College Football | Pittsburgh upsets No. 11 S. Florida

TAMPA, Fla. — South Florida just doesn't have a whole lot of success when it's ranked in the Top Ten.

Last year, the Bulls rose to No. 2 in the country only to lose three straight games and drop out of the Big East title picture.

On Thursday night, LeSean McCoy ran for two touchdowns and Bill Stull threw for another as Pittsburgh beat the 10th-ranked Bulls 26-21 on Thursday night.

The Panthers (4-1, 2-0 Big East) have won two of the past three games with South Florida (5-1, 0-1) in Tampa.

"West Virginia, obviously, is always going to be the best because they're our backyard rivals," Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt said. "But this, this is probably the closest it's going to get since I've been at Pitt."

The win was the fourth straight for Pittsburgh, which was ranked 25th in the preseason poll only to lose its opener to Bowling Green.

"I'm not going to go to the grave right now," Bulls coach Jim Leavitt said when asked what he would say to his team. "We're 5-1. We didn't play real well tonight. It's reality. That's the way it is."

South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe was 11 of 20 for 129 yards and rushed 11 times for 25 yards, including a 1-yard keeper for a touchdown in the third. He threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Hester in the fourth quarter to give the Bulls a 21-20 lead. But Pittsburgh came right back to take the lead, covering 60 yards on three plays in a quick drive that ended with a 3-yard run by McCoy. The 2-point attempt failed.

McCoy, a sophomore, rushed 28 times for a game-high 142 yards, his second straight game over 100.

Notes

• South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier named sophomore quarterback Chris Smelley to open against Mississippi on Saturday. And unlike he did a week ago, Spurrier did not guarantee that touted freshman Stephen Garcia would see any action at all. When specifically asked if Garcia would take several snaps, Spurrier answered, "Like I said, Chris Smelley will start the game and we'll see how it goes to try and win the game."

• Georgetown's scheduled football game Saturday at Colgate has been called off because of an outbreak of norovirus at Georgetown. Nearly 150 Georgetown students have been sickened by the virus in recent days, and several football players have been exposed. A decision hasn't been made whether to attempt to reschedule the game.

• The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit accusing the University of Arkansas of mishandling an investigation over e-mails critical of former quarterback Mitch Mustain. Justices also upheld a contempt order issued against the attorney who filed the suit for engaging in prohibited discovery over the e-mails.