace, who estimated she spent four hours in the gym, taking 500 to 600 3-pointers. "So when the first one went in Sunday, I was like 'I'm good to go.' It was one of those nights."

Her 44 points is nine more than her previous high at USF -- she doesn't recall scoring more than 34 or 36 points in high school. It reset the Bulls' women's mark of 39 points, set by LaTonya Greer in 1997, and is two more than USF's men's record of 42, set by Charlie Bradley in 1982.

Grace's outburst shows USF's focus on playing an uptempo style -- "we don't even look at the shot clock," she says. The Bulls have scored at least 94 points in each game in their 4-0 start, after doing so just 10 times in Jose Fernandez's first eight seasons.

The Bulls are in the Virgin Islands this week, and their competition gets a lot tougher, with a game Thursday against No. 3 California, which has held three opponents to 48 points per game and beat No. 2 Rutgers 66-52 on Friday.

Selvie talking about next season with Bulls

The biggest story of USF football's offseason might be whether junior defensive end George Selvie opts to return for his senior year or be an early-entry NFL Draft pick. Selvie has said he'll submit his name to the NFL's underclassmen advisory board to get a sense of where he'd be taken -- mock drafts from the media project him as a first-round draft pick -- but he's also said he won't think about the decision until after USF's season.

Selvie was limited again by an ankle injury in Sunday's win against Connecticut, held to one tackle, but the defensive end made a postgame comment about wanting to be a part of next year's final home game.

"It's great to send the seniors off with a good win, because they've played so hard every year they've been through this, for four or five years," Selvie said. "To have somebody go out and play for you, for your last game, for you to win, it's great. That's what I want people to do for me when I play my senior year next year."

MISSED ONE: Playing on a badly sprained ankle, quarterback Matt Grothe was USF's leading rusher with 51 yards on Sunday, and 24 of those yards came on the Bulls' final drive as they tried to run out the clock.

Grothe converted two third downs with scrambles on that drive, and would have had a third to clinch the win had he not inexplicably made a cut after reaching the first-down line on a third-and-7. He was stopped 2 yards back, forcing USF to punt and giving Connecticut one last chance with 1:28 to play.

"I thought Matt played very, very smart," offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said. "I didn't think he played exceptionally well, because he had too many little plays that hurt us. I thought he got some real key plays, except for that last one when he didn't run and get the first down."

GOING VIRAL: The last 20 seconds of Jim Leavitt's postgame press conference Sunday are making the rounds, showing up on Youtube, as well as national sports blogs such as Thewizofodds.com and Sportsbybrooks.com and Every Day Should Be Saturday.

Just two minutes into his postgame comments, you'll see Leavitt take a benign question from the Tribune's Brett McMurphy, asking about the significance of USF going to bowls four years in a row. Leavitt, frustrated by what he feels has been excessively negative coverage, walks over and shakes the reporter's hand, sarcastically congratulating him for asking about something positive. He then slaps the podium with his hand, gives his trademark "We good?" and bolts. Lots of folks still had questions to ask, and the public discussion now shifts away from his team's victory to his behavior afterwards.

A caller to Bobby Fenton's morning show on 1010 today called it "embarrassing," saying whatever the coach's gripes are with coverage, it's unprofessional to purposefully show somebody up on camera.

Leavitt on fourth-down call: 'No regrets'

There wasn't much to get from the postgame press conference of USF coach Jim Leavitt, who abruptly and awkwardly left the podium after just two minutes and 22 seconds. We still had plenty of questions to ask, but I was able to sit down with Leavitt on Monday and ask him about a few things from Sunday's 17-13 victory against Connecticut.

Q: Talk about the decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from your 45.

A: I felt like we've got four seniors (on the offensive line). Midfield. I felt like I wanted to keep the ball. Would I have done it again? Probably. I'm a pretty aggressive guy. I don't want to limit my personality. Does it work more than not? Yeah, but not always. You've got to take the good with the bad. I've got four seniors on the line. If our left tackle does what he's supposed to do, we get a yard and a half, we get it pretty easily. I still think it had a bad spot. I watched it again, and I think he made it. I have no regrets about that. That's what I'm going to do. The Cincinnati game was even scarier in Cincinnati because we were back on our 30, early. If you make it, you're always happy, if you don't make it, you're always not happy. The mentality is important, too. Will I always do it? No. Matt (Grothe) goes like this (holds hand up like a C) -- it was farther than that. It's hard to always tell exactly how far it is. Usually we get those. We don't miss those often.

Q: What did you think of Jamar Taylor's 25-yard touchdown run?

