The first four games were supposed to be the easy part of the Pitt football team’s schedule. Yet… The first four games were supposed to be the easy part of the Pitt football team’s schedule. Yet the Panthers (3-1, 1-0 Big East) did a good job of making each game a bit harder than it was supposed to be. Tonight things get much more difficult, as the Panthers travel to Tampa, Fla. to take on No. 10 South Florida (5-0, 0-0 Big East). The game starts at 7:30 and will be on ESPN. The Bulls are far superior to any team the Panthers have faced so far. If Pitt plans on hanging around for the whole game, it will need to play as close to perfect as it can. ‘The focus of our team is to go down there and try to be the best team for three hours,’ said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt during his weekly press conference. ‘Just like I told our guys against West Virginia last year, don’t look at the scoreboard, just try and be the best team. We’re not going to get caught up in the rankings because it’s just too early in the year to do that.’ The unquestioned leader of the Bulls offense is junior quarterback Matt Grothe. He’s a dual threat, with the ability to hurt the Panthers through the air and on the ground. He was just named the Big East Offensive Player of the Week, becoming the only player this season to win the award twice. Grothe leads the Big East in passing yards (235 yards per game), total offense (278 YPG) and passing touchdowns (eight). He also leads the Bulls with 296 rushing yards on the year. ‘[The Bulls] have, in my opinion, the top quarterback in our conference,’ said Wannstedt. ‘Matt Grothe is playing extremely well. He has great athletic ability combined with experience.’ Last time the two teams played, a 48-37 win by South Florida Nov. 24, Grothe passed for 159 yards but no touchdowns. He did score on an 80-yard run. Grothe doesn’t have just one go-to receiver, but instead connects with many players throughout the course of the game. ‘When you look at the statistics, you don’t necessarily see one particular receiver or back with big numbers, but that’s because they do a really good job of spreading the ball around,’ said Wannstedt. ‘They’ve had 14 different receivers and eight running backs, so they put the ball in everybody’s hands.’ Junior Jessie Hester is the Bulls leading receiver, with 22 receptions and two touchdowns over the Bulls’ first five games. Including Hester, five Bulls have at least 10 receptions this year, and 15 players have at least one catch. Conversely, three Panthers have double-digit receptions, and only 10 players have at least one catch this year, albeit in one fewer game. Because of this, Wannstedt said he expects Dom DeCicco and Elijah Fields to play strong safety tonight. ‘We’ll play both of them,’ said Wannstedt. ‘When we get in our nickel package, both will play together. When you look at South Florida, they like to spread the ball with four or five receivers.’ But the Bulls aren’t just superb offensively. They also have one of the top defenses in the conference. South Florida is giving up 16.8 points per game, placing it third in the Big East, but is first in total defense, giving up 243.8 yards per game. The Bulls also feature the conference’s best rushing defense, giving up a miniscule 58.8 rushing yards per game, which is good enough for fourth in the nation. Much like the Panthers, though, South Florida hasn’t faced talent on the level it will see tonight, specifically tailbacks LeSean McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling. If the two play the way they have the past few games, the Panthers could be the first team to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bulls this season. ‘They have two real good running backs, and both are different types,’ said South Florida coach Jim Leavitt during his weekly press conference. ‘They work extremely hard, and it will be a great challenge for our defense.’ In what could be a huge break for the Panthers, All-American defensive end George Selvie and starting defensive tackle Terrell McClain both sat out last week against North Carolina State with ankle injuries. Leavitt said they didn’t practice until Tuesday, and neither was at 100 percent. It’s uncertain how much they’ll play tonight, if at all. Whether Selvie and McClain play or not, the Panthers certainly have a tough task tonight. A win could not only put Pitt back in the national rankings, but it could reestablish it as a contender for the Big East. ‘With it being a Thursday night game in front of a full house, it will be an exciting atmosphere and our kids are looking forward to it,’ said Wannstedt. ‘We’re not where we need to be, but we’re inching our way closer. We haven’t gone backward, so as long as we keep moving forward and keep a good attitude, then I’ll be happy.’