Stephen Nover
S. Florida at W. Virginia
Pick: S. Florida +7.5
Analysis: It's not a fluke that South Florida has defeated West Virginia in each of the last two years. No team has defended better against West Virginia's spread offense than South Florida. The keys for South Florida's defense are quickness, speed and the brains of defensive coordinator Wally Burnham. He's a guru when it comes to game-planning against the type of run-oriented option attack West Virginia uses. Unlike West Virginia quarterback Pat White, who has just two 200-yard throwing games during the past two seasons, South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe can run and pass. He's one of the better quarterbacks in the country and can hurt a West Virginia defense that has linebacker injuries. West Virginia coach Bill Stewart isn't a strong enough coach to have his team laying this high of a number. Since Stewart replaced Rich Rodriguez, the Mountaineers have dropped from 297 yards rushing per game to 224 and their passing yards have shrunk from 159 per game to 135.
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