Final thoughts on USF-West Virginia

Finally got around to watching the USF-West Virginia game on tape, so I have a few more observations on a huge 30-19 win for the Bulls ...

-- I think linebacker Sabbath Joseph deserves credit for two underappreciated assists – first and foremost, recovering Kion Wilson’s fumble after Wilson had intercepted a Jarrett Brown pass deep in USF territory. If Wilson loses that fumble, West Virginia has a first down inside the USF 15, down 10-9.

Joseph also helped on West Virginia's last drive, astutely anticipating a shovel pass to Noel Devine and tipping off linebacker Chris Robinson, who was in the right place to drop Devine for a 3-yard loss, setting up a third and 23 from the 38. Robinson's hit effectively took West Virginia out of field goal range, forcing them to eventually go for it on fourth and 28, making it an easy final stop for the Bulls' defense.

-- As well as USF played offensively, the Bulls overcame some significant drops, especially early. Carlton Mitchell dropped B.J. Daniels’ first pass (making up for it with a long TD three plays later) and tight end Ben Busbee had a drop on the next drive that forced USF to settle for a field goal. ... Unrelated, but if you looked closely, you saw some interesting cameos, like Robinson playing defensive end and Jason Pierre-Paul at defensive tackle.

-- No, Mitchell didn’t step out of bounds at the 9-yard line on what would have been a 78-yard touchdown from Daniels. Just a bad call – TV replays clearly showed green between his foot and the sideline – USF scored three plays later, so it’s largely academic. And speaking of missed calls, Sterling Griffin really looked like he got two feet down before the ball was knocked loose – not sure how a replay official overturned the original ruling of a fumble. Between the two, USF turned out just fine on balance.

-- I think of all the skills Daniels can exhibit right now, patience is one of the most impressive. His touchdown to A.J. Love, as he scrambled to the right, was timed just perfectly – he waited until the last defender bit on him running and left Love wide-open, literally standing alone in the end zone. Knowing when to throw on the run isn’t an easy thing to pick up, but Daniels did it well there.

-- Turns out the tweaks on the offensive line were a function of Jake Sims and Chaz Hine being limited by the flu last week. Both wound up playing during the game, but it’ll be interesting to see who the starting line is at Rutgers. Tons of other injuries we'll check up on -- Leavitt said Monday that cornerback Tyson Butler is the one they're concerned most about, but Mitchell's high ankle sprain could take away the Bulls' top playmaker for next week's game at Rutgers.

-- I think West Virginia’s coaches made the same mistake as in 2007 by underutilizing a talented freshman. Just as Noel Devine got just four touches two years ago, Tavon Austin got just one carry (for 19 yards) and one reception (for 13), along with two kickoff returns. With that speed, he could be a special player down the road.

-- The last play of the game, where B.J. Daniels ran back 10 yards and took a knee? It didn’t put Daniels under 100 yards because it was recorded as a team loss, much as a spike to kill the clock late in a half isn’t credited as an incompletion to the quarterback. It did, however, register as a failed fourth-down conversion, dropping USF from 8-for-9 to 8-for-10 on the season, keeping them from leading the nation in that category.

The I-A leader is UCF, which went a ridiculous 5-for-6 on fourth downs in rallying to a 21-20 win against Marshall on Sunday. The Knights (5-3) won’t likely win their next two, against Texas and Houston, but with a win against Tulane (2-6) or UAB (3-5) they’ll be bowl-eligible, and a likely match for the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Really don’t think they’ll play USF there – if the Bulls are left to the bottom tier of St. Pete, Birmingham and Toronto, I think they’ll go to Alabama, with Rutgers a more likely match for Tropicana Field.

Comments

[The Adder Strikes!]

I wish our team could've done better against USF. It would have been a milestone for us to defeat the Bulls on their own turf (for the second time, I mean). But West Virginia was dominated, and I must say that Raymond James Stadium should be on the "Toughest Places to Play" list.

[Chalko]

Gobulls32.... Have you checked your record the past three years??? Just saying. Most UCF fans know that UCF sucks!

[G.A.]

West Virginia could be selected -- don't know if Charlotte would want them for a second year in a row. That game has an awesome attendance record, but if there isn't an ACC opponent from nearby, they might want the Big East team likely to bring the most fans.

