South Florida +7 vs. West Virginia

Game Time: 09/28/2007 08:00 PM -
By: Ben Burns | sportspic.com

This Friday's contest on ESPN2 pits two ranked teams, a rarity for a Friday evening. Take the South Florida Bulls and the points at home versus the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Friday night matchups don't often feature two ranked teams. However, that'll be the case this week when the fifth-ranked Mountaineers visit the 18th-ranked Bulls.

West Virginia (4-0) boasts one of the best offenses in the country and have averaged greater than 47 points per game thus far. They've won their four games by an average of 30 points and have beaten every team by a minimum of 17 points. However, I expect the (3-0) Bulls to give them their first true test of the season.

The Bulls are a scrappy and well-coached team that has been getting stronger and stronger. They struggled a bit in their opener, beating Elon by "only" 15 points. They followed up that effort by traveling to Auburn and upsetting the 17th-ranked Tigers, winning 26-23 in overtime. Note that makes it three straight years which the Bulls have beaten a ranked opponent. Off a win of that magnitude, many teams would have suffered a letdown. Evidently, the Bulls aren't one of those teams, as they crushed North Carolina by a score of 37-10 last Saturday.

You may recall that the Bulls scored a major upset over the Mountainers last season, traveling to Morgantown as three touchdown underdogs and winning by a score of 24-19. That was the Mountaineers' first home loss in nine games and cost them a chance both a shot at the Big East title and a chance at a Bowl Championship Series bid. Last week's victory was Sout Florida's seventh straight here and brought the Bulls to 7-1 at home the past two seasons. The lone loss during that stretch was way back in September of last year and the Bulls still covered losing by just two points vs. Rutgers. Including that pointspread victory, the Bulls are a profitable 10-4 ATS their last 14 September lined games.

This will likely be the biggest crowd ever for a South Florida home game. Look for the Bulls to feed off their home crowd and for them to give their guests all they can handle once again. Consider taking the points with South Florida.

Free Pick: South Florida +7