Herald/Tribune  Moffitt:  Waiting a Year

[Brad]

Waiting a year

Loss to UConn cost USF a title shot in 2005.

BY ALAN DELL CORRESPONDENT

TAMPA

Ben Moffitt is not the type of person who can hide his feelings. The University of South Florida linebacker, who once left football to commit himself to the ministry, values honesty.

It's a reason Moffitt doesn't dodge questions and says what's on his mind. And he admits that Connecticut has occupied a good portion of his mind over the past year.

The 22-year-old has waited nearly a year to play the University of Connecticut again. He has been obsessed with the Huskies since they ruined his dream of playing in the Big East Conference championship game. The best way to clear his head is for USF to beat the Huskies tonight at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

"After the game last year, I wanted to lose my mind," the middle linebacker said. "But it wasn't just that we lost. It was how we lost."

With the exception of a 60-yard TD run, the USF defense was near-perfect and Moffitt led the way with a team-high 11 tackles. Unfortunately for USF, a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter stood up in the Huskies' 15-10 victory. It was the only win for UConn in its final six games last year.

"It was devastating to me. I felt sick inside and wanted to play it over right then," Moffitt said. "Defensively, we held them to a touchdown, but things weren't clicking."

USF's linebacking corps and secondary is virtually intact from last year and the offense has gotten a spark it didn't have with the emergence of freshman quarterback Matt Grothe.

The way Moffitt sees it, the Bulls (3-2, 0-1) are in a must-win situation if they want to reach their goal of finishing in the top rung of the Big East and get a decent bowl bid. USF has lost back-to-back close games and goes on the road for two games after UConn.

This is the Big East Conference opener for Connecticut. The Huskies like to keep in on the ground and are sixth in the country in rushing, averaging 242 yards per game.

Bulls notebook

USF's three suspended players, running back Ricky Ponton, defensive end Josh Julmiste and wide receiver Jackie Chambers are expected to return next week for the game at North Carolina. ... Receiver Amarri Jackson, a Riverview High graduate, had his best game of the season against Rutgers with 86 reception yards and had a TD called back on a penalty. ... The Bulls are 2-1 against UConn, winning the first two meetings that were non-conference games. ... The Big East Conference does not have a losing record against any other conference this year and is 4-3 vs. ACC, 1-0 vs. SEC and 3-3 vs. Big 10. Big East teams are 19-8 against I-A opponents this season and are a combined 8-0 against C-USA and MAC teams.

Last modified: October 07. 2006 12:00AM

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[The Sheriff]

The best news with this story is the return of Ricky Ponton!

[bulls96go]

^^^^oline still the same