TAMPA -- On Monday morning, USF junior quarterback Matt Grothe was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.
Grothe passed for three touchdowns and accounted for four total touchdowns in USF's 45-13 win over Syracuse.
It marks the third time in Grothe's career that he has passed for three touchdowns, as well as the third time he has accounted for four touchdowns.
He combined for 360 yards of total offense - 72 rushing and 248 passing. The Lakeland native was sharp in the passing game, completing 19-of-26 passes and could have been better without a couple drops. He needed just 11 rushes, including a nine-yard TD scamper, to accumulate 72 yards rushing.
Grothe has won the BE Offensive Player of the Week on five occasions during his career (3 in 2008, 2 in 2006). His career total puts him in elite category among 14 players that have won five or more weekly awards during their careers. The record is 10 awards by Donovan McNabb, who plaed at Syracuse from 1995-98. Grothe and West Virginia quarterback Pat White are the only current BIG EAST players among those 14.
Grothe is the only player to win the offensive award on multiple occasions this season, whlle Pitt's Scott McKillop has also won the defensive award three times.