Matt Grothe’s father, Matt Sr., even received a death threat from a UCF fan

[ChiTownBull]

http://sports.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/related/C127/

Bulls overcome death threats, Knights in OT in final game of series

Posted September 06, 2008 by Brett McMurphy

Updated Sep 07, 2008 at 12:31 AM

What will we do now that the UCF series is over? What a boring, boring time it will be the rest of the year for the University of South Florida. The Bulls nearly suffered what would have been the most devastating loss in school history, but managed to escape with an overtime win.

UCF fans got hold of Matt Grothe’s cell phone number and bombarded him with hundreds of calls and text messages.

Matt Grothe’s father, Matt Sr., even received a death threat from a UCF fan on Saturday. Grothe’s family was protected by state troopers during the contest and there were no incidents.

Here’s my game story from Saturday night’s wild and wooly contest.

ORLANDO - Now we know why the University of South Florida wanted to end its series with UCF.

The No. 17-ranked Bulls blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead in the final three minutes and escaped with a 31-24 overtime victory against the Knights, in the final meeting between the teams.

“It feels good to win, but it was too close,†said USF senior Danny Verpaele, one of 14 Bulls seniors who won all four games in their career against UCF. “Too close. The bottom line is we got a ‘W.’ â€

After the two touchdown underdog Knights (1-1) scored on Michael Greco touchdown passes of 13 yards to Corey Rabazinski and 31 yards to Rocky Ross within a span of 66 seconds to make it 24-all with 1:40 remaining in regulation, USF quarterback Matt Grothe drove the Bulls 54 yards to UCF’s 20.

However, the Bulls were penalized for delay of game and Delbert Alvarado was wide left on a 42-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining, sending the contest into overtime.

“Put that [penalty] on me,†USF coach Jim Leavitt said. “I can’t fault anyone else for that. No excuse there.â€

USF got the ball first in overtime and Grothe hit Taurus Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown pass on third-and-10.

“Taurus did a good job of going up and getting the ball,†Grothe said. “He said he got me if I would throw him the ball and he did a good job of catching it.â€

On UCF’s possession on fourth-and-5, Greco was stopped just shy of a first down by linebackers Brouce Mompremier and Tyrone McKenzie.

It was close enough that the officials brought the chains out for a measurement as a Bright House Networks Stadium record crowd of 46,805 looked on. But the ball was an inch short setting off a wild celebration on the USF sidelines.

“We’re pretty good in overtime,†said USF running backs coach Carl Franks after the Bulls improved all-time to 7-0 in overtime games.

The loss ended the Knights’ seven-game home winning streak, which was tied for the nation’s eighth longest, and dropped UCF to 0-18 all-time against ranked teams.

The victory was especially gratifying for Grothe. On Saturday, he received hundreds of telephone calls and text messages after UCF fans got his cell number.

“I probably like this one the best because I can’t stand them,†Grothe said. “I’m tired of everyone talking crap and not backing it up.

“Someone got hold of my phone number and I had a thousand missed calls and my voice mail was completely full and a couple hundred text messages. Basically one hundred text messages telling me to die.â€

Grothe’s father, Matt Sr., also received numerous calls, including a specific death threat that said: “Watch your backs. We can’t get to your [expletive] son, but we can get to you.â€

Ultimately it was Grothe’s son that got to the Knights.

Grothe threw for 346 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also led the Bulls with 54 yards rushing. Johnson had six catches for a career-high 143 yards, including the game-winning TD.

“We got lax,†Leavitt said. “We had the game in control. We have to make better decisions.

“We put our defense in such tough positions.â€

Despite outgaining the Knights 504-226, USF (2-0) nearly blew it in the final quarter.

When Grothe hit Cedric Hill for a 27-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead late in the third quarter, Grothe ran through the end zone, putting his right hand to his ear, like he was receiving a phone call.

However, the Bulls couldn’t put the contest away.

UCF stayed in the game because of poor USF special teams play. Joe Burnett returned a first-quarter kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and also returned three punts for 71 yards.

His 35-yard punt return with less than three minutes remaining, set up UCF’s tying TD in regulation.

At one point, UCF had 108 yards total offense and 104 yards in penalties, including a costly blocking in the back call that wiped out what would have been a 63-yard interception return for a touchdown by Johnell Neal.

The Knights finished with 12 penalties for 149 yards. The last one, for a false start, left them facing fourth-and-5 on the last play of the game.

Once again, the Knights came up short.

“As soon as I hit him, I looked to the sideline and I was like ‘I got it,’ “ McKenzie said. “But then the ref checked just in case and the spot was there.â€

UCF coach George O’Leary, who felt strongly the series should be continued said Saturday’s emotional game, was an example why the game should become an annual contest.

“This is why this is such a great game,†O’Leary said. “It was a great game for the fans and players and TV, even though we finished second again.â€

The reason the Knights finished second again was because of Grothe’s efforts.

As Grothe made his way off the field, Rocky the Bull gave Grothe a high-five. Then Grothe’s girlfriend, a USF cheerleader, ran and jumped into his arms for a celebratory kiss.

Shortly afterward, the Bulls loaded in the team bus for the drive back to Tampa. The series was over. They didn’t even bother looking in their rearview mirror.

[JoeB]

Great quote by O'Liar.  "Even though we finished second again".  Ummmmm  George, there were only two teams playing.  What a genius this guy is.

[BullDoug]

yep...second place is just the first loser.

[BULL-IT]

Im glad the biggest scum bag fans lost by an inch.

It sucks we let ucf get that close but still...

[Southshore26]

Im glad the biggest scum bag fans lost by an inch.

It sucks we let ucf get that close but still...

Seriously... did you go to the game??? Other than your standard couple of drunk idiots who yelled "USF sucks" I didn't see or hear of any issues with UCF fans... infact I was offered water more than once while making my way across campus...

Don't dog opposing fans because of a few idiots... It's classless and reflects poorly on you as well as the reputation for the rest of USF's fanbase...

[Jamie]

A death threat? Even the coach-burning zealots from WVU haven't done THAT yet.

I have a feeling this game may not happen again until someone forces us to play (bowl organizers, in the same conference, etc.). Their entire program revolves around beating us, and ours does not.

[TyBull]

://rd.surveysavvy.com/c.php?i=122746075&k=577c9de26acc0d998dab76347f00df34

[South_Florida_Flip]

I just read that. That is really taking it too far.

[GarySJ]

“Someone got hold of my phone number and I had a thousand missed calls and my voice mail was completely full and a couple hundred text messages. Basically one hundred text messages telling me to die.â€

Grothe’s father, Matt Sr., also received numerous calls, including a specific death threat that said: “Watch your backs. We can’t get to your [expletive] son, but we can get to you.â€

If that isn't a valid pretext for ending the series, I don't know what is.

[twillybull]

That is absolutely disgusting... but not surprising.  UCF fans are the biggest pieces of **** in the world.