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The Daily OrangeBig East | USF's Grothe latest dual-threat QB facing SU
By Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 11/8/07, 1:08 AM EST Section: Sports
As a native New Englander, Syracuse linebacker Jake Flaherty has seen enough Doug Flutie highlight footage to know what Flutie could do.
So when SU head coach Greg Robinson compared South Florida's sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe to the former Boston College legend, Flaherty knew enough to make the connection.
"He's a really good quarterback," Flaherty said of Grothe. "He can run. Watching film on him more and more, he's more like a tailback. He lowers his shoulder. He's a good player."
Grothe runs the show at South Florida, which bases its offense around speed and its swagger around its quarterback. At one point, the Bulls were ranked No. 2 in the nation, thanks in part to an offense ranked fourth in the conference and Grothe's 284.9 total yards per game.
When South Florida comes to the Carrier Dome at noon Saturday, it will be unranked after losing its last three games. The offense, though, hasn't lost much of its luster.
"You can't really focus on one player," Flaherty said. "They do have the capability to hurt you in more ways than one."
Last season, in SU's 27-10 loss in Tampa, Fla., Grothe threw for 364 yards and two touchdowns and added 45 yards on the ground, a breakout game for the redshirt freshman just getting his feet wet as field leader. The lasting impression from that game, though, was South Florida's offensive speed, especially from wideouts Taurus Johnson and Marcus Edwards.
For Syracuse, which has struggled against speedy offensive attacks this season, USF sticks out as a daunting opponent. SU defensive back Dowayne Davis, though, didn't like using that as an early concession.
"We have a lot of speed on our defense," Davis said. "From myself to Joe (Fields) to Mike (Holmes) to Nick (Chestnut), we have a lot of speed. We're not really worried about their speed."
Similar to Washington's Jake Locker, West Virginia's Pat White and Illinois' Juice Williams, Grothe is as much a problem with his legs as his arm. So the Orange isn't unused to trying to contend with a triple threat at the helm.
That said, fighting a Flutie-like figure has its inherent difficulties.
"He just has a good ability to get out of the pocket, run around and make plays," Davis said. "With any quarterback like that, you've got to account for different things. It's like a triple-threat kind of thing: He can pass, he can run, he can do a lot of other stuff."
Dantley's day
Though the decision on who exactly will be starting at quarterback for Syracuse Saturday has not been made, Cameron Dantley hasn't shied from daydreaming about a starting debut in the Carrier Dome.
"I've been dreaming for this opportunity my whole life, especially on this stage at the highest level," the junior quarterback said Wednesday. "I go through a lot of scenarios in my head. Just thinking about what could happen, what could not happen."
On Tuesday, starting quarterback Andrew Robinson revealed he had a cracked rib that knocked him out of last Saturday's game against Pittsburgh at halftime. Head coach Greg Robinson made no indication whether Robinson would be fit to start against South Florida or whether the duty would fall to Dantley, who played admirably as a substitute against the Panthers.
Dantley threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns and was named to the Big East weekly honor roll for his efforts.
"The reads came to me easily," Dantley said. "All my preparation seemed to work. It was just me trying to calm myself down before I got in there. I was just going left and right trying to think about too many things. But after the first couple plays, I started thinking regularly."
The decision about who will start will likely be a game-time announcement Saturday. This week, Davis said, Dantley has looked especially good.
"Cam's good. I like Cam a lot," Davis said. "He's a real good player. Has a good arm. And he makes quick decisions, and I like that a lot."
Good move
Apparently moving back to safety has made senior Dowayne Davis a happy man.
"I'm real comfortable; it came back to me real quick," Davis said of his switch from cornerback. "It was fun, though. Most fun I've had all year, definitely."
Davis started at safety for the Orange the past two seasons but was moved to cornerback this spring and has started every game there this year. But with the emergence of freshman defensive back Mike Holmes - who's started the past few games at safety but will play cornerback Saturday - head coach Greg Robinson felt they were apt for a switch.
But did the swap come a bit too late?
