September 29, 2007
South Florida upsets No. 5 West Virginia--WHAT???
By FRED GOODALL
AP SPORTS WRITER
South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe (8) eludes a hit by West Virginia's Charles Pugh (15) during the second quarter of a college football game Friday night Sept. 28, 2007, in Tampa, Fla. Grothe eventually threw a touchdown pass on the play. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)TAMPA, Fla. -- No. 18 South Florida is not only basking in the national spotlight, the Bulls are thriving in it. Matt Grothe upstaged West Virginia stars Pat White and Steve Slaton for the second straight year, leading rapidly rising USF to a 21-13 victory over the mistake-prone, fifth-ranked Mountaineers on Friday night.
Fellas, what's up with this?
Here's my theory: football is siphoning-off the best althletes from potentially playing other sports (baseball, track, even basketball, etc.) so good athletes are scattered all over the place and the historically "known ranked schools" aren't the only ones with good athletes.
Posted by anthony at September 29, 2007 12:54 PM | TrackBackthat is what is great about college football! the state of Florida has more than a wealth of high school football talent! also, all I have to say is dang! I hate GT!!
Posted by: Jeremy at September 29, 2007 11:51 PMyes, that's great!
Posted by: Tyler at September 30, 2007 12:27 AMAs a USF alum, I am surprised that so many people think this is a huge upset. USF did beat WVU last year, and also beat Louisville the year before.
As for USF, they have simply built up our team with recruits scoured from the state of Florida (most of the kids are actually from either the Tampa or the Miami area), who got passed up by UF, FSU, or Miami.
Posted by: Chris Bohnker at September 30, 2007 05:31 PMI'm just glad the Gators lost.
Posted by: Tyler at September 30, 2007 08:31 PMProbably another factor is that disciplined football is taking a hit; I read an article recently decrying the lack of tacking skills, for example. You have tons of emphasis on physical training and raw physical gifts these days, but a lot of teams are learning today that there is something to be said for basic blocking, tackling, and self-discipline on the field. It doesn't matter if your cornerback runs 4.3 if he doesn't wrap his arms around the ball carrier, and it doesn't matter that your strong tackle benches 500 and squats 700 if he doesn't know how to pass block.
Posted by: Robert Perry at October 1, 2007 06:56 PM