McCoy leads Pitt past South Florida

Panthers upset another Top 10 foe

TAMPA, FLA. -- LeSean McCoy ran for two touchdowns and Bill Stull threw for another as Pittsburgh upset No. 10 South Florida 26-21 on Thursday night.

The Panthers (4-1, 2-0 Big East) have beaten the last three nationally ranked teams they have faced, including No. 23 Cincinnati and No. 2 West Virginia in 2007. They have won two of the last three games with South Florida (5-1, 0-1) in Tampa.

Stull finished 16-for-27 for 228 yards.

Quarterback Matt Grothe accounted for most of South Florida's offense, but the Bulls didn't score any points on offense in the first half. Grothe was 11-of-20 for 129 yards and rushed 11 times for 25 yards, including a 1-yard keeper for a TD in the third.

Grothe threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Hester in the fourth quarter to give the Bulls a 21-20 lead. But Pittsburgh came right back, covering 60 yards on three plays in a quick drive that ended with a 3-yard run by McCoy. The 2-point attempt failed.

McCoy, a sophomore, rushed 28 times for a game-high 142 yards, his second straight game over 100. Mike Ford ran 14 times for 73 yards for the Bulls.

South Florida struggled in the first half as the offense was held to 77 yards. Grothe was 5-of-12 with an interception. The pick by Don DeCicco was the first interception for Grothe in 107 passes.

NOTES

SPURRIER TO START SMELLEY AT QB: It'll be at least another week until the people's choice at South Carolina, freshman Stephen Garcia, starts his first game at quarterback.

Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier named sophomore Chris Smelley to open against Mississippi on Saturday. And unlike he did a week ago, Spurrier did not guarantee that Garcia would see any action at all.

When specifically asked if Garcia would take several snaps, Spurrier answered, "Like I said, Chris Smelley will start the game, and we'll see how it goes to try and win the game."

The Gamecocks (3-2, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) enter this one with a six-game SEC losing streak, by far the worst of Spurrier's stellar career.

Smelley was "mentally better prepared" to lead the Gamecocks, Spurrier said.

That's a far cry from earlier this week when Spurrier said Garcia was likely to start, then pretty much confirmed it on his subscription Web site, spurrierhbc.com.

NEW OVERSIGHT FOR RUTGERS ATHLETICS: Following intense scrutiny over the cost of its football stadium expansion and disclosures about the compensation package for football coach Greg Schiano, Rutgers University created a new financial oversight position for its athletic department.

The university on Thursday hired Richard J. Costello to the position of deputy director of athletics-finance and administration. He starts next month.

Costello, now athletic director at Delaware State University, comes to Rutgers as some faculty, students and alumni are questioning the university's investment in big-time college sports.