S. Florida QB leads Bulls past W. Virginia

West Virginia’s Pat White was knocked out of the game in the second quarter.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — No. 18 South Florida is not only basking in the national spotlight, the Bulls are thriving in it.

Matt Grothe upstaged West Virginia stars Pat White and Steve Slaton for the second straight year, leading rapidly rising USF to a 21-13 victory over the mistake-prone, fifth-ranked Mountaineers on Friday night.

Grothe scrambled to avoid a sack before throwing a 55-yard touchdown pass to Carlton Mitchell, and Ben Moffitt returned one of his two interceptions 26 yards for a TD to lead a stellar defensive performance in the Big East opener.

“It’s a huge statement win,” Moffitt said. “It’s something we’ve got to do to put this program where it’s supposed to go.”

West Virginia (4-1, 0-1) averaged 357 yards rushing in its first four games, but only managed 188 on the ground after surprisingly opening the game throwing on seven of its first 11 offensive plays.

White out

The Mountaineers lost White late in the second quarter after the junior quarterback was hit in the right knee on a running play.

He limped off the field and remained on the sideline, but did not return.

Slaton, the other half of West Virginia’s explosive tandem, was held to 54 yards rushing on 13 carries and fumbled twice.

The running back also had a poorly thrown pass glance off him and wind up in the hands of Moffitt for the linebacker’s second interception — and the Mountaineers’ sixth turnover.

White’s backup, Jarrett Brown, threw a 9-yard TD pass to Darius Reynaud to trim West Virginia’s deficit to 21-13 with 5:45 remaining. He had the Mountaineers on the move again when USF (4-0, 1-0) held them on downs at the Bulls 40 in the final minute.

“It’s a big win for everybody around here,” USF coach Jim Leavitt said as he waved his left arm toward an on-field celebration. “Pretty neat stuff.”

In the first half alone, USF forced three fumbles — two by Slaton — and defensive end Jarriett Buie hit White as he released the pass that Moffitt intercepted with a clear path to the end zone.

The Mountaineers also hurt themselves with other costly mistakes, including a bad snap that contributed to Slaton’s second fumble and another errant snap that sailed over Brown’s head and forced West Virginia to settle for the field goal that trimmed their deficit to 14-3 just before the half.