A: Marc Dile made two big blocks on that play. They all blocked extremely well. We've run that play all year, and last year.

Q: Tyrone McKenzie and Kion Wilson had 16 and 12 tackles, seemed to be all over the field.

A: They had an outstanding game. Played every snap. We knew we were going to need everybody, knew we were going to use our safeties. The guy really helping us has been Carlton (Williams) playing the nickel. The last two games, he's had two of the big games he's had here. He made play after play after play. Carlton, McKenzie, Kion all had extraordinary games.

Q: Who has stood out to you on special teams?

A: Joel Miller is having a phenomenal season (on kickoff coverage). I put him for the first time ever on kickoff return last game, and he mashed some people. The guys that have really done the best are Miller and Cameron Perkins.

Rivas Sanchez 'doubtful' for High Point

USF junior center Alex Rivas Sanchez, who has emerged as a potential starter in the Bulls' first two games, is "doubtful" for Tuesday night's home game against High Point because of a sprained right ankle, coach Stan Heath said Monday.

Sanchez, who had 10 points and nine rebounds in USF's loss at Virginia on Wednesday, sprained his ankle in the closing minutes. He did not practice with the team Monday, but Heath said it's reasonable that he could return for the Bulls' next game on Saturday.

"He played too many minutes," Heath said of the 31-minute effort. "I wish I'd been a little smarter with that, but we needed him out there. If he's healthy, I clearly think he's one of my better big guys, because of his hands and strength, his skills with the game."

Heath said he'll likely have to go with a three-man rotation in the post -- using center B.J. Ajayi and power forwards Aris Williams and Eladio Espinosa. He said he'll also consider using a four-guard lineup, shifting senior Jesus Verdejo into a power forward-type position with three other guards. Ajayi started the first two games, but played only nine minutes against Virginia.

"He's not playing as hard as he needs to play," Heath said. "He's inconsistent with his intensity level. If that changes, he'll play more."

Sunday's actual crowd: 26,677

For the second week in a row, the actual attendance at a Bulls home game was significantly less than the season-low announced attendance. Sunday's game against Connecticut, generously announced at 42,422, had an actual attendance of 26,677 fans, according to the Tampa Sports Authority.

Eight days earlier, the Bulls had an announced attendance of 47,216 against Rutgers, based on tickets distributed, but the actual attendance was 33,484. Between the two games, there's a difference of 29,477 fans, which is quite a lot of empty seats -- nearly a third of the total announced attendance at the two games wasn't actually there.

Now that USF has finished its home games for the season, this year's attendance can be compared to last season, when the Bulls had the largest attendance gain in all of college football. After drawing an announced average of 53,170 fans in 2007, that number falls to 49,690 this year -- it's a drop of 6.5 percent, which isn't altogether surprising given the economy this fall and USF's recent dropoff with four losses in a span of five games. The average actual attendance this year -- 37,595 -- is down a more drastic 16.5 percent from last year, when the actual average was 45,033.

In a larger context beyond the breakout 2007 season, this year's announced average of 49,690 is still more than the Bulls had for any single home game in their history before the 2007 season.

-- Bowl update: A mea culpa here -- in trying to clear up Notre Dame's role in the Big East bowl picture Sunday, I consulted with, among others, the league office, but still managed to get it wrong. It's a confusing deal, in part because of NCAA By-law 30.9.2.1, which addresses 6-6 bowl teams: "All conference teams with winning records must be placed in one of the contracted bowl games before any institution with a record of six wins and six losses may be placed in a contracted bowl game."

The catch is that this doesn't address a specific bowl, but rather the conference as a whole. In other words, if there are enough contracted bowls to cover all of a league's seven-win teams, a bowl may select a 6-6 team, even if that would put a team with seven or more wins in a lesser bowl. Notre Dame (fixed) is considered a Big East member for the purposes of bowl contracts with the Sun and Gator bowls, so essentially, if the Big East doesn't have enough seven-win teams to fill all of its bowls, a bowl -- even one high up in the pecking order -- can pick a six-win team ahead of those teams.

If Rutgers beats Louisville, the league will have six seven-win teams without Notre Dame, which means the Irish are out of the picture. If Louisville wins, the Big East will have five seven-win teams and two six-win teams (plus Notre Dame), so the Sun or Gator bowls could take Notre Dame, knowing all the seven-win Big East teams still have contracted bowls they can go to. It's largely moot for USF, which now has seven wins and is likely headed to the St. Petersburg Bowl. Again, sorry for the confusion ...

