Rutgers may qualify for the first time since 1976, but it won’t have a Friday night picnic in South Florida. The Bulls have had some trouble getting the ball into the end zone, but they’ve been very good at keeping opponents out. Last week, South Florida limited Kansas to just 13 points on the road. This week, the Bulls will be tested by an offense that has put up a lot of points in recent weeks, including 56 points last week against Howard.
The facts are that the Scarlet Knights will have their first test in almost a month against the Bulls. They were tested in their opening game against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, but have been playing defense ever since. I think the easy non-conference schedule will definitely show up on Friday night, as Rutgers is going up against the best defense they’ve seen this season. South Florida’s defense has kept the Bulls in every game this year until the offense can finally get it going. Because of this stingy “D,” the Bulls reeled off three come-from-behind victories before falling to Kansas last week.
One factor that could benefit South Florida is the absence of Rutgers wide receiver Shawn Tucker. This means that Rutgers will primarily be based on a running game. South Florida will be able to cram eight into the box and have the Scarlet Knights rip them off.
Last season, the Bulls edged out Rutgers with a 45-31 victory at Rutgers Stadium. You can bet revenge will be on the Scarlet Knights’ minds, but you can also bet the Bulls will be confident after what they did to them on the road last season. Eliminating a ranked team will give the South Florida Bulls a huge boost.
Have I been talking about the South Florida defense? The Scarlet Knights are 11th in the country against the run and seventh against the pass. However, Rutgers has yet to face a talent like rookie quarterback Matt Grothe. Grothe has shown that he can beat teams with his feet and with his arm. Despite being just a freshman, he has shown great poise in leading his team to three wins.
Is Rutgers’ defense for real or does it just look good because of the level of competition the Knights have been playing? This is an important question that goes a long way in finding the winning angle and Jimmy Boyd is all over it. I built on another big win Friday night by winning my Big East Game of the Year.
