By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA - USF's offense is about to go up against a Rutgers defense that does what it wants.
The Scarlet Knights led the Big East in defense last year and are back to bullying offenses around this year. Rutgers' defensive strategy consists of shutting down the run (only 82 yards allowed this season) and daring opponents to pass as more defenders creep up to the line of scrimmage to apply pressure.
"If they want to load the box and they want to cheat a safety to get another guy into the box, then we've got to give our receivers an opportunity to go one-on-one and go down the field," USF head coach Skip Holtz said.
Option No. 1 in the deep attack is a guy that punished Nevada last week for a school record 12 catches for 191 yards. Big East Offensive Player of the Week Andre Davis started his career day with 51-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter and ended it in grand fashion by hauling in a 56-yard scoring strike with only 38 seconds remaining in the 32-31 comeback win.
"I feel like (B.J. Daniels) trusts all the receivers now. We're a year older. He trusts us to go up and make those big plays when we need it," Davis said.
Trust between Daniels and Davis started to build last year when the then-freshman receiver caught 22 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels said that trust was strengthened this offseason when the two - and other receivers - worked tirelessly to perfect the deep attack.
"We've been working on the deep ball and just trying to be consistent in the passing game. Saturday he just really had an opportunity to show what he's been working on," Daniels said.
"We have a lot of talent from the outside receivers to the inside receivers. Everybody works," Davis added.
Davis' team mindset is admirable, along with his own progression that has helped the team stay undefeated. Through two games, Davis has 13 catches and just 69 fewer yards than he had all last season, and the same amount of TD receptions (2).
"Right now definitely Andre Davis is a year older, more experienced and more ready to step into that (leading role)," Holtz said. "The first game Sterling (Griffin) goes down, he catches 12 balls for 191 yards, where a year ago, as a true freshman, he made mistakes like running the wrong route half the time."
Davis said a lot of his progression has to do with the confidence he has in the offense and himself. He credits the USF coaching staff for getting him to a place where he's "ready to be on that big stage now."
"I feel like I'm myself again," said Davis, who gained USF's attention when he posted 3,158 receiving yards for Tampa's Jefferson High School.
NOTE-A-BULL
- Davis is the first Bull since DeAndrew Rubin (Aug. 30, 2001 vs. Northern Illinois) to post two 50-plus yard receiving touchdowns in a single game.
- Davis' 56-yard catch in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game was the longest of his USF career.