Bogan gets Big East special-teams honor

USF receiver Dontavia Bogan, who returned two kickoffs for 135 yards in the Bulls' 17-13 win against Connecticut on Sunday, was honored as the Big East's special teams player of the week.

Bogan, whose 64-yard return set up USF's first touchdown, set the Bulls' single-season records for kickoff returns (25) and kickoff return yards (652).

Linebacker Tyrone McKenzie, who had 16 tackles including three for losses Sunday, missed out on the league's defensive nod, but was among the players named to the conference honor roll for the week.

Also, USF will not learn of its kickoff time for its Dec. 6 game at West Virginia until after Saturday's games. The Bulls and Mountaineers will play at either noon or 8 p.m., with national broadcast on ESPN2 or ESPN.

Defense steps up, seals 17-13 win for Bulls

TAMPA -- USF's defense had been there before, staked to fourth-quarter leads against Pittsburgh and Louisville, only to see on offense march down the field on them and take away victories. Not this time.

The Bulls forced a key fumble with 5:38 to play and got one last stop, sealing a 17-13 win against Connecticut and ending a three-game losing streak in the final home game for 21 seniors at Raymond James Stadium.

"They finally did what they're supposed to do, that's the bottom line," said defensive coordinator Wally Burnham, whose unit held the nation's leading rusher, Donald Brown, to 96 yards on 28 carries, 57 under his season average.

The Bulls got just 247 yards of total offense, but came up with key plays, like a 25-yard touchdown run from Jamar Taylor in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Matt Grothe, playing on a badly sprained ankle, twice ran for third-down conversions in the final five minutes, helping close out the win.

"It's the best I've seen our defense play all year," Grothe said. "We shut down probably the best running back in the nation."

Brown came in averaging 153 yards a game, but USF kept him in check, getting 16 tackles from linebacker Tyrone McKenzie and 12 from linebacker Kion Wilson.

"For the first time all season, we finished strong," said McKenzie, who had three tackles for loss. "He's a great running back, and to stop him like that, our defensive front seven knew what we had to do, to stop the run."

After a 5-0 start, the Bulls (7-4, 2-4) had just one win since September, hadn't had so much as a lead in 29 days, but this victory assures them of a bowl appearance. A win on Dec. 6 against West Virginia could put them in contention for the Gator Bowl, but barring that, USF is likely set for the St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 20.

"We didn't realize how long it's been. It's been like a month? The feeling feels great," safety Carlton Williams said. "The team gave unbelievable effort. I'm overwhelmed, Senior Night, going out with a win."

After Taylor's touchdown, UConn (7-4, 3-3) marched to the USF 16-yard line, but cornerback Jerome Murphy upended Brown for a 2-yard loss and the Huskies settled for a field goal. The key stop came on UConn's next drive, as they again drove into Bulls territory, facing a fourth-and-3 on the USF 35.

Quarterback Tyler Lorenzen scrambled for a first down, but fumbled just before his knee touched the ground as he was tackled by Murphy. Cornerback Quenton Washington recovered the loose ball for USF. The fumble was reviewed but upheld, and the Huskies never got closer than their own 20 again.

The Bulls jumped out to a 7-0 lead, sparked by a 64-yard kickoff return by receiver Dontavia Bogan. Grothe converted a third down with a 22-yard pass to Taurus Johnson, setting up Ben Williams' 2-yard touchdown run.

Connecticut tied the game 10-10 in the third quarter with a trick play late in the third quarter, as Brown took the handoff, pitched to fullback Jordan Todman for what looked to be a reverse. Todman pitched back to quarterback Tyler Lorenzen, who found receiver Ellis Gaulden wide-open for a 46-yard touchdown.

The Bulls came in having dropped three games and four of their last five, a hard fall from a 5-0 start that had USF ranked as high as No. 10 nationally. Last week's 49-16 loss to Rutgers was the most lopsided home loss in the program's 12-year history.

The game drew a crowd that was generously announced at 42,422, the smallest in more than a year, since 37,753 against North Carolina in September 2007.

"It's nice to get a little bit healthy," coach Jim Leavitt said. "It was a good win. I thought the guys did a good job. I thought (the defense) was relentless. The d-line, the pass rush, they just played so hard all the way through."

Defense gets key fumble in fourth

USF's defense has come up with a key turnover, spoiling a Connecticut drive in Bulls territory with 5:38 left in the game.

UConn quarterback Tyler Lorenzen, scrambling for a first down on a fourth-and-3, fumbled as he was being tackled by Jerome Murphy, and the loose ball was recovered by USF cornerback Quenton Washington. The play was reviewed by officials, but replays seemed to show Lorenzen fumbling an instant before his knee hit the ground, and the call was upheld.

