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Bulls' Mettle Will Be Tested At Cincinnati

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By BRETT McMURPHY

bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: October 27, 2008

Updated: 10/27/2008 12:22 am

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After the Bulls' Big East title hopes all but burst with Saturday's 24-20 loss at Louisville, University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said he'll find out a lot about his team at Cincinnati on Thursday.

"I think they'll be very down," Leavitt said. "The key for us, we have to put it behind us and move on or we'll have no chance at Cincinnati. That will be the real key. It will be real interesting to see how strong our team is."

Despite losing for the second time in their past three games, the Bulls (6-2, 1-2 Big East) remained in The Associated Press poll and BCS Top 25 standings. USF dropped from No. 14 to No. 24 in AP and from No. 16 to No. 23 in the BCS.

The Bulls' biggest culprits against Louisville were a leaky defense that allowed a fourth quarter game-winning TD drive for the second time in three games, a banged up offensive line that couldn't protect QB Matt Grothe, undisciplined play (14 penalties for 109 yards) and virtually no running game (the Bulls had a school-record low eight yards rushing).

"You've got to make plays and we didn't make plays," USF defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said. "You can't give up two long TD passes and the long runs and the penalties. It's frustrating."

Grothe, who threw for 344 yards, two TDs and two interceptions, was sacked five times at Louisville. In USF's two losses, Grothe has been sacked nine times; in USF's six wins, he's been sacked only seven times. Also, USF fell to 14-10 in Grothe's career when he throws an interception, compared to 10-0 when he doesn't.

Although not mathematically eliminated from the Big East title race and BCS bowl bid, the Bulls realize they not only must win out, but also need the other league teams to beat up on each other.

"We'd have to have a lot of help, but we can still have a good year," Burnham said. "We have to keep these kids going. They can still win 10 regular season games. It's a rough road to hoe, no doubt about it. We got two losses in the Big East, so you never know."

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Without a running game, Grothe carried the offense all afternoon. His 344 yards passing were the third-highest total in his career. ... DE George Selvie, who is finally healthy, had two sacks in a game for the first time since Oct. 27, 2007, at UConn. Selvie had both of his sacks on UL's first two possessions, but didn't have a sack the rest of the way. ... WR Jessie Hester had a career-high eight receptions.

WHAT WENT WRONG: You mean other than no running game, five sacks of Grothe, 10 penalties and USF losing for the fifth time in as many Big East road games when the Bulls are favored by less than a TD? Well, the defensive line had six offside penalties and could have had more if UL QB Hunter Cantwell hadn't allowed USF to get back. "We knew that they would jump offside," UL coach Steve Kragthorpe said. "They crowd the ball a little bit so we were ready for that." ... Senior CB Tyller Roberts was beat deep on a 69-yard TD pass to Scott Long. Roberts was replaced by freshman Quenton Washington. Long also beat CB Jerome Murphy on the game-winning 24-yard TD pass. ... Several Bulls left the game with injuries - RT Marc Dile, RB Mike Ford, TE Trent Pupello, NT Terrell McClain, LB Brouce Mompremier and WR Colby Erskin. Their status for Thursday is unknown.

Brett McMurphy

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