The Pitt Panthers have prepared this week to defend South Florida's spread offense.

They have studied film of the Bulls, charted their tendencies and feel pretty confident that they will have a good idea of what is coming when the two teams meet at noon today at Heinz Field.

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Scouting Report

• Matchup: Pitt (4-6, 2-3 Big East) vs. South Florida (8-3, 3-3), noon today, Heinz Field. South Florida is favored by 9.
• TV/Radio: WTAE-TV; WWSW-FM (94.5) and WBGG-AM (970)
• Pitt: MLB Scott McKillop is the nation's leading tackler (12.4 per game). He also is second in solo tackles (7.8 per game). ...TB LeSean McCoy is the nation's leading freshman rusher, averaging 112.5 yards per game.
• South Florida: Began season 6-0 and rose to No. 2 in the rankings but lost next three games. ... Leading rusher is quarterback Matt Grothe, who has gained 765 yards on 172 carries and run for nine touchdowns. He also has passed for 2,314 yards and 13 touchdowns.
• Hidden stat: The Bulls have been turnover-prone at times with 26 this season.

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All that will be helpful, but it doesn't help the Panthers solve what is likely their biggest problem -- sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe's ability to escape, improvise and make big plays.

The Panthers (4-6, 2-3) found out last year just how tough Grothe can be to contain when he rushed for 59 yards on 12 carries, ran for one touchdown and passed for another in the Bulls' 22-12 win against Pitt at Tampa.

On one play, he appeared to be sacked by defensive tackle Gus Mustakas, somehow spun out of Mustakas' grip, scrambled to avoid two more tackles and threw for a first down.

"That's what makes it very difficult about playing against South Florida," said Pitt defensive end Joe Clermond. "You can do everything right on defense, get to the right gap, have everything covered, and then he spins around and makes something crazy happen. It is frustrating to play against a guy like that.

"The thing we have to do is make sure we have him wrapped up and he is on the ground because he's a guy who doesn't ever believe the play is over."

Grothe is second in the Big East in total offense (280 yards per game) and is the Bulls' leading rusher (69.5 yards per game). He has accounted for 22 touchdowns (13 passing, nine rushing) and passed for 2,314 yards.

Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said his team has prepared well for the Bulls (8-3, 3-3), but he will have to hold his breath and hope every time Grothe has the ball in his hands.

"What you have is a quarterback who is accounting for roughly 75 percent of the offense," Rhoads said. "And the scariest thing is, as we have all seen firsthand, is the ability to defend something then have a quarterback that can ad lib and then you are just holding on and hoping someone gets him down and we stay in coverage.

"You could spend seven days and 20 hours each day preparing and still not defend that, and that is the unknown that you are hoping doesn't take place too often for those three hours on Saturday."

Rhoads said Grothe also is tough and not easily tackled. The Panthers used fairly mobile reserve quarterback Steve Malinchak to run the scout team and had him to do as much scrambling as he could.

Malinchak was not able to simulate everything Grothe does -- though not for lack of trying as he also got a Mohawk haircut in order to better get into character -- but he gave the defense a little taste of what they might expect.

"I think you can compare what he does for them to what Tyler [Palko] was to our football team when it comes to making plays," Rhoads said. "He certainly is every bit as tough. To do what he does and last the season is really amazing. The number of hits he takes between scrambling and running the football and then combines that with the fact that when he scrambles, he is probably at his most accurate throwing the ball.

"It is just hard to defend a guy who is flying around for his life and then throws the ball 44 yards on a rope to a guy on the sidelines."

Although Grothe has been spectacular for the most part, he has not always protected the ball. He has thrown 12 interceptions and, in the 38-33 loss against Cincinnati, he accounted for five of the Bulls' eight turnovers.