USF, clinging to a 17-13 lead, gets the ball back trying to run down the clock.

Defense holds Huskies to FG, up 17-13

USF's defense led Connecticut into the red zone, but toughened there, dropping Donald Brown for a loss and holding the Huskies to a 35-yard field goal. The Bulls lead 17-13 with 9:19 to play here at Raymond James Stadium.

Taylor 25-yard TD puts Bulls up 17-10

It was a play set up to test USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory -- third-and-3 from the Connecticut 25-yard line, tie game in the fourth quarter, and Connecticut called a time out, giving him more time to pick a specific play for a crucial down.

Bulls fans have to like the results, as Jamar Taylor, getting just his fourth carry of the game, ran right then cut back to the middle of the field untouched for a 25-yard touchdown and a 17-10 lead.

This situation -- leading in the fourth quarter -- has been a precarious one for the Bulls defense, which gave up fourth-quarter leads in losses to Pittsburgh and Louisville and struggled late in close wins against Central Florida and Kansas.

Fourth quarter starts, all tied up ...

This is what it comes down to for USF -- tied up with Connecticut 10-10 with the ball on the UConn 48 to open the fourth quarter.

The Bulls have mustered just 165 yards of total offense and have gotten only three points since driving for a touchdown on their first possession. USF's defense has held Connecticut to 198 yards of total offense, but almost half that came on an 87-yard touchdown drive to tie the game ...

For the record, linebacker Tyrone McKenzie enters the fourth quarter with 16 tackles, two off the school record ...

Trick play for TD ties game at 10-10

Just when it looked like USF had stopped another Connecticut drive, a holding penalty gave the Huskies a fresh start, and a trick play turned into a 46-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Lorenzen to Ellis Gaulden, tying the game at 10-10 late in the third quarter.

Connecticut handed the ball off to top rusher Donald Brown, who handed off to back Jordan Todman for what looked to be a reverse. But Todman pitched the ball back to Lorenzen, who had Gaulden wide open deep across the middle, good for the game-tying touchdown.

Returns give Bogan USF season records

Two huge first-half kickoff returns helped Dontavia Bogan set a pair of school records for kickoff returns and jumpstarted USF's offense.

Bogan took the opening kickoff 64 yards, setting up a short field for a Bulls' touchdown, and he returned another kick late in the first half 71 yards.

The opening return set USF's season record as his 24th of the season, and it also gave him the season record for kickoff return yards -- he had 652 on the year by halftime. Former Dixie Hollins standout DeAndrew Rubin held the previous yardage mark at 578 yards, and he shared the returns mark at 23, with current Bulls cornerback Jerome Murphy, who had 23 last season.

Bogan's returns were easily USF's longest this season, trumping a 40-yard effort from receiver Taurus Johnson. The sophomore from Thomasville, Ga., had five plays of 25 yards or more in last week's loss to Rutgers.

His returns were the longest off kickoffs for USF since Mike Jenkins went 100 yards in last year's loss to Cincinnati.

Bogan's first return led to a USF touchdown, but the second wasn't as rewarding. His second return set USF on the Connecticut 20-yard line with 18 seconds left in the half. With a chance at a field goal or more, the Bulls came away empty as Matt Grothe's second-down pass was intercepted by safety Aaron Bagsby.

Here's incentive for USF's defense: if they don't allow Connecticut to kick off again tonight, Bogan will have the single-game record for kickoff return average. The current mark is 52.0 yards per return, set by Charlie Jackson against Charleston Southern in 1997.

Grothe INT spoils Bogan return: 10-3 at half

Dontavia Bogan came through with a second big kickoff return, going 71 yards to the Connecticut 20-yard line with 18 seconds left in the half. The Bulls came away empty, however, as Matt Grothe's second-down pass was intercepted by safety Aaron Bagsby, leaving USF with a 10-3 lead at halftime.

The Bulls have done a solid job of containing the nation's leading rusher, holding UConn's Donald Brown to 34 yards on 13 carries -- he's on pace for less than half his average of 153 yards per game.

Fourth-down call leads to UConn field goal

USF took a big gamble, going for it on fourth-and-1 from its 45-yard line, and after Matt Grothe was stuffed for no gain, Connecticut converted the short field to its first points of the game.

The Huskies got an 11-yard scramble from quarterback Tyler Lorenzen and a 13-yard run from Donald Brown -- otherwise held in check by USF -- but USF's defense toughened up inside the 10. A direct snap to Brown was stopped at the 4-yard line, and Lorenzen's third-down pass was broken up by safety Carlton Williams, so the Huskies settled for a 21-yard field goal, cutting USF's lead to 10-3 with 28 seconds left in the half.

