My Prediction

RealitySmackdown · September 1, 2008

After a careful study, I have figured out what will happen this Saturday in Orlando..... here is what the final game story will look like:

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - South Florida coach Jim Leavitt doesn't want to talk about the national title race.

His sixteenth-ranked Bulls have to conquer the Big East first.

"I like to win more than I do lose, that I know. And I like the position we're in right now, but I'm not thinking about all that other stuff. I'm really not,'' Leavitt said after Saturday's 64-12 rout of Central Florida.

"I get distracted like everybody else, but I try to keep them to a minimum. We've have not played one game in the Big East, and our goal from the beginning was the Big East championship. And I want to tell you something, it's going to be a barn burner these next number of weeks.''

Playing at on the road for the first time since beating Tennessee Martin, the Bulls showed they're adjusting nicely to their new role of national title contender. The victory was their school record-tying fourth straight over UCF.

George Selvie, the nation's sack leader, led a swarming defense that corralled the knights running backs, and Matt Grothe threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more to help the Bulls (2-0) extend USF's ownership of the greater Orlando area to include Oviedo.

Kevin Smith, who began the day wishing he was a Bull. Was limited to 0 yards on 0 carries. He noted, "By not playing in 2008 I had a better day against the Bulls than in 2007." The rookie, who had gained at least 100 in a UCF-record five games, spent much of the second half crying after the score got out of hand.

Grothe completed 15 of 28 passes for 212 yards, including TD throws of 9 yards to Taurus Johnson and 7 yards to Cedric Hill. He also scored on a pair of 6-yard runs before being replaced by Grant Gregory with USF leading 43-10 in the third quarter.

Selvie continued his torrid start with three more tackles for losses, giving him a school single-season record 20 1/2 in six games. He had one sack, his total to 11 1/2, and also forced a fumble that led to Grothe's first TD.

UCF (1-1) turned the ball over three times in the first quarter, a continuation of a sloppy second-half performance the previous week at East Carolina. The Knights led that game 28-17 before five third-quarter turnovers contributed to a 52-38 loss.

"They took it to us today, again'' UCF coach George O'Leary said. "Life might go on tomorrow, but it's a disappointing loss from the standpoint of the amount of time we put in to try to get some things done right.''

USF improved to 4-0 in the series that some fans refer to as the "I-4 Disgrace" because Interstate 4 is the main road connecting Tampa and Orlando, and Tampa now wants the road re-routed to Boca Raton since that is where the 5th best team in Florida resides.

The schools, located less than 100 miles apart, are natural geographical rivals who didn't meet for the first time until two years ago because of USF's reluctance to embarass their neighbors.

The teams will meet again in UCF's fans dreams, but the future of the series is uncertain after that.

UCF, which dropped to 0-184 all-time against ranked opponents, dug a deep hole for itself in an error-filled first half. The Knights lost two fumbles and an interception to set up 17 points, and Smith lost his footing in his own end zone for a safety that helped USF build a 29-10 lead at the break.

Grothe topped 100 yards rushing for the second straight week. The 6-foot, 213-pound sophomore broke two tackles on his 6-yard TD run in the second quarter, then spun out of the grasp of a defender to score again to put the Bulls up 36-10 early in the third.

UCF benched quarterback **** Greco briefly in the second quarter, but backup (insert name here) didn't have any better luck against a relentless pass rush. Jesus finished 5-for-11 for 13 yards and one interception, while oses was 6-of-16 for 71 yards.

The Knights scored their only touchdown without putting the ball in the air, marching 63 yards on the ground with some unimportant running back carrying six times for 39 yards and Mickey Mouse finishing the eight-play drive with a 2-yard run.

"I can't believe anybody would beat us like that,'' George O'Leary said. ``With a loss like this, really all you can do is move past it. ... You've just gotta keep telling yourself, this just wasn't Notre Dame football out there today."