Ledger: Bulls Need More Than 'Smart' And 'Safe'

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Bulls Need More Than 'Smart' And 'Safe'

By Tom Zebold

THE LEDGER

Published: Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 12:09 a.m.

TAMPA | Skip Holtz said South Florida took the "smart" and "safe" approach in last week's 24-12 victory over Western Kentucky.

The way the Bulls played, it was simple - and possibly boring from a fan standpoint. USF ran the ball 44 times for 226 yards and took very few chances in the passing game.

"It was what I felt was the best way to play that game," the head coach said.

But Holtz knows it can't be that way every week and admitted the Bulls will need more than B.J. Daniels' 11 attempts last week to beat Florida Atlantic tonight in Tampa.

"We're going to have to throw it more than that this week in order to be successful," he said.

Despite the Owls (1-2) allowing an average of 275.7 rushing yards per game, Holtz said FAU's personnel creates a challenge in the run game.

"This is a much bigger team, more athletic team and a faster team than we just played," he said.

It would be smart to run the ball against FAU's giving defense, and USF probably will often. But the Big East portion of the schedule looms, and that's when the Bulls will need more of a balanced attack in order to beat teams like West Virginia, Rutgers and Cincinnati.

A key reason why South Florida hasn't unleashed a heavy pass attack is because of the abundance of inexperienced targets lining up at wide receiver. The Bulls were without their top three veteran targets last week, which left a group of freshmen and sophomores who haven't logged many starts.

Daniels will get some help this week with the return of senior Dontavia Bogan, who needs 53 receiving yards to reach 1,000 at USF. Bogan injured his right ankle in a loss to Florida on Sept. 11, which forced him to watch the Bulls' backs do the work last week.

Sterling Griffin, who logged 10 starts in 13 games last season, could be back by next week to face Syracuse as well. It's possible he could play tonight, but he's listed as doubtful while recovering from a dislocated ankle he suffered this summer.

"Getting a Bogan back and a Griffin back here in the next two weeks, I think will help tremendously in what we're trying to do," Holtz said.

This story appeared in print on page C4

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