Matt Grothe threw for 364 yards and ran for 45 more in a 27-10 win over Syracuse. His 409 yards of offense in the game marks a Big East season-high.
Grothe, a graduate of Lake Gibson High School, set a new USF single game record with the 364 passing yards, while he also broke Marquel Blackwell’s USF freshman record for yards passing in a season. Grothe enters this week’s game at Louisville with 1,980 yards.
This marks the second time Grothe has won the Big East honor. He first did so following his performance at UCF September 11, when he threw for 302 yards and ran for 73 in a 24-17 win.
Meanwhile, freshman placekicker Delbert Alvarado (Tampa, Fla.) earned recognition on the Big East Honor Roll this week after setting a new conference record with a 56-yard field goal in the Syracuse win. Alvarado also had a 47-yard field goal in the game.
BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
D.J. Hernandez, Connecticut, QB, So., 6-1, 205, Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central
Matt Grothe, USF, QB, Fr., 6-0, 200, Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Devraun Thompson, Rutgers, LB, Sr., 5-11, 220, Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway
BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jeremy Ito, Rutgers, K, Jr., 5-11, 185, Redlands, Calif./Redlands
BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL:
Donald Brown II, Connecticut, RB, Fr.
43 carries, 205 yds., 2 TD; 1 TD catch in a 46-45 (2OT) win over Pitt.
JaJuan Spillman, Louisville, RS, Fr.
100-yard kickoff return for TD, 192 KR yds. set school record in loss to RU.
Ray Rice, Rutgers, RB, So.
22 carries for 131 yds. (6.0 avg.) and 2 TD in 28-25 victory over Louisville.
Delbert Alvarado, USF, K, Fr.
BIG EAST record 56-yd. FG; also added a 47-yarder in 27-10 win over SU.
Steve Slaton, West Virginia, RB, So.
12 carries for 148 yds. and 2 TD (65 & 2 yds) in 42-24 win over
Cincinnati.