Turnovers a Problem for Syracuse
Mountaineer fans are all but sick of the turnover talk as they just want to see improvement this week as WVU faces Syracuse. The Orange has turnover issues of their own.
Greg Paulus struggled as the Syracuse starter for the first time as he threw five interceptions in the game. Paulus has thrown nine interceptions on the season now.
The Mountaineers are averaging 33.2 points per game, but they have committed 14 turnovers including ten in the last two games.
"We emphasize it every day," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said. "We were +3 (in turnover margin) coming into the South Florida game. It is something we talk about on a weekly basis with our players. We talk about how turnovers can and will decide football games.
"Now you have this game when we turned the ball over seven times," Marrone continued "You evaluate it and you ask why. There are two reasons: Some times you make poor decisions and sometimes you try to press and make plays. What we have to do now is take more practice time and specifically say, ‘this is ball security
"Our whole team will take that extra practice time and focus on ball security, taking it and stripping it if you are on defense and fumble recovery if you are on the offensive line.:"
Saturday’s match up is enticing for the Mountaineers because they lead the league and are 18th in the nation averaging 208 rushing yards per game. The Mountaineers are piling up 465 total yards per game. The Syracuse defense, meanwhile, is last in the league having given up averages of 28.6 points and 381 yards per game.
The updated numbers for Greg Paulus: 103-160, 1,157 yards with nine interceptions and eight touchdowns.
The top offensive weapon for Syracuse is receiver Mike Williams. Williams, a senior, is averaging 8.2 receptions and 125 yards per game.
Pitt’s Offense Clicks in Conference Win Over Louisville
The Panthers blew open a close game by outscoring the Cardinals 28-0 in the second half. The key play during that surge was a 71-yard touchdown pass from Bill Stull to 6-foot-6 speedster Jonathan Baldwin. Stull had thrown a 37-yard touchdown pass to Dorin Dickerson earlier in the game.
Stull is currently 5th in the nation in passing efficiency. His 988 yards passing ranks 3rd in the Big East and his 11 touchdown passes are 2nd most after Tony Pike’s 13. Stull has thrown just one interception in 116 pass attempts.
"The number one thing he is doing well is that he is not throwing interceptions," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said about his quarterback. "Billy has always had a capable arm. He can make any of the throws. That part has never been a problem.
"Billy is more in tune with what we are doing now," Wannstedt continued. "We have it structured as such that we have eliminated much of the over thinking .
"Plus, there is a situation of competition that we have created here. Billy wants to keep his starting job and he knows that if he goes out and plays poorly and turns it over, he is not going to start."
The Pitt defense also bounced back after blowing that lead at North Carolina State the previous week. Pitt sacked Louisville quarterback Adam Froman six times including 3 1/2 by defensive end Greg Romeus.
The Pitt/U-Conn game was chosen by ABC for the 3:30 time slot Saturday.
Endress to Start Again for U-Conn
Connecticut coach Randy Edsall says quarterback Zach Frazer has not had sufficient time to recover from a knee injury last month, so Cody Endres will be the Huskies starter when U-Conn opens Big East play at Pitt on Saturday.
Edsall confirmed Sunday that Frazer has yet to take a snap in practice since suffering the injury during a Sept. 12 loss at North Carolina.
Endres has played well as Frazer has been out. Endres has completed 38-60 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Endress, by the way, played his high school football at Trinity in Washington, Pennsylvania.
Edsall also provided an update on the status of linebacker Scott Lutrus who has missed the last three games after sustaining a stinger in a game against Ohio University.
"Scott wants to play, and he’s eager to play, but the doctors have not yet cleared him," Edsall said. "He has not even been cleared to practice yet."
The formula for the Huskies remains similar. U-Conn leads the Big East in total defense and the Huskies are ranked 4th in the country having allowed just 32 yards per game. The Huskies are also rushing the football to the tune of 190 yards per game.
"One thing that I always believe in is that you have to run the football in order to be successful ," Connecticut coach Randy Edsall said. "We take a lot of pride in that and we understand that it is very important. It is something that we are always going to go well here because in part of being a physical, tough minded football team, that is what you need to do."
Louisville Hosts Southern Miss
Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe says it will be a game time decision as to who will start for his team at quarterback. Adam Froman started last week in the Pitt game. Justin Burke had suffered a bruised sternum the week before during a road loss at Utah. Burke finished that game, but had trouble practicing for most of the week.
"Both of those guys (Froman and Burke) are healthy this week," Kragthorpe said. "We will practice both this week and then make a game time decision."
"I think both guys have played well for us. We will let them go at it at practice this week. I am now worried about our quarterback position at all."
Overall, it has been a frustrating 1-3 start for the Cardinals.
"In the three losses we have had a number of self-inflicted errors," Kragthorpe said. "We have to do a better job of taking care of the football. We also have to eliminate big plays when teams take deep shots against us in the passing game. The third thing is third down. The stat I heard is that 9-11 times when we are in third and 10+ on the defensive side, we have not been able to get off the field. That percentage has to increase."
Improved Rutgers Back to Work Following Bye
Rutgers carried a three game win streak into a bye week, now the Scarlett Knights are getting set to face Texas Southern Saturday. A Blowout loss to Cincinnati probably cost Rutgers any chance of winning a Big East title, but since that game, the Scarlett Knights defense has allowed just two touchdowns over the last two games. The defensive unit, meanwhile, has scored three touchdowns. The Rutgers defense is also allowing just 3.0 yards per rush attempt.
Joe Martinek, meanwhile, has emerged as the #1 option in the running game as he has produced back to back 100 yard games.
South Florida, Cincinnati Idle as They Prepare for Showdown
5-0 and 10th ranked Cincinnati will play at 5-0 and 24th ranked South Florida coming up Thursday, Oct. 15.
The quick strike Bearcats have scored at least 21 first half points in all five games this year. Cincinnati is off to a 5-0 start for the second time in the last three seasons.
South Florida is 5-0 for the third straight season. The Bulls forced seven turnovers in the road win at Syracuse and now have 11 turnovers in the last two games. The 16 total turnovers forced is the third highest total in the country.