By: James Gravley | WV Sports Chat
In a recent post on Twitter/X, I asked the West Virginia faithful to name the worst loss under the Rich Rodriguez era in his first stint with the Mountaineers. The catch though? WVU fans could not say the loss to Pitt before leaving town.
The overwhelming majority of responses to that question was the 21-13 loss to USF in South Florida. At the time, WVU was the No. 5 ranked team in the country while USF was ranked as the No. 18 team in the country.
In that game WVU turned the ball over six times with three interceptions and three fumbles. It also did not help that Pat White also got hurt. WVU outplayed USF on paper leading in first downs 21-13, total yards with 437 while USF had 274.
West Virginia, which came into the game averaging more than 350 yards rushing, was held to 188 yards on 48 carries.
The Bulls, meanwhile, picked up 139 yards on 38 carries. Quarterback Matt Grothe completed 11 of 20 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted twice.
West Virginia is 4-3 all-time against USF. The two last met on the gridiron back in 2011 when WVU defeated USF, 30-27. WVU also holds a two-game winning streak over the Bulls.
Below is an eight minute video highlight of the loss in South Florida.
Photo: Tampa Bay Tribune
