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Bulls Are Following The Leader

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 31, 2007

Updated: 12/31/2007 12:12 am

EL PASO, Texas - Matt Grothe is the face of the University of South Florida's program. And, of course, his "Grohawk" is the hair of the program as well

When CBS' television cameras go live at 2 p.m. today from the Sun Bowl, Grothe will play his final game of his sophomore season. He'll be at the halfway point of his USF career.

In only two seasons, Grothe has led USF to 18 victories and consecutive bowl berths. The Bulls reached No. 2 in the country, but for USF to maintain its presence in the national rankings, Grothe knows he must continue to improve - starting today.

Last year in El Paso, a relative unknown quarterback named Chase Daniel, of Missouri, threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns on the national stage. This season, Daniel was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Will Grothe follow the same path?

"Last year's Sun Bowl definitely set me up for this year," Daniel said. "No doubt about it."

Since jogging into the huddle in the second quarter of last year's opener against McNeese State, Grothe has not only been counted on to carry the offense, but also to be a team leader. That's not an easy task for a young player.

"As a freshman, it's hard to tell a guy who's been here five years what to do," USF senior offensive lineman Nick Capogna said. "This year, I heard him getting on me and I'm like, 'Who the hell is this kid?' He's definitely become a leader at such a young age."

Fair or not, Grothe knows he gets probably more credit than deserved after a win and more blame after a loss.

"The quarterback gets all the attention when we're doing good and gets all the attention when we're not doing good," Grothe said.

One example was the upset of No. 5 West Virginia.

"I don't think I played very good most of the game," Grothe said. "And at times we've lost and the coaches said I played one of my best games ever."

Grothe still is perturbed that the Bulls (9-3) aren't undefeated.

"Take away one play from each we game we lost and we're undefeated right now and not sitting in Texas right now," he said.

With USF entering the season with more depth at running back, it appeared the Bulls would rely less on Grothe's running than last season. Instead, Grothe has rushed for 210 more yards this year despite playing one fewer game.

Also, his yards per carry average has increased from 3.5 to 4.5.

"That position on our team has to be a runner and a thrower," USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said. "When your quarterback is being an effective runner, it's like having another player on the field - one more player the defense has to account for.

"If we try to limit his running, we wouldn't be as good a football team."

Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said Grothe's style isn't similar to Oregon's Dennis Dixon, but instead is more like Florida's Tim Tebow and Washington's Jake Locker.

"He's more of a power runner, a very accurate thrower," Bellotti said. "Matt is a primary runner, a tough, physical football player and great leader just watching from afar."

Grothe said this season one of his goals was cutting back on turnovers - and he has. Despite attempting 40 more passes, he has thrown two fewer interceptions.

"I tried not to do certain stuff I did last year that caused me to throw interceptions," Grothe said. "Some of the stuff I did last year I made a big play and some of the stuff I did this year I didn't make a big play. It was the opposite of what happened last year. That's the biggest part I need to work on still.

"Last year, I didn't have one game that stood out where I had a bunch of turnovers. It was like six, seven, eight games where I had two turnovers and it just ended up piling up at the end of the year. This year, where I think I've worked on, I take out just two or three games of the season and I've only thrown six interceptions.

"It's just going to be a matter of understanding what I can and can't do more and more. I guess not taking as many risks or not thinking 'We need a touchdown here' and just taking what they give us more."

USF coach Jim Leavitt said he's pleased with Grothe's progress the past two years.

"Matt continues to grow and get better and, at times, Matt's been absolutely outstanding," Leavitt said. "I'm sure other times, Matt feels as though he could have played better. He's such a competitor and he wants to be better and wants to do better you have to have that trait or you have no chance.

"I think Matt's future, I think he's going to be a much better quarterback, I really do. Because I think he'll understand the mistakes he's made and he'll coach himself and teach himself what to do. He's fun to have out there because he's so darn competitive."

Kicker Delbert Alvarado said there's no questioning Grothe's value to the team.

"He's the leader of this team," Alvarado said. "If he has a bad game, usually the team won't play up to its full potential. If he's having a good game, the team feeds off that momentum. If he's not doing well, then the team won't be as good as it can be.

"He's our go-to-guy, the playmaker on offense. If it's the last play of the game, you want him to have the ball."

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

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