NCAA Previews & Predictions

2008 South Florida preview: Bulls expect to prove last year was no fluke

The South Florida Bulls had a program-changing season in 2007. They showed they were legit in starting the year 6-0 with upset wins over No. 17 Auburn and No. 5 West Virginia. The Bulls eventually traveled to Rutgers as the No. 2 team in the nation, and the road to a BCS bowl game looked like a walk in the park. But USF was upset by the Scarlet Knights and followed that with losses against Connecticut and Cincinnati. They rebounded with easy wins to end the regular season, but couldn’t handle the cold weather and were crushed in the Sun Bowl by Oregon.

Can the Bulls prove they deserve their label of darkhorse national title contenders in 2008?

Coach: Jim Leavitt (12th year at USF, 52-30)

2007 record: 9-4 (4-3 Big East)

Starters returning: 17 (10 offense, 7 defense)

Top returnees: QB Matt Grothe, RB Mike Ford, RB Benjamin Williams, WR Carlton Mitchell, WR Jessie Hester, WR Taurus Johnson, TE Cedric Hill, LG Ryan Schmidt, DE George Selvie, DT Aaron Harris, LB Brouce Mompremier, LB Tyrone McKenzie, SS Carlton Williams, FS Nate Allen, K/P Delbert Alvardo

Key Losses: RT Walter Walker, DT Richard Clebert, LB Ben Moffitt, CB Mike Jenkins, CB Trae Williams

2008 Schedule

Aug. 30 Tennessee Martin

Sept. 5 @ UCF

Sept. 13 Kansas

Sept. 20 @ Florida International

Sept. 27 @ NC State

Oct. 2 Pittsburgh

Oct. 18 Syracuse

Oct. 25 @ Louisville

Oct. 30 @ Cincinnati

Nov. 15 Rutgers

Nov. 23 Connecticut

Dec. 6 @ West Virginia

Key game: Dec. 6 @ West Virginia - This regular season finale will likely determine the Big East champion. The Bulls have shown that they can be bothered by cold weather, but they have upset the Mountaineers in two straight seasons, including in the 2006 season finale in Morgantown.

2008 Overview

Last season showed that USF can be a winning program and has the potential to be a legit NCAA powerhouse. The team grabbed national attention after defeating West Virginia and rising to No. 2 in the polls a few weeks later. With more guaranteed nationally televised games in 2008 and 17 returning starters, the time for the Bulls to go from just a winning program to a title-caliber team is now.

Basically everybody from an offense that nearly averaged 35 points a game is back - RT Walter Walker is the only one to depart. QB Matt Grothe is the leader of this offense and showed that he can do it all. He finished 2007 with 2,670 passing yards and 872 rushing yards with 24 total touchdowns, but he did throw 14 interceptions. While Grothe isn’t as physically gifted as others, he is a true leader and has shown that he is willing to take a hit for his team.

It shouldn’t hurt that all of Grothe’s weapons are back. RB Mike Ford led the backfield with 645 yards rushing for 12 touchdowns and should be one of the top backs in the Big East if not the country. Veteran RB Benjamin Williams (425 rushing yards, six touchdowns) is a solid back and with Ford forms form a good backfield. With Ford showing he is a legit star and Williams’ veteran presence, it should allow Grothe to cut down on his rushing and focus on becoming a much better passer.

Grothe should have no problem elevating his passing game with the return of the Big East’s best receiving corps. WR Carlton Mitchell led the group with 537 yards receiving and four touchdowns as a freshman. Jessie Hester and Taurus Johnson also had solid campaigns, both recording four touchdowns and over 400 receiving yards each. Marcus Edwards provides veteran leadership with 33 starts over the past two seasons. TE Cedric Hill is just OK.

This could very well be USF’s best O-Line ever. There are four seniors in the starting lineup. LG Ryan Schmidt was a second-team Big East pick last year and is the best of the bunch. Seven of USF’s top 10 return, and the line averages 6-foot-4, 312 pounds.

The defense has been one of the major reasons USF is where it is now, but it will be undergoing some changes in 2008. The D-Line must replace starting DT Richard Clebert and a few others, but one-man wrecking machine and first-team All-American DE George Selvie is back. Selvie is a monster and recorded 59 tackles, 14 sacks and a Big East-record 31.5 tackles for a loss in 2007. The line returns three full-time starters in Selvie, DE Jarriett Buie and DT Aaron Harris. However, the Bulls will need someone to emerge at nose tackle, with Terrell McClain the most likely to get the spot. There is a major lack of depth behind the starters, with the coaching staff hoping Florida transfer DT Trent Pupello can fill that need.

The linebacking unit loses a beast in MLB Ben Moffitt, who was the team’s second-leading tackler last season. All three projected starters have great potential, however. Tyrone McKenzie (121 tackles) transferred from Iowa State last year and fit in immediately, leading USF in tackles. Brouce Mompremier put up 83 tackles in 2007. Those two will likely be joined by highly touted JuCo recruit Kion Wilson.

In the secondary, cornerback will be the Bulls’ biggest concern. They will need to replace two of the best corners in college football the last two years in Mike Jenkins (41 tackles, three interceptions) and Trae Williams (55 tackles, six interceptions). Both were lockdown corners, which allowed the Bulls to blitz often. Jenkins was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Cowboys, and Williams went in the fifth round to Jacksonville. Jerome Murphy and Tyller Roberts will be their replacements. USF is fine at safety, as Nate Allen (84 tackles, four interceptions) and SS Carlton Williams (69 tackles) could compete for conference honors.

The Bulls have everything in place for a major run at the Big East title, and maybe even a national championship run. They will have a tough test early on against Kansas, but very well could find themselves favored in every game until they head to Morgantown in the season finale vs. West Virginia. That game could shape up as the biggest in the reconfigured Big East’s history.

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