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TAMPA - At last, there are no more games to worry about looking past: Saturday brings a historic event with USF's first Big East game, against No.9 Louisville.
"I was a little concerned about this game because the Big East opener is next week, and I know our guys have been thinking about Louisville," coach Jim Leavitt said. "The Big East is more important than anything for me, because it's the conference we're in. I watched Louisville today and they're awfully good. We're going to have to play one heck of a ballgame, everybody here knows it, to have a chance."
Only once have the Bulls (2-1) played a higher-ranked Division I-A opponent: a 31-14 loss at No.2 Oklahoma in September 2002. The only time USF has beaten a team ranked in any I-A poll was that same season, when the Bulls upset Bowling Green, ranked No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll, and led by Florida coach Urban Meyer .
One key for USF will be the status of the right hand of running back Andre Hall , who missed key first-half action Saturday after aggravating an injury he suffered two weeks earlier. According to Leavitt, X-rays on Halls' hand Saturday night showed no break, and he's expected to play against Louisville.
The Bulls beat Louisville 31-28 in double overtime in Tampa in 2003, and the Cardinals have an 18-4 record since that loss. USF's defense, ranked as the seventh toughest in the nation at 230.6 yards a game, faces a Louisville offense ranked seventh in scoring at 47 points a game.
LOUISVILLE WATCH LIST: Oregon State led 10-0 after consecutive 11-play scoring drives Saturday, putting the Cardinals down at home for the first time since a 37-7 loss to Memphis in 2003. ... Defensive end Elvis Dumervil tied an NCAA record with his eighth sack in consecutive games. He added another in the second half to eclipse the record set by Georgia Tech's Pat Swilling in 1995.