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One of the nation's youngest defenses sees a chance to do some growing up.
Cincinnati's sophomore-dominated defense has only two interceptions this season, by far the fewest in the Big East. The Bearcats (3-3, 1-0) currently start eight sophomores and three juniors on the youngest defense for any BCS school.
The interception will be a focus on Friday against South Florida (3-3, 0-2), which is one of the nation's worst at throwing the ball away. B.J. Daniels has thrown 10 interceptions, more than double the second-highest total in the league.
Cincinnati linebacker Maalik Bomar - one of those eight sophomores - says Daniels looks frustrated in South Florida's new offense. The Bulls have turned Daniels into more of a pocket passer this season, and it's been a tough transition. South Florida's offense hasn't scored a touchdown in its two Big East games.
''He doesn't seem to have great care of ball protection or anything,'' Bomar said. ''From watching his previous games, you can see that he's a little frustrated right now, and we need to take advantage of that.''
First-year coach Skip Holtz has tried to turn Daniels into more of a passing quarterback in his sophomore season. As a redshirt freshman last year, Daniels was inclined to take off and run. He started 10 games and played in three others, threw for 1,983 yards and 14 touchdowns, and ran for a team-high 772 yards and nine touchdowns.
Daniels is the only experienced quarterback on the roster, so Holtz is sticking with him even though he's struggling. Daniels has thrown five interceptions in the last two games - losses to Syracuse and West Virginia - and picked up only three yards on the ground.
He's no longer a dual-threat quarterback.
''I want B.J. to play within the system until the system breaks down,'' Holtz said. ''Everybody's quick to say, 'Why don't you change quarterbacks?' Well, if I had two junior quarterbacks, I would.
''We don't have the depth that I would like to have to create the competition as some of the positions to get some of the points across or hold players more accountable.''
It shows. Holtz has used different formations and approaches to try to get something going, but nothing has worked consistently.
Asked what type of offense South Florida is running, Bomar said, ''It's hard to say right now. They're kind of all over the place. I don't think they know exactly what kind of scheme they want to run yet.''
Cincinnati doesn't have much depth, either. But the Bearcats have enough playmakers on offense to offset the inexperience on defense and make them a threat for a third straight Big East championship. The Bearcats won at Louisville 35-27 last Friday even though receiver D.J. Woods left in the third quarter after hitting his head on the ground after a touchdown catch and coming up woozy.
Zach Collaros threw a career-high five touchdown passes against Louisville, three of them to Armon Binns, the Bearcats' only experienced receiver who left in the game in the second half. Isaiah Pead ran for 100 yards for the third straight game after returning from a knee injury.
The defense and special teams are the main concern. Injuries have forced coach Butch Jones to rely more heavily on younger players who are still learning.
''We're a young football team,'' Jones said, ''and each week we grow up.''
A point of emphasis - besides getting interceptions - is covering kicks. South Florida leads the Big East in punt returns, running two of them back for touchdowns, and has returned a kickoff for a score. No other team in the league has done both.
Louisville had several impressive returns that gave the Cardinals good field position.
''We still need to take another step, especially in the special teams area,'' Jones said. ''I was not pleased at all with our special teams play. I think that's a byproduct of depth right now. It's been a revolving door on our kickoff team. We have seven walk-ons playing on special teams.''