Bonani kick extends USF lead to 10-0

USF's defense hasn't allowed Connecticut to cross midfield, and a pair of 30-yard passes from Matt Grothe set up Maikon Bonani's 29-yard field goal, giving the Bulls a 10-0 lead on Connecticut early in the second quarter.

Grothe found A.J. Love for 30 yards, then Marcus Edwards for 32 yards, but the drive stalled at the 12-yard line. Grothe has looked sharp, completing 5-of-8 passes for 95 yards.

Running back Mike Ford, who has been limited by an ankle injury, has played extensively, with five carries for 13 yards.

Bogan, Bulls jump out to 7-0 lead

Dontavia Bogan's 64-yard return of the opening kickoff gave USF a short field, and the Bulls got a 2-yard touchdown run from Ben Williams for a 7-0 lead early in Sunday's game against Connecticut.

Bogan took the opening kickoff all the way to the Connecticut 30-yard line, and USF's offense didn't disappoint from there. Quarterback Matt Grothe, who has nursed a sprained ankle this week, started and looked sharp, converting a third-and-7 with a 22-yard pass across the middle to receiver Taurus Johnson.

No real surprises in the starting lineup -- tight end Ben Busbee got a rare start as the Bulls opened with two tight ends. Another tight end, Trent Pupello, who has missed two games after suffering a concussion, was back in the game on the kickoff return team.

It's USF's first lead since the fourth quarter against Louisville, a span of 29 days and more than two games.

Live blog: QB Daniels not an option

I'd asked Jim Leavitt after practice one night this week who his next option would be at quarterback if Matt Grothe was unable to go and something happened to backup Grant Gregory. His answer? "Me," he said, noting that he played quarterback in his days at Dixie Hollins.

He'd made it clear that true freshman B.J. Daniels -- who is in position to get a medical redshirt for a wrist injury -- was not an option, that he if had to put another QB in, it'd be true freshman Evan Landi, burning a redshirt year there rather than set Daniels back a year in his eligibility.

Sure enough, here at Raymond James Stadium, Daniels is wearing a pair of jeans with his No. 7 jersey, as if Leavitt doesn't even want to be tempted to play him under any circumstances. No other players of significance aren't dressed for tonight's game -- running backs Mike Ford and Jamar Taylor look fine ...

Bulls, by the way, went with green jerseys and white pants. ...

Grace sets scoring record with 44 in win

USF senior guard Shantia Grace broke the school's single-game scoring record Sunday, scoring 44 points in USF's 97-43 win against Coppin State.

Grace, whose previous career high had been 35, surpassed the record of 39 points, set by LaTonya Greer against Cleveland State in 1997. She also set the school record for 3-pointers, hitting eight in 13 attempts; the previous mark had been six.

The Bulls (4-0) have scored at least 94 points in all four wins, showcasing an uptempo style made possible by newfound depth and quickness in the backcourt. USF forced 31 turnovers out of Coppin on Sunday, getting 23 steals while committing only 13 turnovers.

USF faces its biggest test of the nonconference season on Thursday in the Virgin Islands, where they open a three-game tournament against No. 7 California.

Barring upset, Irish out of Big East bowls

The Big East's bowl picture, complicated by Notre Dame's potential involvement, has gotten a lot clearer, at least as it relates to USF and its chances of being left out of the conference's contracted bowls.

The easy explanation: Notre Dame cannot be involved in a Big East bowl unless the Fighting Irish can pull off a huge upset Saturday at No. 5 Southern Cal. A loss would leave Notre Dame at 6-6, and neither the Gator nor Sun bowls could select a 6-6 Irish team with any 7-5 team available. There is a "two-win rule" that allows a bowl to pick a team if it is within two wins of the winningest available team -- say if Notre Dame were 7-5 and West Virginia were 9-3 -- but that rule doesn't cover 6-6 teams. The NCAA does not allow a 6-6 team to be chosen ahead of a team in the same conference (and Notre Dame is counted in the Big East as it relates to bowl contracts) that is 7-5 or better.

(You may have seen the Sun Bowl's Bernie Olivas quoted as saying he probably would be excited about a 6-6 Notre Dame team. He can be excited as he wants, but the NCAA won't allow him to invite a 6-6 team if there's a Big East team with seven wins available.)

