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South Florida and Rutgers both had hopes of winning the Big East title this season, but the best the winner of Thursday night’s game can probably hope for is a third-place finish in the conference.

Rutgers, which has beaten USF three straight years, is a 2.5-point betting favorite on WagerWeb.com.

Last year’s 49-16 Rutgers in Tampa has been on the Bulls’ minds since. The 33-point defeat was the largest conference loss in the five years the Bulls have been in the Big East. And some players openly questioned why the Scarlet Knights were throwing the ball in the fourth quarter.

“Rutgers is a game that we definitely marked on our calendar after how they beat us last year,” USF QB B.J. Daniels said. “This is a game that’s important to us.

The Bulls are probably just happy not to play a ranked team – they went 1-2 in a just concluded stretch against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. USF has found a future star at QB. Since taking over when starter Matt Grothe was sidelined for the season with a knee injury, Daniels, a redshirt freshman, has emerged among the nation’s leaders in average yards per completion (17.1 yards), average yards per rush for a quarterback (5.58) and yards per game rushing for a QB (64.9).

However, Daniels will be missing his top weapon as WR Carlton Mitchell is out with a sprained ankle. Mitchell has six catches that have gone for 49 or more yards this season and leads the team in catches (29), receiving yards (542) and TD catches (4).

The Scarlet Knights are led by a true freshman QB in Tom Savage, who has eight touchdowns and one interception in 168 attempts. And Rutgers also has a big-play receiver in Tim Brown, who will be on the field. Brown has five touchdowns and gains 21.9 yards per catch.

If the difference is turnovers, Rutgers likely wins. It leads the nation in turnover differential (2.25). In its last 15 games, RU has caused 42 turnovers.

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