Sunday, September 30, 2007

Defense Leads Way in Biggest Win of USF History

The Bull defense played maybe its best game in the biggest game of the programs short history. The defense was fired up from the start and held the nations 9th ranked offense to 13 points and held WVU to half the rushing yards it had averaged during the season. The defense was led by senior linebacker Ben Moffitt, who had 2 interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. The offense was not spectacular, but Matt Groethe and Company didn't have to with how the defense played.


WVU was supposed to be looking for revenge after losing at home last year to USF, but came out and were dominated by the Bulls defense. WVU starting quarterback Pat White was injured in the second quarter, but he was ineffective even before his injury. This was the second year in a row that Pat White was ineffective against USF and had to leave due to injury later in the game. Whatever the Bulls are doing against WVU other teams may want to copy because they seem to have their number. USF shut down both Pat White and Steve Slaton the past two games, not allowing either to get into the end zone in both games.

The Bulls defense has been dominant all year long and is 10th in points allowed in the country. They fly to the ball and have averaged over 2 turnovers a game this season. The defensive line is lead by sophomore defensive end George Sealvie, who leads the nation in sacks, while the linebackers are led by senior Ben Moffitt. The defense has the speed to run sideline to sideline with anyone in college and have the power to play hard nose football if that's what the occasion calls for. The only great offense left on the Bulls schedule this season will be when Louisville comes to Tampa.

The USF offense did not have a great game against a bad WVU defense, but they did just enough to win the game. With the way the Bulls defense was playing the offense's only job was to not lose the game and Matt Groethe did a good job of moving the offense down the field methodically. Groethe had an average game and although he threw two interceptions, they did not put USF in a bad position. USF got just enough out of their backs to be effective, but nothing explosive. While it was enough against WVU, the Bulls will need a better performance out of their offense going forward if they hope to go undefeated.

A match up of the two best teams in the Big East ended with USF as the victor and clear favorite to take the Big East crown. With Louisville having a bad year on defense, WVU losing to USF, and Rutgers also losing to Maryland, the Bulls are in position to not only be the Big East champ, but maybe go to the BCS championship game. The Bulls have moved into 9th position in the coaches poll and have the easiest road to go of any of the undefeated teams left. The Bulls now have a target on their back for the first time in program history, they better be ready.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What do you think of Groethe? Does he have a legitimate shot at being a first rounder in the NFL draft?

Adam Lewis said...

Groethe needs to stop making mistakes. He had two interceptions in the red zone against WVU. He also had a terrible game against UNC the week before. He can do some good things, but he still has a lot to work on. He is a true sophmore so he has two more years to work on it. Their is talent there, but he needs to work on some things before he can be talked about in the first round category.