Two wins vs. ranked teams? USF one of eight

How many teams in college football do you think can boast two wins against ranked opponents this season?

USF, of course, joined that group by beating No. 20 West Virginia on Friday night, adding that to their win over then-No. 18 Florida State last month.

How many other teams fall into that category? Just seven others, and all seven of them are ranked in the top 20. No. 2 Alabama and No. 4 Southern Cal enter the day undefeated with three wins against ranked teams. Oregon, which faces USC tonight, has two wins against ranked teams.

Miami, currently trailing Wake Forest 17-7, has three wins against ranked teams, and ACC rivals Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech have two each.

UPDATE: After Texas' win Saturday night against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns make it eight teams.

If you're wondering, there are eight teams in the current Associated Press top 25 who haven't beaten a ranked team this season. No. 12 Penn State, No. 16 Pittsburgh, No. 19 Utah, No. 20 West Virginia and No. 23 Arizona haven't even faced a ranked team yet, while No. 17 Ohio State, No. 24 Mississippi and No. 25 Notre Dame lost their only games against ranked teams.

Big East: Hard-luck Huskies lose late again

Stepping back to look at the Big East, it's hard to imagine a crueler season than Connecticut has endured this fall, mainly with the tragic stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard, but also in the way the Huskies have had late leads in all four games they've lost this season.

The latest was Saturday against Rutgers, when Connecticut took a 24-21 lead with 38 seconds left in the game, only to see Rutgers freshman quarterback Tom Savage throw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Tim Brown on the very next play, escaping with a 28-24 win. Again, for the Huskies to lose on a deep pass in their first home game since losing a star cornerback is beyond cruel.

It's happened before for the Huskies -- they led North Carolina 10-3 with three minutes to play, only to lose 12-10. They led West Virginia 24-21 (same score as today) with three minutes to play, only to see Noel Devine score on a 56-yard run for a 28-24 win. And the Huskies led Pittsburgh 21-6 with a minute left in the third quarter, only to see the Panthers rally to win 24-21.

Today's loss leaves UConn at 4-4, with their next two games at ranked teams in Cincinnati and Notre Dame. If they lose those, even a home win against Syracuse will mean the Huskies are playing for bowl eligibility when they host USF on Dec. 5 in the final game of the regular season.

Fourth-down gambles paid off for Bulls

A pair of fourth-down gambles played huge roles in USF's 30-19 win against No. 20 West Virginia, with the first setting up the Bulls' first touchdown and a bigger gamble leading to USF's final points.

After the victory, USF coach Jim Leavitt recognized both the importance of going for it and also the incredible risk involved, should the Bulls not have converted.

"It's pretty stupid to do what I did I think, probably," Leavitt said. "First time, it was really probably foolish, but we got it. I really wanted to get a spark going and something happening. ... It really opened up the game."

The first fourth down came on USF's first drive, as the Bulls, already trailing 7-0, faced a fourth and 1 from its 49. The Bulls lined up with three running backs -- Mo Plancher, with Mike Ford and Richard Kelly lined up as blocking backs. All three backs ran to the left side, with Ford getting a key block to help Plancher gain 2 yards for the first down. On the next play, the Bulls scored as B.J. Daniels found Carlton Mitchell open for a 49-yard touchdown.

The bigger risk came on the second play of the fourth quarter, as USF led 27-19 and faced another fourth and 1, from its own 41. Daniels had hit Bogan for a 6-yard gain, and Leavitt was unhappy with the spot from the officials, who took a measurement and found the Bulls an inch short.

"I was not going to let that ball placement stop us," Leavitt said. "That just bothered me. That was more me just being angry. You've got to be careful. If a person punted in that situation, they're probably doing the right thing. All you have to do is bobble the snap, they get a push or something like that, and all the sudden, you lose a football game. I thought we had that first down. I was sitting there going 'That far? You've got to be kidding me.'"

