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FACTS & STATS: Site: Carrier Dome (49,550) -- Syracuse, New York. Television:BEN. Home Record: USF 2-0, Syracuse 2-1. Away Record: USF 2-0, Syracuse 0-1. Neutral Record: USF 0-0, Syracuse 0-0. Conference Record: USF 0-0, Syracuse 0-0. Series Record: South Florida leads, 4-0.

GAME NOTES: The South Florida Bulls, coming of their biggest win of the campaign, look to carry their momentum over to Big East play, as they open their conference slate against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome this weekend.

Facing their toughest competitor of the season, USF rose to the occasion and knocked off then 18th-ranked Florida State, 17-7, on the road this past weekend. It was obviously a huge win for the Bulls, but an even bigger one considering they played without star quarterback Matt Grothe, who tore the ACL in his right knee in the team's prior game. Despite the win and a 4-0 mark, however, USF was left out of the Top 25, so the program still has something to prove as it now opens Big East play.

As for Syracuse, it has been rather competitive under first-year head coach Doug Marrone and is just one win shy of matching last year's total of three. Courtesy of a current two-game win streak, the Orange stand at a level 2-2, as it is .500 for the first time since 2006. The team handled Maine, 41-24, last weekend, extending its winning streak to 27 against current FCS opponents.

Syracuse however, has never defeated USF before, losing all four prior meetings between the programs.

As mentioned earlier, Grothe suffered an ACL injury that will have him sidelined for the remainder of the year and replacing him will be no easy task. Stepping in for the Big East's all-time leader in total offense was B.J. Daniels and he made an immediate impact for USF in his first career start last weekend. The redshirt freshman threw for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added 126 yards on the ground in leading the Bulls in an upset of Florida State. Daniels completed only 8-of-21 tosses with two picks, but two of his passes went for over 70 yards and he was also able to keep FSU off balance with his legs. He certainly provided a spark for the offense and his big play ability is something this unit certainly can get accustomed too. He currently tops the club with 259 rushing yards, helping the offense average 207.2 ypg on the ground for the season. The Bulls are currently averaging 433.8 total ypg, but that number will likely drop as the team continues to face tougher opponents each week.

USF's defense continued to shine last weekend and limited FSU to just 288 total yards, including only 19 rushing. The defense, which has allowed just 27 points on the season, kept FSU off the scoreboard for the first three quarters and forced four fumbles, to go with five sacks. It was yet another dominant performance from a unit that is giving up just 242.8 total ypg on the season. Sabbath Joseph had seven stops and a pair of forced fumbles in the win, while Craig Marshall notched a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery. George Selvie got involved with a sack and fumble recovery of his own and he is a big part of the defense, which has totaled 10 sacks on the year.

The Orange found its stride after the intermission and scored 28 points in the second half of a 41-24 win over Maine this past weekend. Tailback Delone Carter had 72 of the team's 115 rushing yards and he also scored three times on the ground. He has now rushed for 284 yards and five scores to pace the ground game. Quarterback Greg Paulus was also effective last weekend and he completed 21-of-28 pass attempts for 270 yards and two scores. The former Duke basketball standout has provided leadership and excitement to this once proud football program and he has now thrown for 888 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Mike Williams is clearly his first priority when putting the ball in the air, as he heads Syracuse with 28 catches for 437 yards and three scores. Last weekend, Williams had five catches that went for 80 yards in a winning effort.

While the offense is certainly improving, Syracuse's defense still has a lot of work to do after allowing 430 total yards to Maine. The unit was torched through the air, allowing 340 yards, and that has been an issue for the defense. For the season, the Orange is allowing 310.5 passing ypg with 11 touchdowns through the air and are in desperate need of improvement in the secondary. The defense though, did come up with a pair of interceptions last weekend, in addition to limiting Maine to a 3-of-13 performance on third- down conversions. Derrell Smith has been terrific for the Orange thus far and he had 10 stops and the team's lone sack against Maine. He has nearly done it all for the defense, leading the way with 36 stops, 5.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks.

The Bulls are coming off a rather impressive victory, but with Grothe no longer running the show, they can not afford to look past any opponent. Syracuse is much improved and expect it to come out and give USF all it can handle. Still, the Bulls have a stout defense and Daniels showed he can make the big plays for the offense and that is enough for them to get past the Orange.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: South Florida 24, Syracuse 13