Rutgers Scouting

[The Great 8]

You're overrating your defensive prowess against us:

• Last year *WE* snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
  
• The previous year we dropped 28 on you and won.
  
• 2008 and 2009 were downright ugly for us.
  
• 2007 we dropped 27 and got raped by the refs.
  
• and your awesome 2006 defense let up 20 and only won by 2.
  

Based on the above, I'm only aware of 1 game where you dominated us with BJ at the helm. His first year no less. His second year he beat you and his third year he should've beaten you.

If you play a similar game to last years again, you lose by 2 TD's.

All I'm saying is, if for some reason the secondary cannot handle man coverage, Rutgers is going to lose big. Otherwise, they have a good chance of leaving Ray Jay with a victory.

Personally, I think they do hold up well in man coverage, but that USF still wins .

Edited September 10, 2012 by The Great 8

[blitz8ru]

HC Kyle Flood - USF Game Week Press Confrence

http://bcove.me/1npbawq7

[blitz8ru]

You're overrating your defensive prowess against us:

• Last year *WE* snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
  
• The previous year we dropped 28 on you and won.
  
• 2008 and 2009 were downright ugly for us.
  
• 2007 we dropped 27 and got raped by the refs.
  
• and your awesome 2006 defense let up 20 and only won by 2.
  

Based on the above, I'm only aware of 1 game where you dominated us with BJ at the helm. His first year no less. His second year he beat you and his third year he should've beaten you.

If you play a similar game to last years again, you lose by 2 TD's.

All I'm saying is, if for some reason the secondary cannot handle man coverage, Rutgers is going to lose big. Otherwise, they have a good chance of leaving Ray Jay with a victory.

Personally, I think they do hold up well in man coverage, but that USF still wins .

Wow...

The reason we won last year and 5 out of the last 7 meetings was due to our defense limiting your offense... keeping them well below their season average... Limiting opponents to less than 25 is a great day for the defense... The defense has ALWAYS performed well vs South Florida... it's the offense that has often struggled (except for 2008 and 2009)...

What do you mean "and your awesome 2006 defense let up 20 and only won by 2"... the defense isn't responsible for scoring many points... that's the offense's job... A defense limiting the opposition to 20 points on the road is good... LOL and you talk about "dropping" 27 and 28 as if that's such a significant point total (like say 49 is)... BTW if we are arguing semantics then know that the reason you won in 2010 was due to the Eric Legrand incident affecting the team (especially with tackling and DT play) and an RU safety off a screen pass leading to a 28-27 USF win @USF...

Anyway this 2012 defense should be our best and deepest defense yet... likely even better than the 2006 one... Of course we need the offense to score points... Our run game is fully operational (for the first time since 2009) however the passing game is still a work in progress with numerous accuracy and timing issues that need to be worked out and corrected... That weakness may be our undoing... Either way USF will not score much on us (below 20) unless our passing game turns the ball over a considerable amount... Look for a low scoring, ugly game...

My prediction for the game:

September 13: Rutgers @South Florida W 24-16 {3-0(1-0)}

RU: 1 Rushing TD, 1 Passing TD, 1 Defensive/ST TD, 1 FG

USF: 1 Rushing TD, 3 FGs

Edited September 11, 2012 by blitz8ru

[El_Toro_86]

RU scored 24 on Tulane and 26 on Howard.

They won't score more than 17 on USF.

If we can't put more than 17 points on them then we don't deserve to win.

It will be low scoring...something like a 23-17 type of score.

Go Bulls!

[blitz8ru]

South Florida third-year head coach Skip Holtz saw his team move to 2-0 last weekend with a 32-31 come-from-behind win against Nevada. Yesterday, he talked about his team's upcoming contest with Rutgers during the weekly Big East coaches' teleconference.

A tired team

The Bulls were a bit exasperated yesterday from not only the grueling comeback win against Nevada, but also because they had to log quite a few miles on their way back to Tampa.

Holtz's career record at USF is 15-12

"Right now, we're a tired football team," Holtz said yesterday. "We went through a lot this weekend and I'm really proud of what this team did. We stayed together."

Holtz also mentioned the difficulty that comes with rebounding from such an emotional win during an abbreviated game week.

"It's hard to bounce back from an emotional win, it is. There is a lot of things that motivate your football team in a case like this with it being A- a conference game and B- Rutgers. I think there's a lot of things that will motivate our players and we'll be able to overcome that."

Holtz also sensed the excitement that comes with playing on a national stage, but knows his players could use a bit of down time.

"I think they are really excited to play Rutgers," he said. "I just think they want a couple of days to get their legs back underneath them before they have to go play again."

Getting bullied on defense

The USF defense was lit up on Saturday against Nevada as the Bulls yielded 549 yards and 30 first downs to the Wolf Pack.

"Defensively, it was not one of our better performances," Holtz said. "We played a little bit undisciplined, we weren't always doing the little things that we need to be doing."

That could bode well for a Rutgers offense that currently ranks 100th in the nation in total offense. The Gary Nova-led air attack is even a bit lower as Rutgers checks in nationally at No.111 in passing offense. However, the Scarlet Knights are one of 13 FBS teams to not allow a sack this season. And on the other side of the football, the RU defense is ranked No.6 in the nation.

The freak show

In last week's game against Nevada, USF lost starting wide receiver Sterling Griffin to a knee injury and he is now finished for the season. But they did not miss a beat in the passing game thanks to sophomore Andre Davis who caught 12 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns, including the 56-yard game winning score with 38 seconds left in regulation.

"I think it's just a matter of time before everybody learns how good he is," Holtz said of Davis. "His nickname with the players is 'the freak show' and he's a freak show because he can go out there and he can make some plays out there with his hands that [make] you just say 'he's not real. He's not natural, he's a freak.'"

Rutgers recruited Davis heavily but the Tampa product chose to stay close to home and caught 22 passes last year as a true freshman while also starting three games.

[Rizman]

Home crowd will pump us up.

[Rizman]

Plus, we have been sucking on Oxygen at 4500 feet so at sea level we will thrive. ;-)

[ForestBull]

That could bode well for a Rutgers offense that currently ranks 100th in the nation in total offense. The Gary Nova-led air attack is even a bit lower as Rutgers checks in nationally at No.111 in passing offense. However, the Scarlet Knights are one of 13 FBS teams to not allow a sack this season. And on the other side of the football, the RU defense is ranked No.6 in the nation.

I dont understand why you are flaunting that you are 100th and 111th in offense. Also being ranked sixth in the nation in defense only after playing Tulane and Howard isnt something to hang your hat on. I guess we will see how it plays out on Thursday, but I am less worried about this game than I was for

the Nevada game. In fact I really see this game over before the 4th qtr.

Good luck and no injuries

[GaUSFBull]

That could bode well for a Rutgers offense that currently ranks 100th in the nation in total offense. The Gary Nova-led air attack is even a bit lower as Rutgers checks in nationally at No.111 in passing offense. However, the Scarlet Knights are one of 13 FBS teams to not allow a sack this season. And on the other side of the football, the RU defense is ranked No.6 in the nation.

I dont understand why you are flaunting that you are 100th and 111th in offense. Also being ranked sixth in the nation in defense only after playing Tulane and Howard isnt something to hang your hat on. I guess we will see how it plays out on Thursday, but I am less worried about this game than I was for

the Nevada game. In fact I really see this game over before the 4th qtr.

Good luck and no injuries

LOL great points

[BullFan98]

blitz8ru - are you going to the game on Thursday night? You seem like you are a hardcore Rutgers fan, so I would expect nothing less.