South Florida pulls the stunner.
The Bulls, led by freshman QB Matt Grothe, proved to Rutgers that beating West Virginia in Morgantown is not impossible. Grothe completed 22 of 30 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown and also ran 23 times and for a score as well in the 24-19 victory last Saturday, the school's biggest win ever.
"This probably was the biggest because we won here and it's so hard to win here," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt told the Associated Press. "It's hard to beat these guys anywhere."
Despite all the touches Grothe received, it was the Bulls defense that set the tone for the game with DE George Selvie’s fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Selvie earned Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the week for his performance Saturday. The Bulls' defense held the No. 2 rushing offense in the country to 132 yards.
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The loss for the Mountaineers pretty much eliminates West Virginia from earning a BCS berth. The only way West Virginia could sneak in as the Big East representative is if it defeats Rutgers this Saturday and Louisville loses to UConn — creating a three-way tie at the top of the conference at 5-2. The league's automatic BCS bid would then go to the team ranked the highest in the final BCS standings, which will be released on Sunday.
Brohm Balling Again: Lousiville junior QB Brian Brohm earned Big East Offensive Player of the Week for the seventh time in his career with a four-touchdown passing performance in a 48-24 victory over Pittsburgh. Brohm now sits at No. 11 in the country in passing efficiency. The Cardinals sit at No. 6 in the BCS but are in jeopardy of missing out on the BCS if Rutgers beats WVU. LSU and Michigan are comfortably ahead of Louisville in the current standings, not to mention Boise State’s automatic berth for being in the Top 12 in the BCS.
Dantonio Done at Cincy: Former Cincinnati head coach Mark Dantonio left his his contract early to take over the head spot at Michigan State. "This is a dream come true for me," said Dantonio, a former Spartans assistant who spent the past three seasons as coach at Cincinnati. "It's great to come back and it's great to be home." Dantonio was 18-17 as head coach of the Bearcats.
A Look Ahead: West Virginia hosts Rutgers in the Big East game of the week. Rutgers bounced back from its loss a week ago – can West Virginia do the same? The Mountaineers are 8.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com. … In the only other conference game, Louisville hosts Connecticut in its attempt to finish 11-1 on the season. The Cardinals are -27 on WagerWeb.com.