West Virginia stacked the line of scrimmage, but Daniels got just enough on a straightahead keeper to get the first down. Seven plays later and with nearly three minutes off the clock, USF got a 44-yard field goal from kicker Eric Schwartz to make it a two-score lead for the Bulls.

USF entered the game second in the nation in fourth-down conversion percentage, having converted 6 of 7 previous fourth-down attempts -- only Central Florida (2-for-2) had been better. West Virginia's opponents had converted on just four of 10 fourth-down attempts before Friday's game.

West Virginia, by comparison, was cautious -- facing a fourth and 1 at the USF 38 in the first quarter, the Mountaineers opted to punt, setting up a safety, and on the drive before USF's second fourth-down gamble, West Virginia had a fourth and 8 at the USF 33, but opted to punt. The punt went into the end zone for a touchback, so the Mountaineers gave up a chance at a game-tying score to ultimately get 13 yards in field position.

Leavitt said the risks of being second-guessed keep many coaches from taking such gambles, but he felt he needed to go for it, to take a chance to help his team win.

"Even if you get ridiculed for those things, people don't worry about it as much, because you win," he said. "You lose, then you have to go jump off the Skyway or something. I don't mean that, but ... when it works, the decisions, it's OK. If it doesn't, then you might as well forget it, because you're done. You can't do those things."

'So much better': USF beats W. Virginia, 30-19

TAMPA – All the traditional demons of USF’s recent midseason struggles were nowhere to be found on Friday night against No. 20 West Virginia.

Turnovers? The Bulls committed none. Costly penalties? The Bulls had just 21 yards on five flags. Field-goal woes? Walk-on kicker Eric Schwartz went 3-for-3, including a clutch 44-yarder in the fourth.

Quarterback B.J. Daniels passed with patience and poise, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for 104 yards in leading the Bulls to a 30-19 win, beating the Mountaineers for the third time in four years.

As awful as the Bulls (6-2, 2-2) looked six days earlier in a 41-14 loss at Pittsburgh, they played some of their best football on offense and defense, moving the chains consistently and keeping West Virginia (6-2, 2-1) and star running back Noel Devine in check defensively.

“They played so much better than we did the last few weeks,” coach Jim Leavitt said. “I was really happy with the defensive secondary. Those guys played a lot better.”

Just as Pittsburgh had marched 80 yards on its first drive last week, USF’s defense gave up an 80-yard drive for a West Virginia touchdown on the first possession. This time, the offense answered right back, with Daniels hitting receiver Carlton Mitchell for a 49-yard touchdown after Mo Plancher converted a fourth-and-1 at midfield.

The defense then stepped up, too – after allowing 80 yards on the first drive, the Bulls held West Virginia to just 91 on its remaining six drives of the half, which netted only a field goal. Devine was held to 42 yards on 17 carries, his first game under 80 yards in the last nine games.

“We were on the same page. Eleven as one, flying all over the field,” said linebacker Chris Robinson, who had six tackles. “This game proved we’re back to where we were the week we played Florida State. We need to carry that the rest of the season and we’ll be all right.”

West Virginia cut USF’s lead to 10-9 when a punt was pinned at the 2-yard line and Jamar Taylor was stopped in the end zone for a safety. Again, the Bulls offense came up with a big play, with Daniels and Mitchell hooking up for a 69-yard gain to the 9-yard line. Daniels hit Love from 11 yards for his second touchdown.

West Virginia scored on its first drive of the second half, too, getting an 11-yard run from Jarrett Brown to cut USF’s lead to 20-19. Again, the Bulls answered on offense, with Plancher getting a strong 28-yard run to the 12-yard line. On third down from the 6, Daniels hit freshman Sterling Griffin for a 6-yard touchdown and a 27-19 lead.

The Bulls continued to be aggressive on offense, going for it on fourth-and-1 from their 41 and converting on a Daniels keeper. On the ensuing third and 5, Daniels scrambled for 23 yards, setting up a 44-yard field goal by Schwartz.

