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South Florida seeks first bowl win vs. East Carolina

Dec 23, 2006 - 4:44 PM South Florida (8-4) at East Carolina (7-5) Papajohns.com Bowl 1:00 pm EST

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Ticker) - It took South Florida nine years to reach its first bowl game but just one more for the Bulls to get to their second.

Coming off perhaps the most important win in school history, South Florida looks to capture its first bowl win when it takes on postseason veteran East Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Saturday.

In their regular-season finale, the Bulls went on the road and defeated No. 7 West Virginia, 24-19. The Mountaineers were the highest-ranked foe USF has defeated.

South Florida (8-4) was led by Big East Conference Freshman of the Year Matt Grothe, who completed 22-of-33 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown. The double-threat also had 47 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Grothe will be the primary focus of East Carolina's defense because he can hurt teams through the air (2,495 yards, 14 TDs) and on the ground (607 yards, nine TDs) as he pilots a no-huddle spread offense.

USF dropped its inaugural bowl appearance last season, losing, 13-0, to North Carolina State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

The Pirates (7-5) will be making their first bowl appearance since 2001, arriving here by finishing second in the East Division of Conference USA.

East Carolina is coming off a 21-16 win over North Carolina State on November 25. James Pinkney was 14-of-29 for 220 yards and two TDs while fellow senior Brandon Fractious ran for 92 yards on 17 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown scamper with 2:37 left to seal the victory.

Pinkney, whose 37 consecutive starts ranks fifth nationally, threw for 2,658 yards and 11 TDs this season, moving past current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard for most completions (679) in school history. The 6-3, 220-pound signal-caller needs just six more attempts to hold the record in that category as well.

East Carolina is 7-5 all-time in the postseason, with its last appearance being a 64-61 two-overtime loss to Marshall on December 19, 2001.

USF is 3-0 all-time vs. East Carolina in a series that dates to 2002. The teams last faced each other November 13, 2004 when the Bulls hammered the host Pirates, 41-17.