South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe was named the Big East Conference's offensive player of the week this week for his performance in the Bulls' 41-10 victory against North Carolina State.

History suggests Grothe might have another big game tomorrow night when South Florida (5-0, 0-0 Big East) takes on Pitt (3-1, 1-0) in Tampa.

Pitt middle linebacker Scott McKillop said stopping Grothe is the key to stopping the Bulls -- though that is much easier said than done.

"It is clear they want the ball in his hands, and he makes a lot of people look really silly. He is a great player," McKillop said. "I mean, he'll have three or four defenders around him, you think he's trapped, and somehow he gets out and makes a play.

"You have to keep him contained and don't let him bounce out. He will make some plays -- you aren't going to stop a player of his caliber, but you just have to minimize what he does and stop those big plays he makes on his own."

Grothe leads the Big East in passing (235 yards per game, 1,175 total passing yards), total offense (278.8 yards per game, 1,394 total yards), touchdown passes (8). He is second in pass efficiency (150.1 rating).

Last season, the Panthers found out how explosive Grothe, who has lost 20 pounds since then and is faster, can be when he ran 80 yards for a touchdown at the start of the third quarter. The score gave the Bulls their first lead of the game, and they beat Pitt, 48-37.

"He is what makes them go. He's the guy who touches the ball every play for a reason," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "We obviously made a mistake on that play, but he deserves a lot of credit, and I think the thing you don't realize is he ran away from some guys on that play. I didn't think he was as fast as he is, but he showed it on that play."

Redshirt junior Oderick Turner has been inconsistent through four games, though he continues to hold onto his starting job. Turner has started three of the Panthers' four games and is slated to start tomorrow night against South Florida.

But he has continued to drop too many passes -- he had two key drops in the game against Syracuse -- and yesterday, Wannstedt said it was likely to begin to affect his playing time.

That revelation brought the natural follow-up question -- does that mean dynamic freshman Jonathan Baldwin, who is listed as Turner's backup, will get more playing time?

"No, Cedric McGee will get more work," Wannstedt said. "It will be Ced."

Offensive tackle Joe Thomas (ankle) and linebacker Shane Murray (knee) have practiced at full speed for the past two days, and Wannstedt said both are ready to go against South Florida. ... According to the South Florida sports information director, at least 13 NFL scouts have requested credentials for the game. ... The Bulls could be without All-American defensive end George Selvie (ankle) and defensive tackle Terrell McClain (ankle) tomorrow.