Western Kentucky @ South Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2009 ) South Florida 35, Western Kentucky 13

The Big East meets the Sun Belt Saturday night when South Florida hosts Western Kentucky in Tampa.

The Bulls, under first-year coach Skip Holtz, are 1-1. WKU is 0-3 and has lost 23 consecutive games.

The Hilltoppers also have a new coach in Willie Taggert. A Western Kentucky graduate, Taggert was an All-American quarterback in Bowling Green in the mid-1990s and previously served as running backs coach at Stanford.

Western Kentucky faced a murderious schedule in its first three games as it lost to Nebraska, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Although they’ve given up 150 points in the three games, the Hilltoppers' running game has been a diamond in the rough. Running back Bobby Rainey has rushed for 444 yards. Rainey ran for 155 against the Cornhuskers and then exploded for 184 more against Kentucky.

WKU quarterback Kawaun Jakes has completed 58 percent of his passes and thrown two touchdowns. Kickoff return specialist Willie McNeal has 428 yards on returns through three games, including a 90-yard burst against Kentucky. While the Hilltoppers have averaged close to 500 yards in total offense, they’ve surrendered an average of 300 passing yards a game.

The Bulls defeated Stony Brook 59-14 in their opener, then lost to Florida in Gainesville, 38-14. The Bulls and Gators were tied 7-7 at halftime before Florida scored 21 unanswered points. The bright spot was the Bulls racked up 244 rushing yards against the Gators.

Quarterback B.J. Daniels, a legitimate dual threat, leads the Bulls in both passing and rushing. He ran for 107 yards against Florida but the Gators completely stuffed USF’s passing game. Daniels completed only 5 of 20 passes and threw four interceptions. Still, the Bulls have totaled an impressive 893 yards of total offense in their two games.

While this is Holtz’s first year at USF, it’s his 11th as a head coach after stints at Connecticut and East Carolina. His overall record is 72-50.