A Raymond James Stadium crowd announced at 56,328 cheered as the Bulls kept alive a streak of not losing consecutive home games since joining the Big East in 2005. West Virginia’s last hopes of rallying ended when Jarrett Brown’s pass on fourth and 28 went incomplete with 3:27 to play.

West Virginia was the third consecutive ranked opponent for the Bulls, a first in school history, and USF faced the possibility of losing a third straight game after a promising 5-0 start that had them ranked No. 21 in the nation.

The Bulls struggled in a 34-17 loss to Cincinnati, then were dominated on both sides of the ball in a 41-14 loss at Pittsburgh last week.

"Everybody thinks we have the three-game slump every year where we lose three in a row," Robinson said. "I'm just glad we changed that up and I hope we can change the rest of the season so we don't lose any more."

USF has always played some of its best football against West Virginia, knocking off the Mountaineers when they were No. 7 in 2006, and No. 5 in 2007. The Bulls now have a week off, then another weeknight game, trying to break their Thursday-night hex with a game at Rutgers on Nov. 12.

Photo gallery: USF 30, No. 20 WVU 19

Click here for more photos of USF's upset win over No. 20 West Virginia

USF, Daniels beat No. 20 West Virginia 30-19

USF quarterback B.J. Daniels threw for three touchdowns and walk-on kicker Eric Schwartz went 3-for-3 on field goals, guiding the Bulls to a 30-19 win over No. 20 West Virginia.

The Bulls (6-2, 2-2) bounced back nicely after back-to-back losses to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, beating a ranked opponent for the second time this season. A Raymond James Stadium crowd announced as 56,328 cheered as the Bulls kept alive their streak of not losing consecutive home games since joining the Big East in 2005.

The Bulls led 20-12 at halftime, but the Mountaineers pulled within one point on an 11-yard run by quarterback Jarrett Brown with 9:18 left in the third. Daniels answered by finishing a 69-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to freshman Sterling Griffin.

Daniels got USF going early, hitting Carlton Mitchell for a 49-yard touchdown on its first drive, and a 69-yard pass play from Daniels to Mitchell set up an 11-yard touchdown to receiver A.J. Love. The Bulls bounced back well from a 7-0 early deficit.

After converting a fourth-and-1 at midfield on the first drive, USF's offense saw Daniels hit receiver Carlton Mitchell for a 49-yard touchdown to tie West Virginia 7-7. After a defensive stop, the Bulls marched down to the West Virginia 12 before settling for a 30-yard Eric Schwartz field goal.

West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown had hit a 32-yard pass on the first play and capped the drive with a 3-yard run to the pylon. The Mountaineers added two points on the final play of the opening quarter when USF opened a drive at the 2 and Jamar Taylor was tackled in the end zone for a safety. Tyler Bitancurt hit a 33-yard field goal late in the half to cut the lead to 17-12.

USF in rare group with four ranked opponents

When USF takes the field tonight against No. 20 West Virginia, it will be the fourth time the Bulls have faced an opponent ranked in the Associated Press top 25. USF has never faced more than three ranked opponents in a season, and will likely face a fifth next month when Miami comes to Tampa.

By the end of the weekend, USF will be one of only eight teams in Division I-A football to have faced four ranked opponents this season, joined by Miami, USC, Oregon, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.

Of the eight, USC has the best mark against ranked opponents, with a 3-0 mark entering Saturday's game against Oregon, which is 2-1 against ranked teams. Miami is 3-1, with its loss against Virginia Tech, which is 2-2 against ranked teams. A win tonight for USF (which beat Florida State but has lost to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh) would put them ahead of Oklahoma (1-3) and Arkansas (1-3), as well as Vanderbilt, which is 0-3 entering a game against Georgia Tech.

USF is also facing a ranked opponent for the third week in a row, another first in Bulls history. In all of college football this season, only three teams have faced ranked teams in three straight weeks -- Kentucky went 0-3 in one stretch, Missouri just finished an 0-3 stretch after a 4-0 start, and Miami opened the season with four straight ranked opponents. Vanderbilt is in the middle of a stretch of three straight ranked opponents, with No. 1 Florida ahead next week. We also should give credit to Arkansas, which played a stretch of four ranked opponents in five weeks.

