Grutza / Grothe matchup

[72bull]

Dustin Grutza, Cinn. / Matt Grothe, USF

Games:  7 / 7

Pass Attempts:  154 / 165

 

Pass Completions:  93 / 104

Passing Yards:  1113 / 1388

Touchdown Passes:  7 / 9

Interceptions:  8 / 7

Carries:  57 / 106

Rushing Yards:  161 / 460

Rushing Average:  2.8 / 4.3

Rushing Touchdowns:  0 / 7

[The Sheriff]

Grutza can lick my sac!

[Matt]

well....numbers don't lie.

[Kyle]

I was impressed with Grutza last year...he's a player. I hope we can keep him in check.

[E.T.]

well....numbers don't lie.

And I hope The Sheriff is also  

Grutza is a good player, but I do not think his supporting staff is anywhere near what we have.

USF's Defense is better than Cincy's also.

Go BULLS !!!

[72bull]

He seems to have gotten more mobile the last couple of games (75 yards net against Louisville).  Still, I expect some sacks from our defense!  

[usfcop]

I like Grothe for the intangibles...  how many games has he lead a comeback?  leadership qualities?   finding holes while running, finding the endzone.  Things that don't show up on the stats..

[Bullpride08]

He seems to have gotten more mobile the last couple of games (75 yards net against Louisville).  Still, I expect some sacks from our defense!  

That was more of a running for his life routine ala Cam Sexton's scrambling yards against us, and UL being a bit undisciplined on their pass rush lanes, like us too.

Grutza isn't a big play guy, he lacks the big play arm but he's a gritty player, and very accurate inside 20 yards even in the face of pressure.

This Cinci team is nearly identical to the one we played last year.  Grutza and UC will try to grind it out with their big RB's, TE's, and tough running QB.

But comparing Grutza to Grothe is crazy.  Grothe has 265 more passing yards, and the rushing yards aren't even comparable.   The completion percentages are similar but Grutza throws many more high percentage passes in Cinci's conventional attack, more short outs and screens to the RB's and TE's.  Again, this team will not stretch us vertically and they've desperately hoped that Davila, the strong armed JC transfer could be that guy, but Grutza's been more effective.

[E.T.]

And some coach-speak from Leavitt in yesterday's Times:

USF: Familiar foe

TAMPA - Similarities. If anyone sees them, it's coach Jim Leavitt.

He claims his team and this week's opponent, Cincinnati, are similar. Though the Bearcats are 3-4 and the Bulls are 5-2, there are areas where they have a lot in common.

"(Cincinnati) plays with passion, they play with energy - a lot like our guys," Leavitt said. "All of our guys. I see, really, two teams that are very similar."

Leavitt added Bearcats quarterback Dustin Grutza, who has passed for 1,113 yards and seven touchdowns, reminds him of the Bulls' Matt Grothe.

"(Grutza) is a lot like Matt," Leavitt said. "He is going to do whatever it takes, and you saw that when he played us last year."

[Bullpride08]

You could say that Grutza is "Matt Light."  Grutza's 2nd year of starting, and Matt's first, and Matt's numbers are heads and tails better, albeit the comp was a bit better, but they've played some really bad teams like 1-6 Miami of Ohio, and 2-5 Akron, and 1-6 1-AA Eastern Kentucky, but in none of those games did Cinci's offense destroy an opponent.

31-0- but it was only 14-0 at the half, and UC scored 10pts in the 4th quarter.

20-14 over Akron

24-10 over Miami of Ohio..

Their offense is not real prolific, they've had trouble finding the end zone.  Again, they've got two big TE's, and BIG RB's, and a mobile QB, but all together their offense struggles.   Grutza's the kind of passer that's not going to heave it down the field, he'll get yards throwing the dumps or scramble for yards so Cinci's stats and pads always look better than reality.

In fact, I think UNC is better than Cinci right now possibly.  Cinci had a tough first half schedule but not comparable to UNC's- Rutgers, Vtech, Clemson, and Miami....I am sure UNC would have loved to substitute Miami, and Rutgers for MIami of Ohio, and Akron--my guess their records would be similar.  The stats already are.