South Florida pulls off the upset

Once again, South Florida had all the answers for slowing down West Virginia.

B.J. Daniels threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns, and the Bulls rebounded from two subpar defensive performances to frustrate running back Noel Devine and the 20th-ranked Mountaineers in a 30-19 victory Friday night at Tampa, Fla.

The Bulls (6-2, 2-2 Big East) gave up 75 points and 887 yards in conference losses to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh the previous two weeks, yet found a way to hold Devine to his lowest rushing total of the season.

West Virginia (6-2, 2-1) lost to the Bulls for the third time in four years. The Mountaineers drove 80 yards after the opening kickoff to take a 7-0 lead but never really got into a rhythm offensively.

Daniels, who rushed for 104 yards in 14 carries, threw touchdown passes of 49 yards to Carlton Mitchell, 11 yards to A.J. Love and six yards to Sterling Griffin.

Eric Schwartz’s third field goal, a 44-yarder three minutes into the fourth quarter, put the Bulls up 30-19.

Twist in case of New Mexico coach

Notes released by the University of New Mexico confirmed Coach Mike Locksley took a swing at receivers coach J.B. Gerald, an apparent contradiction of what the school has said publicly about the altercation.

However, a top administrator reaffirmed the school’s conclusion after an internal investigation that no witnesses could corroborate Gerald’s claims that he was struck.

Gerald claims Locksley hit him, splitting his lip.

On Oct. 13, Locksley was suspended for 10 days by the school.

SEC gets tougher on referee critics

Publicly griping about officials in the Southeastern Conference just got a lot more costly for Lane Kiffin and the rest of the league’s coaches.

After three SEC coaches in two weeks, including Tennessee’s Kiffin, received reprimands for ripping officials, the conference has decided that future punishment for similar antics will be fines and suspensions.

A memorandum was sent by the league office to all the schools making them aware of the change, which is effective immediately.

Commissioner Mike Slive, in his eighth season with the conference, was given full discretion by the league’s athletic directors and presidents to hand out the punishment. He will determine the amount of fines and lengths of suspensions on a case-by-case basis.