And if Notre Dame is out of the picture, USF looks more and more like a lock for the St. Petersburg Bowl. Even if USF loses out, the worst they could be is tied at 6-6 with Rutgers and Louisville. While USF has lost to both teams, the St. Petersburg Bowl can still choose the Bulls, who would bring the most fans to the first-year bowl. If the Big East had an extra bowl-eligible team, they'd be matched with a bowl whose conferences couldn't fill their slots -- it's highly unlikely such a team would be left out of the bowls entirely.

If, for instance, USF were to lose to Connecticut this weekend and Notre Dame lost at USC on Saturday, there seems to be no reason why the St. Petersburg Bowl couldn't publicly extend an invitation to USF as early as Sunday, Nov. 30, giving them a third week of ticket sales before its Dec. 20 kickoff. My guess is that USF's opponent would likely be Memphis or Southern Miss, either of which would be 6-6.

If USF wins tonight, there's a chance that the Bulls could still be in play for the Gator Bowl, if the folks in Jacksonville, for instance, wanted something specific, like a USF-FSU matchup. If the Bulls won at West Virginia, you could see USF as one of three Big East teams at 8-4, though the Gator would be deciding USF to be better than its Big 12 options, which would be something like Oklahoma State, Missouri or Nebraska. Again, to me, only seems plausible if they want to create something like a first USF-FSU meeting.

We'll blog live from USF-UConn tonight, so check back for lots more this evening ...

What Saturday's games mean to USF

Because they don't play Connecticut until Sunday night, the Bulls had a Saturday to watch college football, to see how other games might change their bowl situation, and things turned out about as well as the Bulls could expect.

First, with Syracuse's wild upset of Notre Dame -- first, a quality win for the Big East, but just as importantly, barring the Irish winning against Southern Cal, which seems quite unlikely, the Irish will finish at 6-6, which should take them out of contention for a Big East-affiliated bowl. That's one more spot for a Big East team, which moves USF up one rung on the ladder.

Louisville lost to West Virginia, putting them at 5-6, and with Rutgers' win against Army (which put them 6-5), the Bulls can root for Louisville to beat Rutgers, knowing that a 7-5 team would have to be picked ahead of them if they lose out and finish 6-6. Again, if Notre Dame doesn't take a bowl, that shouldn't matter -- at best, USF would be one of two 6-6 teams at the low end of the Big East bowl options, and the St. Petersburg Bowl would surely take the Bulls for their proximity and help with attendance.

Weird weekend, in that so few of the teams that could have made themselves bowl-eligible were able to do so. So far, I count 13 five-win teams that were in action, and right now, only three -- Clemson, Rutgers and Colorado State -- got that elusive sixth win. Nine others with five wins -- Virginia, Louisville, Illinois, Stanford, Memphis, UTEP, Akron, Louisiana-Lafayette and FAU -- all lost. And three teams still technically alive entering today with 4-6 records (Duke, Arkansas, Marshall) officially became bowl-ineligible with their seventh loss.

What does that mean for the St. Petersburg Bowl? It's not looking any better. Conference USA has four bowl eligible teams and St. Pete picks fifth, but Memphis lost to UCF and UTEP lost to Houston. Marshall's out of the picture, so St. Pete is now looking at three 5-6 teams, hoping Memphis can beat measly Tulane, UTEP can get a win at East Carolina or Southern Miss can win at lowly SMU. Looks like they'll get a C-USA team, but a remarkably mediocre 6-6 one at that.

And if somehow C-USA can't send a team to St. Pete, their backup plan is the Sun Belt, which has one bowl-eligible team in Troy. Louisiana-Lafayette and FAU are now 5-6, so the "good" news is that Arkansas State (5-5) and Middle Tennessee (5-6) won to stay alive for bowls. FIU lost but is still technically in the hunt at 4-6.

RIght now, there are 68 bowl slots in college football and 64 bowl-eligible teams with two full weeks to play. i count 16 more teams that could be bowl-eligible, which makes it look like there will be a lot of 6-6 teams staying home next month. That puts some pressure on USF, but I don't think any BCS-conference six-win teams will be left out of the bowls ...

And could Tony Pike sneak off with Big East Offensive Player of the Year honors? He has Cincy up 28-14 on Pittsburgh right now, with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. If, say, UConn's Donald Brown has a down game against USF, it'd be hard to vote against Pike if he leads Cincy to a Big East crown with a broken forearm, putting up those numbers while missing two games and barely playing in two others.

Bulls ready defense for nation's No. 1 rusher

Hard to believe that in last year's USF loss to Connecticut, running back Donald Brown had one carry for 1 yard -- it was teammate Andre Dixon who went off for 167 yards in the Huskies' 22-15 win.

