Bulls preparing for ball-hawking Rutgers defense

Posted Nov 2, 2011 by Adam Adkins

Updated Nov 2, 2011 at 09:12 PM

USF offensive coordinator Todd Fitch called Rutgers arguably the most complex defense the Bulls will face, and one area the Scarlet Knights have thrived in this season is forcing opponents into mistakes.

Rutgers leads the Big East with 26 forced turnovers, including a league-best 15 interceptions. Starting safeties Duron Harmon and David Rowe have been the most proficient at securing pass attempts, with Harmon leading the league with four interceptions and Rowe right behind with three.

“What they do a great job of is, you always talk about their pressure package, it’s not so many numbers they bring but they do a good job of disrupting your quarterback’s vision, making him feel uneasy and then he gets a little bit cloudy in the reads and puts the ball up,” Fitch said. “(They keep) safeties back in the back end and when that ball gets a little bit of air in it they have a guy back there. Those guys are on the back end roving back there.”

USF quarterback B.J. Daniels has thrown just four interceptions on the season but three have come in the last two games, when the Bulls have turned the ball over eight times total. Daniels knows it will be a challenge against the Scarlet Knights defense.

“They do a lot of moving around to try and confuse the offense, the quarterback, and things like that. They obviously have done a great job at taking the ball away,” Daniels said. “As far as we go into this game, it’s just like any other, we have to protect the football. If we lose the turnover battle, it’s going to be tough to try to win. Protecting the football is the most important thing.”

PRESSURING NOVA KEY: As could be expected being a young quarterback, Rutgers true freshman Gary Nova has had some trouble protecting the football this season. Nova, who is completing just 51 percent of his passes, has thrown a league-high seven interceptions, all coming in the last three games.

Bulls junior linebacker Sam Barrington said getting pressure on Nova is key, as is making sure to take full advantage of any of his mistakes.

“With him being a young guy, if he’s going to force some things we’ve got to put ourselves into a position to take advantage of what he forces,” Barrington said. “If we can get our hand on a couple of interceptions, we’ve got to take them in and put it back into the offense’s hands. Instead of just pass breakups, turn them into turnovers. Get pressure on him, see if we can rattle him.”