USF's schedule of four ranked opponents is more impressive when you consider that the other seven Big East teams have combined for just six games against ranked opponents, with the only win in those six being Cincinnati's win against then-ranked USF. West Virginia, Rutgers and Pitt, it should be noted, haven't faced a ranked team yet this season.

Which conference has the best record against ranked teams? The ACC is 10-13 this season -- seven of those 10 wins are against other ACC teams -- followed by the Pac-10 (7-10), the Big 12 (7-15), the SEC (7-21), the Big East (2-6) and the Big Ten (4-13). The rest of college football outside the BCS is a combined 5-63 against ranked opponents, with Boise State, BYU, Houston, UTEP and TCU getting the victories.

Off to Raymond James Stadium for tonight's game. Check back for the live blog tonight ...

Blazers on parade: Bulls host bowls tonight

If you notice an odd assortment of wild-colored blazers on the sidelines at Raymond James Stadium for tonight's USF-West Virginia, relax. There is not a convention of Craig Sager impersonators in town this weekend for Halloween.

No, it's USF's annual "Bulls and Bowls" shindig, which has representatives from 11 bowls visiting Tampa and getting a closer look at the Bulls and USF's athletic administration. All the BCS bowls are scheduled to attend -- Sugar, Orange, Rose, Fiesta and the national championship game -- as well as nearly all the current Big East bowls -- the Gator, the Sun, the Meineke Car Care, the Papajohns.com and the St. Petersburg bowls. (The International Bowl is not here, perhaps in recognition that USF almost certainly won't get paired with a game in Toronto). The conference's bowl affiliations will change after this season, and part of the new lineup will also be in Tampa, with the as-yet-unnamed Yankee Stadium Bowl.

Even with a strong finish, it will be hard for USF to catch Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, which are two games ahead in the standings and both beat the Bulls handily. A win Friday night could keep the Bulls in contention for a trip to Charlotte, though Birmingham remains the most likely destination for USF, presuming they can collect themselves enough to win two of their remaining five games to become bowl-eligible.

Reminder: Live blog during USF-WVU tonight

Just a reminder that we'll be live-blogging throughout tonight's USF-West Virginia game at Raymond James Stadium -- lots of updates, notes and conversation about the game as it happens. If you're not at the game, please stop by and make this part of your Bulls game-day experience ...

Old friends reunite as Bulls host West Virginia

Best storyline I could find for Friday night's USF game against No. 20 West Virginia was Bulls cornerback Quenton Washington and West Virginia running back Noel Devine, who were as close as brothers in North Fort Myers before going their separate ways for college.

Devine remembers meeting Washington on the first day of school when he was 12 years old, and they've never gone up against each other until Friday night. (Washington played on special teams last year against West Virginia and Devine last season, but this is their first time facing each other as starters.)

I want to thank The News-Press in Fort Myers for sharing a great picture of Devine and Washington celebrating during their careers at North Fort Myers. The picture shown here is from News-Press photographer John David Emmett.

Here's our scouting report, which notes that USF has never played three consecutive ranked opponents in its history, let alone three in a span of 16 days. Before this season, USF hadn't faced more than three ranked opponents in an entire season, but now they've done it in a single month (October, no less).

Still lots of links and notes, so keep checking back in the next 24 hours, and don't forget our live blog during the game Friday night.

(Photo by John David Emmett of the News-Press)

-- USF women's soccer extended a strong season for another two days, getting a goal from sophomore Chelsea Klotz in the 84th minute -- that's six from the end -- to pull out a clutch 1-0 home win over DePaul in the opening round of the Big East tournament. USF advances to the quarterfinals and will play at Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon. That won't be easy, as Notre Dame went 10-0-1 in Big East play in the regular season. The Bulls didn't play the Irish this season, but lost 3-0 at Notre Dame last year.