« Cal at Oregon | Return to Main | Week 5 Picks »
September 28, 2007
West Virginia at South Florida
Posted at September 28, 2007 01:50 AM in College Football
.
 |
AT |
 |
| The Teams: | The #5 West Virginia Mountaineers (4-0) visit Raymond James Stadium to play the #18 South Florida Bulls (3-0) | |
| When: | Friday 9/28/07 at 7:00 PM Central | |
| Television: |  | |
| The Playmakers: |
QB Matt Grothe: Just a sophomore, the key to the offense, 652-4-0 passing and 88-1 rushing RB Mike Ford: Just a freshmen, mildly productive, 170-4 rushing DE George Selvie: He gets pressure on the QB, 21 tackles (16 for loss), 8.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble | |
| The Matchup: | With the demise of Louisville, West Virginia has one less roadblock in the way of their path to the Big East crown. Last year South Florida handed the Mountaineers a crippling second loss and they'll need similar magic to pull off the upset this time. Against a weak schedule, the Bulls have played excellent defense, holding opponents to just 2.37 yards per carry and 4.07 yards per attempt passing. The flip side of this is that their young offense has struggled, especially rushing where they are only getting 3.39 yards per carry. Despite the general lack of success running, the Bulls continued to pound the ball on the ground in each of their games. Unless they force the Mountaineers into a few turnovers, that strategy will simply not work. QB Matt Grothe has proven he can win, but he'll need RB Mike Ford to breakthrough with a strong game on the ground to keep the pressure off. The Mountaineers have also played stifling run defense, allowing only 2.56 yards per carry, but they are vulnerable through the air. Of course, with the offensive firepower provided by White, Slaton, and Reynaud, defense isn't always a necessity. With what is expected to be a sellout crowd at Raymond James Stadium and the Friday night spotlight provided by ESPN and their hype machine, South Florida will take the field in an intense, emotional envrionment. With a young offense that intensity can sometimes backfire as guys press and try to do too much. I see this one being close for awhile, but the West Virginia offense will be too much and they'll pull away for an easy win. |
|
| Prediction: | West Virginia wins 35-20 | |
| Computer Says: | West Virginia wins by 6.5 | |
| Point Spread: | West Virginia by 7 |
West Virginia Mountaineers