[Sanjay]

Greg, even if WVU loses two more games (and Pitt beat Cincy as you laid out) they would be 4-3 in conference and could still be selected ahead of a 5-2 USF.

[Richard Todd]

David - When you make a blanket statement about C-USA think about what you say. Houston is a very good team and USM is no slouch nor is ECU. If it is in reference to who we play in a bolw game I agree completely that it would be much better to play a BCS team esp the SEC.

[gobulls32]

Werbito,
I would certainly hope for a better bowl than anything UCF would qualify for (no offense to UCF) but on the other hand i would love the opportunity to shut up some of their fans. Some of them are the most obnoxious I've ever heard. Nothing wrong with being proud of your school/team, but unless you're winning you shouldn't be so cocky.
I work with a UCF alum and constantly get reminded that we won't play them. EVen though they have lost every game, they still think we're chicken.

[Mr. Snrub]

Some project that Arkansas, Mississippi St., or Kentucky will be the SEC opponent for the PJB. The first would be a great opponent, but the latter two should be a better match-up for USF.

[USFShep]

Give credit when it is due. That was a well played game and yes well coached. Didn't like the play call on the safety but no one is perfect. 3 for 3 on field goals! What!
Great game Bulls. D played like Fsu game and BJ was poised and played smart. Only 25 penalty yards?
Let's hope they do this again at Rutgers. I think we win out Bowl options will improve but a long way to go yet.

[MAL]

Isn't the Cotton Bowl also in play this year for Notre Dame?

[David Weber]

Sandro, I disagree on the TE. Busbee had been playing well, but now that he isn't, we should just ignore the position. I think he was helpful in the running game, but not vital. We could just go with 4 WRs on passing downs- Love, Hester, Mitchell, Bogan, and Griffin are all more reliable than Busbee, so why not just use them? Or, to make up for the loss of TE blocking, we could use Ford as a fullback.

I think a fullback might get in the way of the read-option run, but it could also open up a gap. Ford threw a nice block on the 4th down conversion, and I'm sure he'd rather at least be on the field.

[David Weber]

The pass to Love was perfect- BJ acted like he was going to tuck the ball and everyone on WVU bit. Then BJ just made sure no one could tip it, and Love made sure he caught it, no small feat at USF.

The things that I really liked from the game were our lack of penalties and our intensity. After looking disinterested and playing dumb at Pitt, I think we were are rightly worried about what our preparation level would be. Those doubts were magnified when WVU drove with ease to start the game. And then we woke up and pretended it was September. And Canales didn't suck this time- he remembered that BJ throws a great deep ball and he stuck with the hot hand at running back. It sounds like common sense, but it's a huge leap forward for Canales (I know that sounds mean, but his game plan for Pitt was awful and I won't forget about it anytime soon).

The Pizza Bowl would be cool if an SEC team qualifies (some projections say someone will, others have a Sun Belt or CUSA team filling in). It'd be nice to get a shot to beat up on South Carolina or Ole Miss- we're in a lot of recruiting battles with them, so a head-to-head might help us a lot. The Tire Bowl is ideal, but with Notre Lame almost a lock for the Gator, the Pitt/Cincy loser will get it.

The biggest thing for us it the opportunity to play a BCS-conference opponent in a bowl. I don't think playing a 7-5 Memphis or Southern Miss proves anything. A beating like the St. Pete Bowl just confirms that we're better than a CUSA team, but imagine if we lost. That'd be a disaster.

[DELdaBull]

The potential for greatness in BJ is there. It is up to himself and his coaches to hone in and sharpen his skills.

[Cat]

Oh how I wish it would work out for the Gator. Someone please let me know how that could happen...I mean for USF to play in the Gator Bowl. ND loses out? Or if ND wins out & goes to a BCS bowl? Do we have to win out to go to the Gator?

[jg233]

If we are 10-2 or 9-3 and all of our losses are to top 20 teams, playing in the PapaJohns.com Bowl would be a pretty weak reward. At least the bowl lineup improves a little next year.

