NCAAF Odds – South Florida Tries To Regain Footing On The Road

The South Florida Bulls suffered a crippling loss this past weekend. They’ll try to regroup on Thursday night as they travel to West Virginia where they are an underdog on the NCAAF odds.

South Florida Bulls @ West Virginia Mountaineers

Thursday, October 14th – 7:45 PM ET

Mountaineer Field, Morgantown, WV

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Broadcast: ESPN

NCAAF Betting: South Florida +10.5, West Virginia -10.5

Total: 43.5

In the relatively short life of Big East football, the South Florida Bulls have not been able to win a single conference championship. They’re already in huge trouble with respect to the 2010 Big East season.

The Bulls stubbed their toe – and badly at that – by dropping a 13-9 decision at home to the Syracuse Orange this past weekend. USF quarterback B.J. Daniels played yet another terrible game this season, completing just 9-of-23 passes for 124 yards and two interceptions.

Moreover, South Florida’s only touchdown came on a 94-yard kickoff return, meaning that the Bulls’ offense generated just three points all day long against the team that was the Big East’s doormat over the past few years. After a loss that embarrassing, South Florida has to rally around first-year head coach Skip Holtz and play with an appropriate level of desperation this Thursday night.

Otherwise, an already horrible season will become much worse.

NCAAF Odds Handicapping: What South Florida Has To Do To Win

The Bulls do not have much of an offense, so if they expect to win, they need to take the ball away from West Virginia.

Quarterback Geno Smith leads a Mountaineer offense that, at its best, can inflict enormous damage on opposing defenses, but which rarely maxes out on gameday. South Florida and defensive coordinator Mark Snyder need to confuse Smith on a repeated basis.

If USF can snatch some takeaways and shorten this game, the Mountaineers – who have lost embarrassing Big East games before on their home field – might very well panic. It’s worth remembering, after all, that West Virginia should have lost at Marshall roughly one month ago, only for the Thundering Herd to bail out the Mountaineers with a fumble inside the WVU five yard line.

If South Florida can rattle West Virginia with physical play, the Mountaineers could wobble.

NCAAF Odds Handicapping: What West Virginia Has To Do To Win

If South Florida needs to win this game on defense, the Mountaineers need to emphasize ball security above and beyond anything else. As long as West Virginia and the aforementioned Geno Smith don’t give away the ball in key moments, this team should be fine against USF’s limp and limited offense.

Daniels, the South Florida quarterback, can certainly scramble to turn a broken play into a first down, but if WVU’s front seven can contain Daniels, USF’s ability to score will be severely restricted.

NCAAF Odds Handicapping: Outlook & Pick

South Florida will certainly play with passion after the embarrassing loss at home to Syracuse. Yet, while USF is probably glad to be away from home this week, the fact remains that West Virginia has a lot more talent than the Bulls do. This talent gap will be in evidence on Thursday, as the Mountaineers will cover the number.

NCAAF Odds Pick: West Virginia -10.5

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