South Florida QB confident going into WVU

[Brad]

Charleston Daily Mail

South Florida QB confident going into WVU

by Jacob Messer

Daily Mail sportswriter

Providing bulletin-board material for an upcoming opponent -- and nowadays the most harmless statement can be used for motivation -- apparently isn't a concern for South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe.

For Grothe, that team this week is West Virginia.

Seventh-ranked WVU (9-1, 4-1) will play host to USF (7-4, 3-3) Saturday at noon (ESPN2) at Mountaineer Field.

"They're good on offense," Grothe said of the Mountaineers. "I think we can score some points. It's just going to be a matter of can we hold on to the ball."

No big deal, right? Well, it gets better.

"It seems like there are certain kinds of defenses we do very well against and there are a couple (kinds of defenses) we don't do very well against," Grothe said. "Louisville had a fast, strong defensive line and Cincinnati as well."

The Bulls lost to the Cardinals, 31-8, and the Bearcats, 23-6.

"West Virginia is big and strong," he continued. "I don't want to say they're not as quick as some of the teams we have played, but we have done well against teams like that this year.

"They play a weird defense. They play a 3-3-5. Not too many teams anywhere play that. You can blitz from wherever and you're not supposed to be able to tell where they're coming from. It's a matter of getting the blocking assignments right."

Or, wait for it ...

"If we can get it to the fourth quarter," Grothe said, "our defense has always stepped up and that's when we play our best. So, if we can keep it close, we'll be fine."

You can tell by his comments that he has confidence in himself and his teammates.

Maybe he doesn't know any better. He is, after all, a redshirt freshman.

Of course, who can argue with him.

Grothe is the guy who has led his team to five come-from-behind wins this season and might have two more if one pass weren't intercepted and another throw weren't dropped.

"He has been outstanding," WVU Coach Rich Rodriguez said of Grothe, who leads USF in rushing and passing yards. "There's no question he has been the centerpiece for their entire offense.

"He's playing like a fifth-year senior, not a redshirt freshman. He has been the key to their success this year, at least offensively, with the way he has made plays."

Grothe has started every game except the season opener, a 41-10 win over McNeese State.

He entered that game in the second quarter after senior signal caller Pat Julmiste suffered a thigh bruise.

Grothe has completed 174-of-277 passes for 2,216 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also has rushed 148 times for 560 yards and eight scores.

"I'm excited about him," USF Coach Jim Leavitt said. "We're going to build our offense around him the next couple of years. We're already (doing that) this year."

Grothe undoubtedly is the leading candidate for the Big East Rookie of the Year award.

He ranks second in the league in total yards per game (252.4), third in passing yards per game (201.5), fourth in pass efficiency rating (136.8) and 10th in rushing yards per game (50.9).

No freshman quarterback in the country averages more total yards or rushing yards per game than Grothe. Only two average more passing yards per game. Only four have higher pass efficiency ratings.

"He might be having as good of a redshirt freshman year as any quarterback has had in a long time in college football in Division I-A," Rodriguez said of Grothe, who threw for a career-high and school-record 364 yards in a 27-10 win over Syracuse two weeks ago.

The Bulls use Grothe much like the Mountaineers use sophomore quarterback Patrick White, who holds school and conference records for rushing yards by a quarterback in a game (247) and a season (1,057).

"Grothe will take off and run," Rodriguez said, "and they have designed runs for him. When you have designed runs for your quarterback, that means you feel comfortable and feel good about him running the ball."

To understand how athletic the 6-foot, 200-pound Grothe is, consider this: He is one of only two players in the nation who have statistics in passing, rushing, receiving and punting. In addition to his passing and rushing totals, he has one catch for 14 yards and two punts for 53 yards.

"He's a tough kid who runs the ball very well and throws the ball very well," said WVU Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel, whose unit ranks last in the league in pass defense (228.0 yards per game) but first in run defense (79.5 yards per game). "He's very competitive and very heady.

"He's playing his best football at this time."

Link

[E.T.]

"I'm excited about him," USF Coach Jim Leavitt said. "We're going to build our offense around him the next couple of years.

..."

I seriously hope this translates to better play calling.

[ChiTownBull]

wasn't this yrs offense built around Hill.

How different do you expect it?

what offense did Matt run in HS?

[E.T.]

Lake Gibson ran a very similar Offense to USF.

[E.T.]

"He might be having as good of a redshirt freshman year as any quarterback has had in a long time in college football in Division I-A," Rodriguez said of Grothe

McCoy threw 3 INT's in their LOSS today  8-) But he still had a great year.

GrothE should be getting votes for Freshman of the Year from the South and Big East media.

[ChiTownBull]

McCoy    

Player            ATT             CMP         PCT     YDS         TDS      INT

1. McCoy         250           174         69.6     2102        27         4