Tigers try to fend off Bulls

Sep 5, 2007, 16:15 GMT

Auburn, AL - The South Florida Bulls of the Big East Conference are set to take on the 17th-ranked Auburn Tigers of the SEC.

South Florida beat Elon by a 28-13 final to open the season, and while the performance wasn't exactly spectacular, the Bulls were simply happy to get a win under their belts. After this weekend's clash, the club will return to Tampa for back-to-back home games against North Carolina and national powerhouse West Virginia. Jim Leavitt deserves a ton of credit for the way he has built the USF program in a short time, as the 9-4 finish in 2006 served notice that the Bulls have arrived.

As for Auburn, it rallied from a 13-9 deficit to beat Kansas State by a 23-13 final, giving the program its first victory when trailing after three quarters in nearly three years. The Tigers are 12-1 in home night games since the start of the 2000 season, and the program has posted a 34-5 record over the past four seasons.

This game marks the first-ever meeting between the Bulls and the Tigers on the gridiron.

Matt Grothe threw a pair of touchdown passes and Mike Ford scored twice on the ground to lead South Florida to the 15-point win over Elon in the opener. The Bulls finished the day with 19 first downs and 373 total yards, solid numbers that certainly can't be categorized as spectacular. Grothe connected on 23- of-39 passes for 238 yards with no interceptions. The versatile signal caller also racked up 22 yards rushing. Grothe stepped in as a freshman a year ago and was one of the most surprising players in the Big East. He threw for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns while also running for 622 yards and nine touchdowns. Rather than key on one receiver in the opener, Grothe spread the ball around to a number of receivers, as five players caught multiple passes. All five starters are back in place from the 2006 offensive line, one of many reasons USF fans have been looking forward to the start of this new campaign.

Give USF credit for its strong defensive play against Elon. The Bulls only allowed one touchdown to the Phoenix, and that score came with just over three minutes remaining in the tilt once the outcome had long been decided. Perhaps most impressive about the defensive effort was that USF only allowed 33 net rushing yards on 30 attempts by Elon. A pair of takeaways and six sacks can also be viewed as obvious positives. The Bulls surrendered fewer than 300 total yards per game a year ago to place second in total defense in the Big East behind only Rutgers. Seven defensive starters are back in place, so the strong performance against Elon should not come as a surprise.

It is hard to give the Auburn offense a great deal of credit for the victory over Kansas State. After all, the Tigers only scored one offensive touchdown, and that drive covered a modest 57 yards. With two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Brandon Cox tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to Gabe McKenzie. Sure, that play was huge, but the Tigers finished the tilt with 291 total yards, including 62 rushing yards on 37 carries. Don't forget, Auburn is known as a great rushing team, a school that turned out the likes of Bo Jackson, Rudi Johnson, Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams. Clearly, the Tigers will want to establish a formidable ground attack this week, and Ben Tate will be the man to carry the load. Cox threw a pair of interceptions in the opener and was sacked five times, not what the fans and coaches have come to expect from the veteran leader.

The Auburn defense came up with a huge play late in the game against Kansas State. The Wildcats only trailed by a field goal and had possession of the ball when Auburn's Antonio Coleman picked up a fumble and raced 34 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. The defense held K-State scoreless over the final 22 minutes of the contest, enabling Auburn to claim the victory. While the Wildcats did rack up 289 passing yards in the contest, the Tigers managed a pair of sacks and two interceptions. The top player for the Auburn defense is end Quentin Groves, a senior leader who is coming off a 9.5-sack campaign in 2006 and had two sacks in the opener. He and six other returning starters figure to help this defense maintain its reputation as one of the nations most feared units.

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