Pizza Party

Book your tickets now (an Auburn fan recommended the Tutwiler and the Redmont), because Rutgers is going to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama.

Well, it’s not in stone yet, but that’s the feeling I get off this contest, and I couldn’t be happier.

Let’s be clear about one thing: this was a winnable game for USF. Never have I seen a team do so little with so much. Jim Leavitt has done a great job to build up the USF program, but his teams are consistently among the worst-coached in America, and he looks like an absolute clown with his sideline temper tantrums.

USF Liveblog

I’m here. Noon starts are a real pain.

12:06 – Teddy, Teddy. One play in, one bone-headed play on special teams. Such is Rutgers.

12:11 – Petey! Really nice forced fumble. Refs confirmed it, the USF receiver made a sloppy catch. He didn’t secure the football, but did make a football move.

12:33 – What is Teel thinking on that int? USF doesn’t bite on the play action at all, and Timmy Brown is in double coverage. I think Grothe is mostly neutralizing RU’s rush so far, and the fact that RU called Underwood’s name on third and one probably means that they have no confidence in running the ball.

12:38 – Great tackle by Jason McCourty on 2nd down to break up a catch, and then Lefeged had perfect timing to swat away a pass on third down. USF subsequently misses the 42-yard FG. Those were two of the better plays we’ve seen from RU’s secondary all year.

12:55 – 7-0 Rutgers. Joe Martinek had two nice runs early in the drive, which set up a gorgeous play action pass to Britt, who really made a terrific catch. It seemed like there was a busted flea flicker, and then Teel had another nice connection with Underwood. Very, very gutsy call on third down, splitting five wide and calling the QB draw. Let’s keep it up. RU has already used all three of its timeouts.

1:04 – 7-3. Can’t keep spotting USF good field position. They marched down the field (one scramble, one play where David Rowe fell down leaving a wide open receiver) until they got to the red zone. It was third and 10, and RU was fortunate that USF had a bad snap. Grothe ended up finding Williams, but he was stopped short of the first down.

1:09 – I think USF got away with a facemask on the end-around on first down. Graves missed his chip on 2nd down, giving the blitzing DB a free shot at Teel. Brutal, inexcusable drop by a wide open Brown on third down, from a perfect Teel pass. That was 9.5 on the Underwood scale.

1:15 – Another great play by Tverdov, tipping Grothe’s pass at the LOS, which went right into George Johnson’s hands. Johnson had a decent return. And we just had the most pointless flea flicker of all time.

1:17 – Two wasted plays, then George Selvie tips the ball at the LOS right into an interception. Oh well.

1:20 -  Boom! Finally a DB interception, and it’s for a pick six. J-Mo (I just coined that, aw yeah) reads Grothe perfectly, and jumps a slant. 14-3, baby! Tverdov is putting on a clinic out there today.

1:32 – Ben Williams walks right in for a TD. The problem with a boom or bust defense is that USF is feasting all over the busts. Forcing mistakes won’t be enough today, RU has to win the yardage battle. Points on the upcoming drive would be nice. 14-10.

1:40 – 21-10. That was just what RU needed. Jason McCourty broke a huge return. Kordell Young had a nice run. Britt dropped an easy catch, and then Underwood (give credit where it’s due) had a clutch third down catch and run. Teel hit him in stride and looked brilliant on that drive. The touchdown catch in the endzone by Corcoran was textbook. Where the hell was that in September?

1:45 – Hey, kick return coverage units, what are you doing out there? The refs just kind of screwed USF on the clock, and Leavitt is FREAKING OUT. Grothe looks terrible out there. RU scores the block on the meaningless kick before halftime. Two quarters to go.

2:18 – Let’s be clear, RU dodged two major bullets there with Jason McCourty’s fumble on the KR, and a near pick by Teel. Great, great drive though. For all the hype from the USF AD about Selvie against the run this week, Young broke for a big gain on him behind Anthony Davis. Just kept piling on the yardage and the TOP there. Young had some trouble punching it in on first and goal. Martinek (who’s apparently the #2 now, haven’t seen Brooks or Robinson today) pounded it in on 2nd down, which was very nice to see. I’m getting far too confident, it wouldn’t surprise me if USF gets a big return here and starts driving again.

2:29 – Unfortunately, I was right. USF scored another big return, which led to a TD. USF fumbled the snap on the XP. RU needs to quell any momentum right here. Break another big return, and start on another long drive down the field.

2:41 – Timmy Brown had a great catch to redeem for his earlier drop. Smurfs should not be able to jump that high. There was a tripping penalty on Blaszczyk that killed any chances of scoring a first down. Really rough break here, as Dellaganna gets off a decent punt that is returned and fumbled by USF’s Theo Wilson, but is called back on the illegal procedure call. Not only do I hate ESPN Regional’s new announcers (come back Dave Sims!), but they seem to never show any replays.

2:45 – And there’s another fumble. March it down boys.

2:51 – Awesome drive. The OL is getting some push and opening holes for Joe Martinek. Teel looks great, and just hooked up with Shamar Graves in the endzone with a layup. 35-16, that’s the game most likely and we still have one quarter to go.

3:01 – Another bad kickoff, it doesn’t matter. And Britt just made SportsCenter. 42-16. By the way, put in Natale, please.

3:16 – Why isn’t Natale in there?

3:26 – I flipped to the Navy game after the Martinek TD, and hell yes! Come on Middies! Do it for America.

3:33 – The Irish win. I want to cry. I kinda missed the last five minutes of the RU game, sorry.