"I really didn't think too much into that," Davis said. "What the coaches want, they make their decisions. They're the coaches. I'm not really worried about why they chose to do that right now. I'm just happy that they did."
So when SU head coach Greg Robinson compared South Florida's sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe to the former Boston College legend, Flaherty knew enough to make the connection.
"He's a really good quarterback," Flaherty said of Grothe. "He can run. Watching film on him more and more, he's more like a tailback. He lowers his shoulder. He's a good player."
Grothe runs the show at South Florida, which bases its offense around speed and its swagger around its quarterback. At one point, the Bulls were ranked No. 2 in the nation, thanks in part to an offense ranked fourth in the conference and Grothe's 284.9 total yards per game.
When South Florida comes to the Carrier Dome at noon Saturday, it will be unranked after losing its last three games. The offense, though, hasn't lost much of its luster.
"You can't really focus on one player," Flaherty said. "They do have the capability to hurt you in more ways than one."
Last season, in SU's 27-10 loss in Tampa, Fla., Grothe threw for 364 yards and two touchdowns and added 45 yards on the ground, a breakout game for the redshirt freshman just getting his feet wet as field leader. The lasting impression from that game, though, was South Florida's offensive speed, especially from wideouts Taurus Johnson and Marcus Edwards.
For Syracuse, which has struggled against speedy offensive attacks this season, USF sticks out as a daunting opponent. SU defensive back Dowayne Davis, though, didn't like using that as an early concession.
"We have a lot of speed on our defense," Davis said. "From myself to Joe (Fields) to Mike (Holmes) to Nick (Chestnut), we have a lot of speed. We're not really worried about their speed."
Similar to Washington's Jake Locker, West Virginia's Pat White and Illinois' Juice Williams, Grothe is as much a problem with his legs as his arm. So the Orange isn't unused to trying to contend with a triple threat at the helm.
That said, fighting a Flutie-like figure has its inherent difficulties.
"He just has a good ability to get out of the pocket, run around and make plays," Davis said. "With any quarterback like that, you've got to account for different things. It's like a triple-threat kind of thing: He can pass, he can run, he can do a lot of other stuff."
Dantley's day
Though the decision on who exactly will be starting at quarterback for Syracuse Saturday has not been made, Cameron Dantley hasn't shied from daydreaming about a starting debut in the Carrier Dome.
"I've been dreaming for this opportunity my whole life, especially on this stage at the highest level," the junior quarterback said Wednesday. "I go through a lot of scenarios in my head. Just thinking about what could happen, what could not happen."
On Tuesday, starting quarterback Andrew Robinson revealed he had a cracked rib that knocked him out of last Saturday's game against Pittsburgh at halftime. Head coach Greg Robinson made no indication whether Robinson would be fit to start against South Florida or whether the duty would fall to Dantley, who played admirably as a substitute against the Panthers.
Dantley threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns and was named to the Big East weekly honor roll for his efforts.
"The reads came to me easily," Dantley said. "All my preparation seemed to work. It was just me trying to calm myself down before I got in there. I was just going left and right trying to think about too many things. But after the first couple plays, I started thinking regularly."
The decision about who will start will likely be a game-time announcement Saturday. This week, Davis said, Dantley has looked especially good.
"Cam's good. I like Cam a lot," Davis said. "He's a real good player. Has a good arm. And he makes quick decisions, and I like that a lot."
Good move
Apparently moving back to safety has made senior Dowayne Davis a happy man.
"I'm real comfortable; it came back to me real quick," Davis said of his switch from cornerback. "It was fun, though. Most fun I've had all year, definitely."
Davis started at safety for the Orange the past two seasons but was moved to cornerback this spring and has started every game there this year. But with the emergence of freshman defensive back Mike Holmes - who's started the past few games at safety but will play cornerback Saturday - head coach Greg Robinson felt they were apt for a switch.
But did the swap come a bit too late?
"I really didn't think too much into that," Davis said. "What the coaches want, they make their decisions. They're the coaches. I'm not really worried about why they chose to do that right now. I'm just happy that they did."
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