Week 13: South Florida at Pittsburgh

The Bulls are back.

They just aren’t in town. And if recent history is an indicator, that could prove a problem for South Florida.

In the last three Big East away games, USF, jockeying for bowl position, has only managed to defeat Syracuse.

That written, Pittsburgh will still enter this one as a double-digit underdog. The reason is South Florida’s rejuvenated offense of late. After three straight losses to Rutgers, Connecticut and Cincinnati, the Bulls racked up 41 points against Syracuse and 55 in a rout of Louisville. Even in the loss to Cincy, South Florida scored 33 points. USF is averaging 496 offensive yards in its past four games.

The news is also good on the injury front. Wideout Amarri Jackson has been practicing and is expected to play against the Panthers after injuring his knee back on Oct. 27 against Connecticut. Plus, defensive tackle Aaron Harris (knee) and strong safety Carlton Williams (mild concussion) should be ready to go.

But can South Florida click if the thermometer drops in the Steel City?

“We’ve got a couple wins in a row,” said USF coach Jim Leavitt. “We know about Pittsburgh and cold weather and all those kinds of things.”

Pitt’s defense is nothing to shrug off. The Panthers may be 4-6, but their defense is ranked No. 9 nationally, allowing an average of but 303.7 yards a game. Also, the team hasn’t been blown out since back on Sept. 29 at Virginia. Pitt lost to Navy by 48-45 in overtime, defeated Cincinnati 24-17, lost by 24-17 to Louisville, topped Syracuse 20-17 and almost upset Rutgers last week before falling 20-16 when receiver Oderick Turner was whistled on a controversial pass interference call in the end zone. In three of the last five games, the Panthers had the ball inside the opponents’ 5-yard line with less than a minute remaining and a chance to tie or win.

Coach Dave Wannstedt is desperately trying to find someone to finish the job. He said this week he’s reopened the competition at quarterback, where freshman Pat Bostick has fallen down. Bostick was replaced by Kevan Smith last week against Rutgers. Bostick, however, had to return when Smith hurt his shoulder.

“I probably won’t name a starter until Saturday,” Wannstedt said. “We’ll practice them both, rotate them, see how Kevan is, see how Pat bounces back and make a determination.”

Bostick was benched after going 3-of-10 passing for 35 yards. When he returned, he drove Pitt to the Rutgers 6, but then threw an interception on second down.

Mike Ford, meanwhile, helped lead USF’s 55-17 blowout of Louisville by rushing for a career-high 140 yards – his second straight 100-yard game. Quarterback Matt Grothe had 261 yards of total offense and completed a season-high 74 percent of his passes. Also, the Bull defense forced a school-record tying seven turnovers.

Expect USF’s defense – ranked No. 20 nationally – to give Pitt’s struggling offense more problems. And for the Bulls to win out of town.

South Florida by 14