Mountaineers vs. Bulls Predictions / Odds

[Shame About Ray]

Free Preview and gambling pick including updated point spread and LIVE betting odds for the West Virginia Mountaineers vs. South Florida Bulls Friday night football matchup...

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West Virginia vs. USF Preview | Pick

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[HuskersBusker41]

The Bulls have had a solid recent history versus West Virginia, but it hasn't looked like they've had much wind in their sails since Cincy's back-up pivot (Zach Collaros) looked like Mike Vick against their defense. We'll see if USF can get up for this game.

[Home On The Range]

--Tampa, FL--
BetUS LINE: West Virginia -3.5

2009 Team Stats

Total Offence: WVU-28th
South Florida-61st

Total Defense: WVU-36th
South Florida-27th

Spread/Trends

2009: WVU ATS: 2-4
South Florida ATS: 3-3

O/U: WVU: 4-2
South Florida: 4-2

- WVU are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games
- South Florida are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog

Preview

South Florida’s Week 4 win against Florida State, at the time, looked impressive. But since FSU has been pedestrian in recent weeks, it doesn’t look like that was as big a win as we thought. Personally I don’t know how the spread is only 3 points. In their last 2 games against ranked teams Big East teams, the Bulls have looked awful, losing by a combined score of 75-31. Combine that with an explosive West Virginia team, and you have trouble.

The trouble began for South Florida when QB Matt Grothe went down. B.J. Daniels is a freshman pivot with terrific athleticism, who was not expecting to play much this year. He was very good in his first couple relief appearances, but it seems as though the expectations have caught up to him in the last two games. Although the defense played well the first part of the year – carrying the team while they adjusted to Grothe’s absence – they may be tired and are now getting torched by the Big East’s contenders. The 59th-ranked rush defense is in for a long day when Noel Devine comes to town; USF has given up 403 total rushing yards in the last two games alone.

West Virginia’s offense starts and ends with Devine. Quarterback Jarrett Brown finally got his chance to start and has been a solid replacement for the departed Pat White; but Devine is the engine that makes this team go. Devine is stupidly productive (912 yards, 10 TDs), and against the Bulls’ defense he should have no problems. If somehow the Bulls manage to slow down the ground game, Brown and wideout Jock Sanders can carry the load.

The staple of many WVU teams has been the offense but in the last two years they have made solid strides defensively. They were 36th in the country last year and currently 36th this year. The issue with this team is the pass defense, which ranks 88th in the country. The Mountaineers make up for this by having the 9th-best defense against the rush.

Although the WVU pass defense can be exploited, I can’t see Daniels passing USF to a win. Add in the problems the Bulls have had defending the run, and this game shouldn’t be close.

Pick: West Virginia -13

[TheWiesguy]

Its amazing how USF fades down the stretch...This shall be another fine example. WVU stays in the race with a solid 31-17 victory.