EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 11th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
AP Photo
South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels
Advertiser
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 11th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Thursday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Site: Mountaineer Field (60,000, FieldTurf), Morgantown
Coach: Skip Holtz (first year; 11th year overall, 72-50)
Checking them out
The charge for Skip Holtz is really pretty simple - do what Jim Leavitt couldn't, which is take South Florida to the next level.
Leavitt will always be remembered for starting the USF program from scratch and bringing it to the BCS level. Before he was fired last winter after it was alleged that he hit a player, Leavitt established the Bulls as a force to be reckoned with, at least to a point. But USF's late-season collapses became a matter of routine. It is up to Holtz to take all that Florida talent and do more with it.
Can he do it right away? Good question. The former East Carolina coach has plenty of talent, but he needs to get it all headed in the same direction. A good place to start will be with sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels, who was erratic while taking over for injured Matt Grothe last season but has loads of promise. It was Daniels, one will recall, who outgained West Virginia by himself last season, passing for 262 yards and running for 104 in the Bulls' 30-19 win. Holtz will want him to become more of a quarterback and rely less on improvisation.
Daniels won't have a full cast of receivers, though. A.J. Love blew out a knee in the spring and is lost for the season, then Sterling Griffin broke an ankle last month during conditioning work and it will take a while before he returns. And in the backfield Mike Ford, who seemed the tailback of the future for the past three years, isn't even the tailback of the present now, having never lived up to his hype and then being kicked off the team in February. That probably leaves the bulk of the running to sixth-year senior Moise Plancher, a 5-9, 204-pound grinder who ran for 581 yards last season and will work behind a veteran offensive line.
The defense must replace NFL ends George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, along with NFL DBs Nate Allen and Jerome Murphy, but that might not be as much of a problem as it would seem because there are so many athletes waiting to step in. The best up front is 6-3, 302-pound Terrell McClain, while Craig Marshall is likely to become the next great pass rusher for the Bulls. Sabbath Joseph is the only returning linebacker and cornerback Quenton Washington is the most experienced DB, but again it's just a matter of picking replacements from a wealth of talented prospects.
All-conference candidates
Offense: QB B.J. Daniels, C Sampson Genus
Defense: DL Terrell McClain, CB Quenton Washington
Notes
Holtz hired former Marshall coach Mark Snyder as his defensive coordinator and inherited former WVU wide receivers coach Steve Bird as an offensive graduate assistant. ... Grothe, who broke Pat White's Big East career record for total yards just before suffering a season-ending knee injury last fall, is now with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. ... Feast or famine: USF's five non-conference opponents are Stony Brook, Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic at home on one end, Florida and Miami on the road at the other. ... In the middle of the season the Bulls play WVU, Cincinnati and Rutgers on a Thursday, a Friday and a Wednesday.
2010 South Florida schedule
Article Preview
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
WVU football opponent previews: Game 6, USF
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 11th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Thursday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Site: Mountaineer Field (60,000, FieldTurf), Morgantown
Coach: Skip Holtz (first year; 11th year overall, 72-50)
Checking them out
The charge for Skip Holtz is really pretty simple - do what Jim Leavitt couldn't, which is take South Florida to the next level.
Leavitt will always be remembered for starting the USF program from scratch and bringing it to the BCS level. Before he was fired last winter after it was alleged that he hit a player, Leavitt established the Bulls as a force to be reckoned with, at least to a point. But USF's late-season collapses became a matter of routine. It is up to Holtz to take all that Florida talent and do more with it.
Can he do it right away? Good question. The former East Carolina coach has plenty of talent, but he needs to get it all headed in the same direction. A good place to start will be with sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels, who was erratic while taking over for injured Matt Grothe last season but has loads of promise. It was Daniels, one will recall, who outgained West Virginia by himself last season, passing for 262 yards and running for 104 in the Bulls' 30-19 win. Holtz will want him to become more of a quarterback and rely less on improvisation.