And as much as we've focused on USF quarterback Matt Grothe's sprained ankle this week, the larger issue for the game is how the Bulls will be able to contain Brown, who comes in leading the nation with 153 rushing yards per game. For all its struggles, USF is ranked fifth nationally in rushing defense, giving up just 89 yards per game, so at least statistically, the Bulls are a good match for Brown. Then again, Louisville had the nation's No. 2 rush defense when it faced Connecticut, and Brown went for 190 yards on 33 carries.

-- I'm almost disappointed I've gone this deep into UConn week without linking to the blog of Huskies d-lineman Ted Lunn, titled "Thoughts From A Fat White Guy." Funny stuff, with a disarming mix of praise and potshots -- he writes that Grothe made Cincinnati's Connor Barwin look like a "great white joke" on his big run against the Bearcats. (Barwin, of course, also deflected a pass that was intercepted, so we'll call it a push). He writes that the height and speed of USF's receivers will be a "tremendous challenge" to the UConn secondary. That reminds me that UConn corner Jasper Howard is a Miami Edison kid, like Marc Dile and Brouce Mompremier -- I wrote about him as a high school junior, when he was called "Little Jackie" at Edison, a reference for former USF receiver Jackie Chambers.

-- The Hartford Courant reports that Connecticut has been preparing for Sunday's game by practicing indoors and cranking temperatures up into the 70s. Shouldn't be nearly that warm, with Weather.com putting gametime temperatures in the high 50s on Sunday night. The Huskies won't confuse that with home, where temperatures weren't expected to rise above freezing today.

-- USF has done some minor roster tweaking in anticipation of seniors playing their final home game Sunday night. Turns out some of the walk-ons aren't the class we'd thought they were. Fullback Mike Padilla -- who's gotten in for four carries for 10 yards -- has been listed as a junior, but is actually in his last year of eligibility. Padilla shared the Green and Gold Pride Award, honoring the team's top walk-on, with Ben Williams in 2006. There's good news on a special-teams ace, as defensive back Cameron Perkins, who has five tackles and deflected the punt that Theo Wilson returned for a touchdown in the opener, will be back for another season. He'd been listed as a senior but did not play last season, so he has one more year. And for those of you scoring at home, walk-on Kenneth Luberice, who works on the punt team, is actually a junior and not a redshirt freshman -- had spent two years on campus before he made the team.

-- USF volleyball as expected made a quick exit at the Big East tournament in Pittsburgh, getting swept in three games in Thursday's opening round. Good week for the Bulls' Marcela Gurgel, who earned first-team All-Big East honors and made into Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd.

Recovering Grothe does 'everything' in drills

After missing most of three days of practice recovering from a sprained ankle, USF quarterback Matt Grothe got a share of the snaps in Friday's practice, the Bulls' last before Sunday's home finale against Connecticut.

Grothe and USF's coaches have been confident all week that the junior would be healthy enough to start against the Huskies. While senior Grant Gregory has gotten most of the work with the first-team offense, all signs point to Grothe being able to start Sunday's game as USF tries to snap a three-game losing streak.

"He looked fine. I'm sure he's a little bit sore," coach Jim Leavitt said. "He and Grant both split the reps. Matt has played a lot of football, so I'm not concerned. I wanted him to throw a little bit (Thursday) and he threw a little bit ... Today, he did everything, ran the ball a little bit, too. That was good. We've still got two more days. It's good we're playing Sunday night and not Saturday. That would be tougher."

Offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said Grothe took about one-third of the reps, with his son taking the remainder. He said he was encouraged by the Grothe was able to move around in Friday's workout.

"We'll make a game-time decision on who to start, but he was able to move around fine today, and if he could do that today, he'll be able to move around Sunday," Greg Gregory said.

Sophomore Jake Sims, who has played guard and tackle this season, is "tentative" recovering from a sprained right ankle, Leavitt said, and freshman Danous Estenor is still out following knee surgery. Leavitt said redshirt freshman Jeremiah Warren can fill in at tackle if needed Sunday.

Who will USF start at cornerback opposite Jerome Murphy? Leavitt said senior Tyller Roberts and redshirt freshmen Quenton Washington and Tyson Butler, who have all been slowed by injuries, are all practicing, though he didn't know who would start.

Leavitt said that redshirt freshman Mike McGowan, a second-team offensive lineman, is recovering from knee surgery -- he was on crutches at the Rutgers game. And true freshman Armando Sanchez, who is redshirting, is sidelined as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Q&A with linebacker Brouce Mompremier

Senior linebacker Brouce Mompremier has been a huge part of USF's up-and-down season -- a leader on USF's defense, sorely missed since suffering a traumatic neck injury in a win at Florida International. After missing two games, he returned to play in two games, but a blow to the back of the head late in USF's loss at Louisville reminded him of health risks he no longer wanted to take. We sat down with Mompremier on Thursday to talk about his season and being recognized as one of 21 seniors at the home finale Sunday night against Connecticut.

