MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Snow showers and temperatures in the thirties? Even Mountaineers from the Sunshine State are hoping the weather delivers on that forboding forecast for tonight to chill the visiting Bulls of South Florida.

"I hope it gets real cold, lotsa snow, so we freeze those Florida guys," said West Virginia outside linebacker J.T. Thomas, a Fort Lauderdale fellow who has acclimatized. "You see I don't have a jacket on."

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Scouting Report

Matchup: West Virginia (7-4, 4-2 Big East) vs. South Florida (7-4, 2-4), 8 p.m. today, Mountaineer Field, Morgantown, W.Va., WVU is favored by 7.

TV/Radio: ESPN2; WWVA-AM (1170) and Mountaineer Sports Network, MSNSports.net and Channel 126 on Sirius Satellite Radio.

South Florida: Leads series, 2-1. ... Won 24-19 at Mountaineer Field in 2006 and 21-13 in '07. ... DE George Selvie is ailing and oft double-teamed as defense yields 21 points and almost 200 yards passing per game. ... No opposing rusher in four games has gained 100 yards since Pitt's LeSean McCoy and Syracuse's Curtis Brinkley did it back to back.

West Virginia: Defense has trouble with Bulls QB Matt Grothe (pictured), who is a combined 33-for-45 passing for 414 yards and two TDs while running for another score vs. Mountaineers. ... QB Patrick White needs to bust out -- had 177 yards rushing and 266 total in 2005 victory, but just 17 and 36 on ground in two losses to the Bulls.

Hidden stat: In regular-season games against major-college foes since November 2006 meeting with South Florida, WVU is 4-6 in games when their tailback fails to surpass 100 yards rushing.

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"Those boys, they're going to be cold," guaranteed slotback Jock Sanders, a native of St. Petersburg, which is just 23 miles south of the Bulls' Tampa campus. But being in his second year at West Virginia doesn't make it any easier on him. "You can't get used to this weather. I'm from Florida; you adjust to it, but I'm not used to it. Coming from Florida up here the first time when I came on my recruiting visit, I was like, 'Do you want to be this cold?' Yeah, it's going to be a tough time for those guys."

After all, Auburn's players complained about the biting temperatures Oct. 23, and it was nearly twice as warm -- around 50 degrees -- that night at Mountaineer Field.

South Florida has something of a lukewarm record at this: 1-1 in games with a sub-40 temperature and 2-4 in sub-50 games. No, this isn't playing Kansas at home and starting 5-0 without ever going beyond the Deep South. The Bulls (7-4, 2-4 Big East) have lost three of their past four games and four of six. They're 13-20 in the past nine seasons when they've strayed as far north as North Carolina. They're 1-4 all time in December.

"The weather's going to be there," said Bulls linebacker Tyrone McKenzie. "It's a nonfactor. You just don't worry about stuff you can't control."

"At the end of the day," added Mountaineers backup receiver Tito Gonzales of Tampa, "it's all mental."

Focused minds and emotions could determine both the outcome and the bowl destination for West Virginia (7-4, 4-2).

Once ranked No. 8 nationally, the Mountaineers lost two of their past three games but can slightly enhance their postseason outlook with a victory tonight against what coach Bill Stewart calls "a nemesis" -- the Bulls have beaten them in back-to-back years. Nonetheless, their bowl picture won't change much. The Meineke Car Care Bowl Dec. 27 appears to be a front-runner, with the Brut Sun Dec. 31 and PapaJohn's.com Dec. 29 still holding outside chances.

West Virginia's fans and players will be dressed in white in honor of their 19 seniors and the record-setting quarterback who has steered WVU to three consecutive New Year's Day bowl victories, a couple of BCS bowl triumphs and an overall record one conquest shy of a senior-class Mountaineers record at 40-9.

Patrick White would be adding to an all-time Big East record for total offense, but more important to the Mountaineers tonight is White's ability to perform to his usual level. He rushed for a paltry 53 total yards the past two games against South Florida and amassed 331 overall. He rushed for 177 and amassed 266 in a triumph against the Bulls three years ago.

The quarterback known for speed expressed amazement that his final home game is tonight.

"Definitely so. [It went] a lot faster than I thought. Time has flown by," said White. To cap it against a team that has solved him and West Virginia twice adds to the moment. "A very talented team. With athletes all over the field. About 99 percent of their team is from Florida, so you know they're running around pretty good. Hopefully, we can run our offense against this team. Whether that means running the ball or passing the ball."