College football | Willie Taggart tied to East Carolina as USF takes on the nation's fourth ranked offense

TAMPA -- East Carolina comes into Raymond James Stadium to face USF ranked 19th in both the AP and Amway polls. The Pirates are in the Top 25 for the first time since 2008.

ECU's success in an unusual set of circumstances paved the way for Willie Taggart to become head football coach of USF.

It also gives him the chance to beat a ranked opponent in Saturday's homecoming game for the first time since he took over the program last year.

That '08 East Carolina team was coached by Skip Holtz. He won Conference USA and his success there got him the head job at USF when Jim Leavitt was fired for allegedly hitting a player.

Holtz didn't fare well during his three years with the Bulls and was fired, opening the door for Taggart.

Under Leavitt, USF had great success against ECU, beating the Pirates all four times they met. Taggart can make it five, but it will not be easy.

This could be the best ECU team in the history of its football program. The Pirates rank fourth nationally in total offense and passing offense.

They have an emerging Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Shane Carden, who has thrown for more than 400 yards in each of his last three games and for his career has five game-winning drives.

"It's a really good football team coming in here that's playing with a lot of confidence. It's a team that looks like it can win every ballgame. I am excited about the opportunity," Taggart said. "Whenever you have a guy (Carden) that's been at that position for three years, you are going to give yourself a chance to be really good."

The last time USF beat a ranked team was when the Bulls opened the 2011 season with a 23-20 victory over Notre Dame. It was the last big moment of Holtz's time at USF. He finished that season losing seven of his last eight games and was fired after the 2012 season when he went 3-9.

Taggart appears to be headed in a different direction. He had the top-ranked recruiting class in the AAC this year, and the Bulls are steadily improving, though it may take a Herculean effort to beat ECU.

The Pirates' best victory is over Virginia Tech and perhaps their most impressive is a 70-41 romp over then 25th-ranked North Carolina. USF is 2-3 but both teams are 1-0 in the AAC.

USF defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan is counting on his unit to keep the game within reach, but the Bulls are going to need more production from their offense to have a chance.

Bresnahan calls ECU's spread offense basketball played on grass.

"The ball is all over the place, so you have to be able to make plays in space," Bresnahan said. "The ability to make the open-field tackle and swarm to the football is huge. You cannot disregard the run. They're getting props for throwing the ball all over the place, but they are still averaging six yards per carry."

Carden has thrown for 15 touchdowns and been picked off three times. USF is tied for 17th nationally with 12 takeaways. Carden threw for 410 yards last week in a 45-21 victory over SMU to become his school's all-time career passing leader with 9,134 yards, breaking the mark of 9,029 held by David Garrard.

"We have to do a great job of getting off blocks and have multiple guys running to the ball. We just have to be ready for up-tempo teams like East Carolina," Taggart said.

One of the most interesting stats belongs to USF quarterback Mike White. The sophomore is ranked 116th nationally in completion percentage (32-of-80 for 40 percent), but leads the country in passing yards per completion with a 17.53 mark.

USF ranks 119th out of 125 FBS teams in total offense, averaging 283.4 yards per game. The Bulls depend on freshman Marlon Mack (ranked 26th in rushing) and are 92nd in rushing, averaging 135.4 yards per game on the ground.

White should get some welcome help for the game with the expected return of Andre Davis, the Bulls' top receiver who has been out since game one with a bruised sternum.

This story was originally published October 11, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "College football | Willie Taggart tied to East Carolina as USF takes on the nation's fourth ranked offense."