GA: Wanted to ask you about Sunday, knowing it'll be your last time at Raymond James Stadium as part of that team.

BM: It's a good feeling and a sad feeling. It's my last time being able to watch the guys play. I'm not playing anymore, but it's a good feeling that I've had five years here. It's been a wonderful time in my life, and I'm going to miss it, just being out with the guys.

GA: I'm sure you already miss it some.

BM: Yeah. I just started mine early.

GA: Have you talked as seniors about wanting to go out the right way?

BM: We've been close throughout the whole year. I'm sure the whole team is on the same page, wanting to send the seniors out the right way.

GA: How tough has this been for you -- I know it can't have been an easy decision not to play anymore, or to watch as things have gone the way they have for the team.

BM:  It's been hard, but not as hard as I thought. The guys on my team, my family and friends have made it easier for me. You can't prepare yourself for something like that, your season ending real early. I've just been taking it one day at a time. I can't say it's easy or hard, it's just something I'm going through.

GA: Some guys in your position remove themselves from the team, but you've been out there at practice every day, around your teammates as much as possible. It seems like you've wanted to stay a part of things.

BM: I have to. It's all I know right now. I can't be selfish. Just because I can't play doesn't mean I can't help the guys out. The younger guys like Sabbath (Joseph), even T-Mac (Tyrone McKenzie) and Kion (Wilson) still need some help. Being out there, being vocal, doing what I can.

GA: You have an understanding of the defense, a recognition that some of the guys out there right now would probably like to have, knowing where to be and what to do. Do you like being able to help that way?

BM:  I enjoy that I can still be a help, that I'm still useful to the team. Nobody wants to feel unwanted.

GA: Talk about this defense and what they can do to get things right, to play like they were in the first half of the season.

BM: We just have to line up. A lot of our mistakes are misalignments, bad communication. Somewhere along the line, it seems we forgot how to tackle, in that Pittsburgh game, but we've cleaned some of that up. Basically, we have to get back to what we were doing, by talking: "I'm back here, I've got your back back here." Just communicating, that's all.

GA: We've talked about a players-only meeting during the off week, about playing with passion and emotion in games. Did you see more of that against Rutgers?

BM: I saw it in the Rutgers game, but then I saw that second half. I can almost pinpoint the moment when guys just started to lay down. I feel like some guys kind of gave up. I'm not sure why. I'm guessing it's just frustration, things not going right. You've got guys going 100 miles an hour, just doing everything they can and not seeing any results.

GA: What are your best memories, when you think about five years here?

BM: I would say, it might not seem like it, but my best times, the most fun I had here was at the Sun Bowl. We had so much fun there. We lost, and we weren't prepared for that, but we had so many good times at the Sun Bowl. ... It wasn't so much the event, just us being around each other, joking around.

GA: We didn't get to talk to you after the Louisville game, so I wanted to ask you what happened there that made you not want to play anymore or risk any further injuries.

BM: There was a screen play, and one of the o-linemen hit me in the back of the head, their helmet hitting my helmet. Getting up off the floor, I had like flashbacks of the whole thing happening again. At that moment, I kind of knew that was it. It's not worth it. The risk is just too high for the reward. It hurt me real bad to think this could be my last game, and for it to be a loss makes it worse. Sometimes I felt kind of selfish, like maybe I still can play, maybe I can be out there helping the team. I thought about it, and in the end, it's just a game. My teammates, they understand, and that helped make it a lot easier.

GA: What's next for you? Where do you go from here?

BM: I only have one class to graduate, so I'll graduate this December. I'll be in Tampa. My plan is to be a fireman. It's one of the things I've been thinking about for a while, and I'll still be here in Tampa, here around the guys.

Leavitt must go? Alum's site seeks firing

As USF has dropped four of its last five games, you've probably heard that a site has been launched calling for the firing of USF coach Jim Leavitt. We tracked down the founder of JimLeavittMustGo.com, speaking by phone and trading e-mails with Adam Goldman, a 33-year-old USF alum who lives in Coral Springs.

It's impressive, first, that the site was registered before the current three-game losing streak. Goldman registered it Oct. 3, the day after USF's first loss of the season, against Pittsburgh. Goldman said he's been a Bulls fan since his college days, making it up to Tampa for the Kansas and Syracuse games and watching the Bu