Five Keys to Tonight’s USF-Rutgers Game

Posted Nov 12, 2009 by Scott Carter

Updated Nov 12, 2009 at 02:05 PM

Hey there Bulls fans (imagine Bob Uecker’s voice); I’m coming at you live from my hotel room. I’ll be driving back over to Piscataway here in a little while for tonight’s showdown between No. 23-ranked USF and Rutgers.

For those of you wondering what the weather should be like for tonight’s big game, check out this link. I love that The Weather Channel now covers football too.

I doubt I’ll see the sun today from my best guess. As for the game, here are my five keys for USF to avoid losing its fourth in a row to the Scarlet Knights:

—- To beat Rutgers, USF has to avoid turning over the ball. The Scarlet Knights have just seven turnovers in eight games. Meanwhile, they have forced 25, and their plus-18 turnover margin leads the Big East. Rutgers forced four turnovers to upset Connecticut and has forced at least one turnover in 14 consecutive games.

—- The Bulls have prepared for Rutgers’ blitz-happy defense since the start of camp, so they must cash in on big plays when the opportunity presents itself. That’s likely to mean a big scramble from quarterback B.J. Daniels, effective screen passes, or a big play downfield with Rutgers in one-on-one coverage in the secondary. Without leading receiver Carlton Mitchell, that won’t be as easy, but the Bulls are guaranteed to have opportunities if Rutgers comes with the blitz as much as it usually does.

—- USF’s front four needs to put pressure on Rutgers freshman quarterback Tom Savage and force him into a rare mistake. Savage has just one interception in 168 pass attempts. A lot of the talk this week has focused on how good Rutgers’ big-and-beefy offensive line is, led by 6-foot-6, 325-pound anchor Anthony Davis. But USF has a speed advantage up front with George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul. Plus, linebackers Kion Wilson and Chris Robinson should get some attacking assignments to use USF’s speed advantage.

—- The Bulls have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to Rutgers, so they must be careful not to come out too amped up and lose focus early in the game. If the Bulls fall too far behind in the first half in what is sure to be a very hostile environment, that’s a lot to ask of Daniels in only his sixth career start. The defense really needs to make some plays and avoid giving up too many big plays the way it did in the win over West Virginia.

—- Finally, USF’s offensive line must play well and keep all those Rutgers’ pass rushers off Daniels. The line was superb in the victory over West Virginia and has developed into one of the team’s strengths. Offensive coordinator Mike Canales talked earlier in the week about making sure USF picks up the “quarterback spy,’’ the player Rutgers will use to focus on Daniels and cause disruption. USF must make sure that player is contained or it could cause a lot of trouble for the Bulls.

I’ll check back in later with an update from Rutgers Stadium and I’ll be blogging during the game. Let me know what you think the most important key to tonight’s game is by dropping a comment and ‘Shootin’ the Bull.’