South Florida (8-4) vs. East Carolina (7-5)
Dec. 23rd 1 p.m.
ESPN2
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PapaJohns.com Bowl Preview
By
Richard Cirminiello
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PapaJohns.com Bowl Player Profile
QB Matt Grothe, USF – Ronnie Banks. Pat
Julmiste. Carlton Hill. Evan
Kraky. No one has come remotely
close to replacing Marquel
Blackwell, one of the program’s
most important pioneers, since
he left Tampa four years ago.
No one until now, that is.
Grothe competed with Julmiste in
the spring, replaced the injured
starter in the season opener and
then proceeded to lock down the
job each Saturday of the fall.
Sure, he’s thrown 14
interceptions, not uncommon for
a redshirt freshman, but he’s
also guided the Bulls with all
the savvy of a third-year
starter and earned post-season
recognition as the Big East
Rookie of the Year. Channeling
his inner Flutie, the versatile
6-foot, 195-pound Grothe took a
beating all year, yet still led
South Florida in passing,
rushing and scoring, while
getting his hand in 23 of the
offense’s 35 touchdowns. He
certainly doesn’t possess a
cannon, but he throws catchable
balls, weaves in and out of
traffic when he leaves the
pocket and plays with a fiery
passion that rubs off on the
rest of his teammates. In terms
of intangibles, leadership
skills and late game poise,
Grothe is exactly the kind of
quarterback head coach Jim
Leavitt wants with the ball in
his hands. South Florida spent
most of the last four years
searching for a worthy heir
apparent to Blackwell. It’ll
spend the next three seasons
building its offense around a
young dual-threat quarterback
that’s about to become the face
of the program as it enters the
next phase of its evolution.
Best Bull Bowl Moment –
Only program architect Jim
Leavitt and the blind optimist
could have believed South
Florida would be bowl bound
after a mere decade as a
football entity. Yet, that’s
what happened in last year’s
Meineke Car Care Bowl. Even a
dreadful 14-0 loss to North
Carolina State couldn’t douse
the program’s excitement over
playing in the post-season for
the first time in its brief
history.
Best Pirate Bowl Moment –
In one of the most memorable
wins in school history, East
Carolina rallied from a 17-point
fourth quarter deficit to beat
long-time rival North Carolina
State in the 1992 Peach Bowl.
In front of the largest crowd to
ever watch two North Carolina
teams play, Pirate QB Jeff Blake
ran for a score and threw a pair
of touchdown passes in the final
eight minutes for a pulsating
37-34 victory. The win gave the
Pirates state bragging rights
and a No. 9 ranking in the final
AP poll.
South Florida's best win ...
South Florida 24 ... West Virginia 19
South Florida's defense stunned West Virginia by forcing four
turnovers and holding the Mountaineer rushing offense to 132 rushing
yards. The Bulls overcame an early 6-0 deficit with a fumble
recovery for a score and a ten-yard Matt Grothe run, and went up for
good with a 21-yard Ean Randolph scoring grab. West Virginia came
back with Pat White's second touchdown pass of the game to Brandon
Myles with a 44-yard play with just over five minutes to play, but
its final drive was stopped early on an interception from Trae
Williams off a tipped pass.
South Florida's worst loss ...
Cincinnati 23 ... South Florida 6
Cincinnati's defense came up with a first quarter safety and
got a 39-yard fumble recovery for a score from Kevin McCullough. A
missed fake punt and a missed fourth down chance led to UC offensive
scores with Greg Moore rushing for a one-yard score and Butler
Brenton rushing for a 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. South
Florida finally got on the board in the final minutes with an
11-yard Amp Hill touchdown catch.
East Carolina's best win ...
East Carolina 20 ... Southern Miss 17 OT
East Carolina's Travis Williams picked off a pass in the end
zone in overtime after Ben Hartman nailed a 19-yard field goal on
the Pirate's possession. In a defensive battle, East Carolina
countered a nine-yard Ed Morgan touchdown catch with a kickoff
return for a score from Chris Johnson. Tied at ten midway through
the third, ECU was driving only to have Eddie Hicks pick off a pass
and take it 87 yards for a touchdown. ECU was able to force overtime
with a two-yard James Pinkney touchdown run with :13 to play to cap
off a ten-play, 60-yard drive that took of 4:27.
East Carolina's worst loss ...
UAB 17 ... East Carolina 12
With just over a minute to play, East Carolina appeared to be
on the way to a thrilling win as Chris Henry caught a James Pinkney pass and
tore off up the middle of the field and on his way to the end zone, but UAB's
Chris Felder stripped the ball at the four yard line and Will Evans recovered to
save the game. Chris Williams came off the bench to throw two 12-yard touchdown
passes, one to Norris Drinkard and one to Steven Brown, for a 17-6 Blazer lead
late, but ECU came back on a one-yard touchdown catch from Davon Drew with 4:45
to play, got the ball back with just over two minutes to play, and had one last
chance before the fumble.
East Carolina Bowl History (4-3)
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2001 |
GMAC |
Marshall 64, ECU 61 2OT |
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2000 |
gallery
furniture.com |
ECU 40, Texas Tech 27 |
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1999 |
Mobile Alabama |
TCU 28, ECU 14 |
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1995 |
Liberty |
ECU 19, Stanford 13 |
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1994 |
Liberty |
Illinois 30, ECU 0 |
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1991 |
Peach |
ECU 37, NC State 34 |
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1978 |
Independence |
ECU 35, La Tech 13 |
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South Florida
Bowl History (0-1)
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2005 |
Meineke Car Care |
NC State 14, USF 0 |
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