Thanks to the comeback win against Pitt in the annual “Backyard Brawl,” West Virginia (8-3, 4-2) still finds themselves in the hunt for the Big East Championship. With a win against South Florida (5-6, 1-5) on Thursday night, the Mountaineers will need Cincinnati to defeat UConn to force a three-way tie for the conference crown with Louisville. In the case of a tie, the team with the highest BCS ranking will be awarded the BCS Bowl game. West Virginia is currently ranked 23rd in the nation. The ACC championship game will take place this weekend as No. 5 Virginia Tech will take on No. 20 Clemson to decide one of the teams that will play in the Orange Bowl on January 4th. The other team is thought to be the Big East champion. Coach Dana Holgorsen insists however that his team is focused on this game and this game only.
“What this team is going to be remembered for is what happens this week at South Florida,” Holgorsen said. “Right now this is the only game on the schedule, and we’ve got to give it everything we’ve got.”
West Virginia is hoping that losses to Syracuse and Louisville earlier in the season don’t come back to haunt them. South Florida started of the season with a big win against Notre Dame on their way to a 4-0 record. After the hot start however, the Bulls have been 1-6 since and must win the game Thursday night to be considered bowl eligible. South Florida went with sophomore quarterback Bobby Eveld on Friday against Louisville after B.J. Daniels was injured two weeks ago against Miami. Eveld, a former walk-on, completed 20 of 35 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Cardinals. It’s still unsure who is going to make the start for South Florida, but whoever it is will need to bring their “A” game. The Bulls haven’t missed a bowl game since 2004.
“I’m the head coach, that’s where it starts and that’s where it stops,” said South Florida Coach Skip Holtz. “I’ve got to do a better job of holding our staff to a higher standard and our staff has to do a better job of holding our players to a higher standard.”
The Bulls will look to attack the vulnerable Mountaineer run defense this week with running back Darrell Scott. Scott has 722 yards on the ground and five touchdowns on the season. For the Mountaineers, they are led by quarterback Geno Smith who has thrown for 3,741 yards and 25 touchdowns on the season. There will be a new face protecting Smith this week at right tackle and right guard however. Sophomore Curtis Feigt will play at right tackle and redshirt freshman Quinton Spain will get the start at right guard. The Mountaineers have had the same starters on the line for the first 11 games, but fatigue is starting to show.
“We’re worn down,” Holgorsen said. “That’s probably the biggest problem with what we’re experiencing up front. We have a little bit more depth on the defensive front than the offensive front – not much, but a little bit.”
The Mountaineer defense will look to put up a performance similar to the one they put up against Pitt after halftime Friday. The Mountaineers didn’t allow Pitt in the endzone in the second-half and recorded six of their 10 sacks after halftime as well. The Mountaineer offense will look to spread the ball around to their playmakers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey as Dustin Garrison and Shawne Alston will try to keep the South Florida defense honest with the running game. Smith knows how important this game is to him and his team.
“It’s a one-game season and we’ve got to make sure we come out focused and ready to play,” Smith said. “We can’t have any letdowns.”
If Daniels were healthy and playing in this game, I would like the Bulls to upset the Mountaineers. If Daniels does play however, we can assume he isn’t at 100 percent health. I like the Mountaineers to do their part on making their Orange Bowl dreams come true by winning this game 35-17.
Photo Credits: All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks Photo
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