No. 8 Cincinnati- 34 @ No. 21 USF- 17

The match up of Big East titans (if there is such a thing) did not quite live up to its billing on Thursday night. Despite a great first half effort, the Bulls of South Florida fell apart in the second period, and Cincinnati got a huge road win to boost its resume. It was the tale of two quarterbacks, with one being a seasoned five year veteran with high nfl aspirations (Tony Pike), the other a freshman from tallahassee, who was not even recruited by his home town noles to play qb, who has been forced into the starting line up due to injuries to their offensive leader (Matt Groethe- out for the season) (B.J. Daniels).

In the first quarter it seemed as though the freshman was the one that the twenty five NFL scouts were there to see. He looked poised in the pocket, electric on his feet, and completed some nice throws over the middle as they cut through the Bearcats D on their opening drive. Pike had a rough start, but completed 6 of 7 on a scoring drive before the half that reminded everyone of why he is considered such an elite prospect. His most memorable pass of the night was on that very drive, he thread the needle on third and long while showing a little mobility rolling to his left and hitting his man down field. Daniels seemed every bit his equal until an errant pass got picked off and returned all the way to the Bulls 5 yard line. From that moment on he did not look as good throwing the football, while he did a great job creating time for himself by eluding rushers, his throws were often inaccurate and late (although the offensive line should shoulder some of that blame). Tony Pike gave NFL scouts some concerns when he left the game in the third quarter after re injuring his non throwing wrist. He has already been ruled out for the next game against Louisville, and his durability concerns will ultimately hurt his draft stock.

Hot:

1. George Selvie and Jason Pierre Paul -DE's-USF.... the pass rush was the lone bright spot on defense, as the two of them were relentless at getting in the backfield and disrupting plays. Selvie got a sack and caused a fumble, while Pierre Paul had 2 tackles for a loss and hit the Bearcat's stand-in qb causing an interception late in the game that gave his team a chance to come back. Both of these kids will be playing on Sundays for a long time.

2. Tony Pike- QB-Cincy- This kid showed that is more than capable of making throws, and did a good job giving the Bearcats a lead before coming out of the game in the third. He threw 2 td passes and tallied 140 yards through basically one half of play. There were stretches of this game where he did look very human. Cincy only amassed two total first downs in the first quarter of play. His running game was virtually nonexistent with him at the helm, which enabled the Bulls to focus their intense rush on the quarterback.

3. Jeff Linkenbach- OT- Cincy...he had the task of taking Selvie 1-1 while they focused the double teams on JPP. I like the way this kid played, he is physical, big, and athletic. He did well getting down field on the few screens they ran, and what little success they had running the ball before Collaros' 75 yard scamper was to his side.

4. BJ Daniels- QB- USF- This kid is going to have a bright future. He has a great deep throw he just needs to work on his timing and accuracy, two things that will definitely improve throughout his tenure in the green and gold. He has a lot of the intangibles, and he is extremely elusive both in the pocket and running in the open field. The Bulls definitely have found their qb of the future.

5. Mardy Gilyard- WR- Cincy- He showed why he is one of the top wr prospects in the draft. He showed precise route running, great hands, and great vision. He did a good job both as a receiver and bringing back some kicks. He is deceptively fast and has a bunch of big play potential every time he is around the pigskin.

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Cold:

1. Jerome Murphy- CB- USF- This kid is a gifted athlete but he definitely was a detriment to his team this outing. He had 3 personal foul penalties, one of which was a 3rd and goal from the ten yard line, with the game at 24-17 late in the second half. He also dropped an interception. Many feel he may be the best player in this Bulls' secondary, and he showed glimpses of that talent, but the cons definitely outweighed the pros tonight.

2. The USF receiving corp- between Griffin, Bogan, Richardson and Mitchell, the Bulls have been looking for someone to step up. At first it looked like it would be Hester, after his 28 yard td grab in the first quarter. However after that he was held to 2 catches for 13 yards. They had a few drops, Griffin mis ran some routes. They need to do a lot better job of throwing their freshman quarterback a bone if this team is even going to finish the season ranked in the top 25.