rutgers usf

TAMPA - -- While the nation turns its eyes to the University of South Florida, which is not technically in South Florida, as the USF sports information department wants everyone to know, the Bulls face their biggest challenge of the season.

The sports information department is asking reporters to refer to the school as USF, not South Florida, much like the University of Southern California goes by USC. It's a small detail, but every little thing matters now that the Bulls are No. 2 in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings.

Tonight the Bulls travel to Rutgers for a game against a team that started the season in the Top 25 and outlasted USF 22-20 in Tampa last year. It's a different Bulls team, though. Last year, USF quarterback Matt Grothe was an inexperienced redshirt freshman. Today, he is being spoken of as a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate. This time last year, George Selvie was trying to find a place on the offensive line. This year, Selive leads the nation in sacks with 11.5.

It's only the second conference game for the Bulls, but the first was a doozy when they knocked off West Virginia 21-13 on Sept. 28. It vaulted USF into the Top 25 for the first time in school history and started the Cinderella ascent to the top of the BCS standings.

"All I care about is Rutgers," USF coach Jim Leavitt said, downplaying the hype that has taken over the entire Tampa Bay area. "I'll worry about the rankings at the end of the year. It's exciting for now, but all I want to do is get on the field and practice and play the games."

As solid as Selvie and linebacker Ben Moffitt have been -- both have been national Players of the Week this season -- they will have to find a way to stop Rutgers running back Ray Rice, who rushed for 202 yards in the win last year in Tampa. He also ran for 158 yards as a freshman in a 2005 loss to the Bulls. He's already rushed for 818 yards and 13 touchdowns this fall, but USF hasn't allowed a runner to go for more than 100 yards in 14 games since Rice's big day last season.

Rutgers also brings a strong passing attack to the table. No one has had success passing against the Bulls this season, but Mike Teel has thrown for 1,817 yards and 12 touchdowns already this season. The Scarlet Knights haven't faced much pressure defense, so it could be a big night for Selvie to increase his sacks total.

While Rutgers is doing some of its own Heisman campaigning for Rice, the Scarlet Knights' 4-2 record is a bit deceiving. Before beating Syracuse, 38-14, last Saturday, they had lost two straight to Cincinnati and Maryland. Prior to that, Rutgers started out with three wins over lesser opponents Buffalo, Navy and Norfolk State.

Winning on the road has always been a problem for the Bulls, but they closed out last season with a win at West Virginia and have already won this season at Auburn. Still, they have scored fewer than 10 points 16 times in their brief history, and all of those games have been on the road
Well before sundown, the Blue Lot was far past raucous. We managed to avoid the sprays of beer and grilled pretzels (they honestly looked delicious) to find this week's fans of the week. Despite South Florida's ranking and Rutgers' non-ranking, they were optimistic for a win by the Scarlet Knights.

Just five this week, because there's an important game to attend to:
1. In what city is the University of South Florida?
2. Where is USF ranked this week and who is above them?
3. What happened in last year's Rutgers-USF game?
4. Ray Rice has had two big games against USF. What are his career yards vs. the Bulls: 260, 310 or 360?
5. Joe Lefeged (pronounced La-fedge) was named the Big East Player of the Week. Spell his last name.

Erik Haefner, a "super senior," and Jeff Dougherty, a junior, teamed up to answer for the dudes.

1. "Uhh... South Florida? Ooh, how about Tallahassee?"
2. No problems here... "Two and Ohio State"
3. "South Florida lost because they're not as good as Rutgers."
4. Without deliberation, "Choice D -- A MILLION."
5. "R-U-T-G-E-R-S."

Their friend, senior Sabrina Race, was called over to represent the ladies.

1. "South Florida... uh, no idea."
2. Like everyone else on campus, she had no problem with this one: "No. 2 and Ohio ... State."
3. "We freaking beat them; we killed them!"
4. "Hmm... what was the middle one? Ok, 310.:
5. At least she was honest: "Nope, I can't spell."

It's ok -- I'm sure the beat writers have "Lefeged" added to their spellcheckers. Here's the answer key:
1. Tampa. (USF hoped its football success would make this one a nobrainer, but it still has aways to go).
2. Yes, USF is No. 2, and Ohio State is No. 1. How long will this last? Who knows?
3. To be specific, Rutgers won 22-20, on the road, after a botched 2-point conversion by USF.
4. Ray's total is actually 360: 158 in 2005, and 202 in 2006.
5. L-E-F-E-G-E-D.