My Friday pick and why

Well I have been pretty solid lately Philadelphia and over Monday, East Carolina on Tuesday and North Carolina and under yesterday.

West Virginia - 3.5 over South Florida

South Florida jumped into the national picture when it upset Florida State in Tallahassee. Not only did the Bulls win that game 17-7, but they did it with a new quarterback. Matt Grothe is out for the season with a knee injury, and B.J. Daniels came in to replace Grothe in that game. Then, the Bulls followed that up with a 34-20 win at Syracuse.

But since then, the Bulls have failed to prove themselves, as they were easily defeated by Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. A win over West Virginia would be their last chance to make a stand near the top of the Big East.

Daniels has thrown for 864 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions this season. Daniels also leads the team in rushing with 415 yards and four touchdowns. He's a dual-threat quarterback who is very tough to stop.

While the key to stopping South Florida is shutting down Daniels, the key to stopping West Virginia is shutting down running back Noel Devine. Devine has 912 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns and a 6.7 yards-per-carry average this season.

The Mountaineers can pass the ball as well. Jarrett Brown has 1,362 passing yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Mountaineers are coming off a tough 28-24 win over Connecticut. It was probably the first legitimate win for them this season. They have wins over Colorado and Syracuse, but neither of those can be considered key victories. Their one loss was at Auburn when the Tigers were undefeated and nationally ranked. A win at South Florida would establish the Mountaineers as a serious contender for the Big East title.

The Mountaineers have the ninth best run defense in the country, as they are allowing just 86.3 yards per game and a 2.8 yards-per-carry average. South Florida is giving up 132.4 rushing yards per game.

West Virginia needs to win this game to prove it is a legit Big East contender. The Mountaineers got their first decent win over UConn. South Florida has a win at Florida State and that's really it. And that win doesn't look so great now. But the Bulls lost their last two games convincingly to Pitt and Cincinnati. West Virginia's defense has been very good this season, both against the pass and the run. The Mountaineers should be able to contain Daniels. Meanwhile, the USF defense hasn't been that good. Devine should have his way with the Bulls defense.