[BC]

Nathan, I too was hoping BJ would soon figure out it's better to just throw it away when there's nothing there then to take a sack or run out of bounds of a loss. Sure enough, towards the end of the game, he had nothing on one play and ended up throwing it away. Was very pleased to see that

[G.A.]

Even if USF runs the table, Meineke isn't a lock, just because Notre Dame is probably taking the Gator -- I don't think they'll be high enough to be a BCS at-large.

That means unless Pitt or Cincy completely tank, the lesser of those two would go to Charlotte.

One scenario that puts USF in Charlotte: Pitt and Cincy both win out, which gives West Virginia two more losses, and then Pitt edges Cincy, handing the Bearcats their first loss on the final weekend of the season. Cincy would be like No. 3 or so, losing to a top 10 team, so I think they would earn a BCS at large, which would leave Charlotte open for USF (providing the Bulls were the best team remaining for the Big East, i.e., beat Rutgers and Connecticut).

[G.A.]

BC, Kion actually tipped the ball to himself. Great play, and if you look at our photo gallery, his helmet is like halfway off his head as he's able to pull in the ball for the catch.

[paul wall]

ya hopefully we can get bowl eligible

[bob]

Greg,
does Robinson get any interest from NFL scouts?

When I first saw him as a freshman, I thought he and Selvie would be an unstoppable duo. He certainly seems to have all the athletic ability and size for the next level.

This is the first year since his freshman year that I've been impressed with his play. Is he not a hard worker? Don't see what's holding him back.

[Nathan]

Really hard to complain about a fairly commanding win—especially after USF fixed so many of the problems of the flop against Pitt. That said, I have three minor concerns moving forward this season. I’ll let someone else decide if they’re legitimate concerns or not.

1. Busbee's hands. You (i.e., GA) mention one of his drops above. There was at least one other key drop, if not two (though, in all fairness, at least one of the drops would have been a great catch if he'd made it). I honestly don't know enough about the guy to know if it was an aberration or a regular issue.

2. Jason Pierre-Paul's speed. Usually, it's a great thing. On two or three occasions Friday he blew right by the player that he should have tackled in the backfield (or at least slowed down enough for the cavalry to arrive). A little more control once he gets into the backfield and he could REALLY dominate.

3. B.J. Daniels' scrambling. If the last three years have taught us anything, it's that a scrambling, Houdini-style quarterback can be alternately wonderful and debilitating to a drive. Grothe certainly was more of the former than the latter—and got better as time went on—and it seems that B.J. is well on his way to being of that same mold. Even so, I found myself screaming "Throw it out of bounds" on at least two or three occasions Friday night (as I did the week before, and the week before). There’s just no need to take a five yard sack on some of those plays—or to ever run out of bounds two (or more) yards behind the line of scrimmage.

All things considered, it was a great week. And hard to complain about three minor issues, two of which are likely due to inexperience and easily corrected.

[werbito]

Meineke was fun.

[Steve O'Neal]

Thanks for the game recap Greg. I would take the Meineke bowl if it works out that way. The 1st trip there was fun EXCEPT for the loss. The city did a nice job with all the activities for the fans. Just hope they can stay focused and keep winning!

[Jupiter Bull]

Great recap, Greg. I noticed the JPP at DT, but didn't know how much we used it. The rest of the DL got pretty good pressure on Brown. I was seated with the WVU fans, and they were out of their minds mad at Brown's decision making...many calling for Geno Smith. I like to think some of his errors were due to pressure by USF.

If USF runs the BEast table, we should be 3rd place, worst case. Would that likely get us the Meineke bowl? Given the two losses, I could live with that.

[BC]

Greg, wasn't Joseph also the one to tip the ball that Kion picked off?

[Sandro]

I think we need to get more productivity from our TE position. Busbee is just horrible with catching the ball. I am not sure how good his blocking is but catching the football he has been just horrible. I know we don't have the depth at TE position but the coaches do need to get somebody on the field who can catch the ball. I don’t see the effort from Busbee either. So many times it seems like he doesn’t even try to catch the ball, for example Pitt game.

GO BULLS !!!

[D]

If Mitchell does indeed have a high ankle sprain, I don't think you will see him for quite a while. Someone else has to step up...perhaps Love or Hester.

[werbito]

Good. I want nothing to do with UCiFers.