Daniels won't have a full cast of receivers, though. A.J. Love blew out a knee in the spring and is lost for the season, then Sterling Griffin broke an ankle last month during conditioning work and it will take a while before he returns. And in the backfield Mike Ford, who seemed the tailback of the future for the past three years, isn't even the tailback of the present now, having never lived up to his hype and then being kicked off the team in February. That probably leaves the bulk of the running to sixth-year senior Moise Plancher, a 5-9, 204-pound grinder who ran for 581 yards last season and will work behind a veteran offensive line.
The defense must replace NFL ends George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, along with NFL DBs Nate Allen and Jerome Murphy, but that might not be as much of a problem as it would seem because there are so many athletes waiting to step in. The best up front is 6-3, 302-pound Terrell McClain, while Craig Marshall is likely to become the next great pass rusher for the Bulls. Sabbath Joseph is the only returning linebacker and cornerback Quenton Washington is the most experienced DB, but again it's just a matter of picking replacements from a wealth of talented prospects.
All-conference candidates
Offense: QB B.J. Daniels, C Sampson Genus
Defense: DL Terrell McClain, CB Quenton Washington
Notes
Holtz hired former Marshall coach Mark Snyder as his defensive coordinator and inherited former WVU wide receivers coach Steve Bird as an offensive graduate assistant. ... Grothe, who broke Pat White's Big East career record for total yards just before suffering a season-ending knee injury last fall, is now with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. ... Feast or famine: USF's five non-conference opponents are Stony Brook, Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic at home on one end, Florida and Miami on the road at the other. ... In the middle of the season the Bulls play WVU, Cincinnati and Rutgers on a Thursday, a Friday and a Wednesday.
Click here to sign up for a one month subscription.
1 Month Online + Print Delivery
$31.99
Click here to sign up for our Premium subscription package.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 11th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Thursday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Site: Mountaineer Field (60,000, FieldTurf), Morgantown
Coach: Skip Holtz (first year; 11th year overall, 72-50)
Checking them out
The charge for Skip Holtz is really pretty simple - do what Jim Leavitt couldn't, which is take South Florida to the next level.
Leavitt will always be remembered for starting the USF program from scratch and bringing it to the BCS level. Before he was fired last winter after it was alleged that he hit a player, Leavitt established the Bulls as a force to be reckoned with, at least to a point. But USF's late-season collapses became a matter of routine. It is up to Holtz to take all that Florida talent and do more with it.
Can he do it right away? Good question. The former East Carolina coach has plenty of talent, but he needs to get it all headed in the same direction. A good place to start will be with sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels, who was erratic while taking over for injured Matt Grothe last season but has loads of promise. It was Daniels, one will recall, who outgained West Virginia by himself last season, passing for 262 yards and running for 104 in the Bulls' 30-19 win. Holtz will want him to become more of a quarterback and rely less on improvisation.
Daniels won't have a full cast of receivers, though. A.J. Love blew out a knee in the spring and is lost for the season, then Sterling Griffin broke an ankle last month during conditioning work and it will take a while before he returns. And in the backfield Mike Ford, who seemed the tailback of the future for the past three years, isn't even the tailback of the present now, having never lived up to his hype and then being kicked off the team in February. That probably leaves the bulk of the running to sixth-year senior Moise Plancher, a 5-9, 204-pound grinder who ran for 581 yards last season and will work behind a veteran offensive line.
The defense must replace NFL ends George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, along with NFL DBs Nate Allen and Jerome Murphy, but that might not be as much of a problem as it would seem because there are so many athletes waiting to step in. The best up front is 6-3, 302-pound Terrell McClain, while Craig Marshall is likely to become the next great pass rusher for the Bulls. Sabbath Joseph is the only returning linebacker and cornerback Quenton Washington is the most experienced DB, but again it's just a matter of picking replacements from a wealth of talented prospects.
All-conference candidates
Offense: QB B.J. Daniels, C Sampson Genus
Defense: DL Terrell McClain, CB Quenton Washington
Notes
Holtz hired former Marshall coach Mark Snyder as his defensive coordinator and inherited former WVU wide receivers coach Steve Bird as an offensive graduate assistant. ... Grothe, who broke Pat White's Big East career record for total yards just before suffering a season-ending knee injury last fall, is now with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. ... Feast or famine: USF's five non-conference opponents are Stony Brook, Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic at home on one end, Florida and Miami on the road at the other. ... In the middle of the season the Bulls play WVU, Cincinnati and Rutgers on a Thursday, a Friday and a Wednesday.
2010 South Florida schedule
Date Opponent 2009
Sept. 4 Stony Brook DNP
Sept. 11 at Florida DNP
Sept. 25 Western Kentucky W 35-13
Oct. 2 Florida Atlantic DNP
Oct. 9 Syracuse* W 34-20
Oct. 14 at WVU* (Thu.) W 30-19
Oct. 22 at Cincinnati* (Fri.) L 17-34
Nov. 3 Rutgers* (Wed.) L 0-31
Nov. 13 at Louisville* W 34-22
Nov. 20 Pitt* L 14-41
Nov. 27 at Miami L 10-31
Dec. 4 Connecticut* L 27-29
* Big East Conference games
2009 record: 8-5 overall, 3-4 Big East (Won 27-3 over Northern Illinois in International Bowl)
Dropped: Wofford (W 40-7), Charleston Southern (W 59-0), Florida State (W 17-7)
Article Preview
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
WVU football opponent previews: Game 6, USF
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 11th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Thursday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Site: Mountaineer Field (60,000, FieldTurf), Morgantown
Coach: Skip Holtz (first year; 11th year overall, 72-50)
Checking them out
The charge for Skip Holtz is really pretty simple - do what Jim Leavitt couldn't, which is take South Florida to the next level.
Leavitt will always be remembered for starting the USF program from scratch and bringing it to the BCS level. Before he was fired last winter after it was alleged that he hit a player, Leavitt established the Bulls as a force to be reckoned with, at least to a point. But USF's late-season collapses became a matter of routine. It is up to Holtz to take all that Florida talent and do more with it.
Can he do it right away? Good question. The former East Carolina coach has plenty of talent, but he needs to get it all headed in the same direction. A good place to start will be with sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels, who was erratic while taking over for injured Matt Grothe last season but has loads of promise. It was Daniels, one will recall, who outgained West Virginia by himself last season, passing for 262 yards and running for 104 in the Bulls' 30-19 win. Holtz will want him to become more of a quarterback and rely less on improvisation.
Daniels won't have a full cast of receivers, though. A.J. Love blew out a knee in the spring and is lost for the season, then Sterling Griffin broke an ankle last month during conditioning work and it will take a while before he returns. And in the backfield Mike Ford, who seemed the tailback of the future for the past three years, isn't even the tailback of the present now, having never lived up to his hype and then being kicked off the team in February. That probably leaves the bulk of the running to sixth-year senior Moise Plancher, a 5-9, 204-pound grinder who ran for 581 yards last season and will work behind a veteran offensive line.
The defense must replace NFL ends George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, along with NFL DBs Nate Allen and Jerome Murphy, but that might not be as much of a problem as it would seem because there are so many athletes waiting to step in. The best up front is 6-3, 302-pound Terrell McClain, while Craig Marshall is likely to become the next great pass rusher for the Bulls. Sabbath Joseph is the only returning linebacker and cornerback Quenton Washington is the most experienced DB, but again it's just a matter of picking replacements from a wealth of talented prospects.
All-conference candidates
Offense: QB B.J. Daniels, C Sampson Genus
Defense: DL Terrell McClain, CB Quenton Washington
Notes
Holtz hired former Marshall coach Mark Snyder as his defensive coordinator and inherited former WVU wide receivers coach Steve Bird as an offensive graduate assistant. ... Grothe, who broke Pat White's Big East career record for total yards just before suffering a season-ending knee injury last fall, is now with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. ... Feast or famine: USF's five non-conference opponents are Stony Brook, Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic at home on one end, Florida and Miami on the road at the other. ... In the middle of the season the Bulls play WVU, Cincinnati and Rutgers on a Thursday, a Friday and a Wednesday.
