Call it the tangle of the toddlers.

When Kansas University and South Florida battle at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, both programs will be saddling up on the top two freshman quarterbacks in the country in terms of passing yardage.

South Florida’s Matt Grothe is number one in Division I-A, having passed for 647 yards and six touchdowns for the 3-0 Bulls. KU’s Kerry Meier, meanwhile, is second among all freshmen, throwing for 538 yards and six touchdowns for the 2-1 Jayhawks.

Other freshmen dot Division I-A’s top 100 passers, including Central Michigan’s David LeFevour, Illinois’ Isiah Williams, SMU’s Justin Willis and Arkansas’ Mitch Mustain.

But the top two will lock horns Saturday in Lawrence, giving KU fans and a television-viewing audience on Fox Sports Net a look into the future.

“We’ve got to go Lawrence – I’ve certainly been there before – and play in their stadium on their turf,” said USF coach Jim Leavitt, a former Kansas State assistant. “It’s going to be a heck of a ballgame, I think.”

Kansas University's Kerry Meier and South Florida's Matt Grothe have taken their place at the top of the freshman quarterback class in 2006. They will face off Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

And a heck of a test for USF’s young slinger. Grothe, a 6-foot, 200-pounder, was named Big East player of the week following South Florida’s victory over Central Florida on Saturday. He passed for 302 yards and three touchdowns while running for 73 more yards in the 24-17 triumph.

“We knew as we were preparing for our bowl game last year, we gave Matt a lot of work and we knew he had a chance to be pretty good,” Leavitt said. “He had a pretty good spring. What he’s doing right now are things he does in practice.”

Grothe gave a solid answer to an unstable quarterback spot in Tampa. Carlton Hill was thought to be the frontrunner after spring drills, but was moved back to receiver before moving right off campus, transferring to Pearl River Junior College over the summer.

That left the unproven Grothe and inconsistent senior Pat Julmiste, who has 23 career starts. Grothe won the job, and USF hasn’t looked back.

“Matt throws the ball pretty good, reads things pretty well,” Leavitt said. “He can run, as well. He probably is throwing the ball a little bit more consistently than Pat did last year.”

Meier, meanwhile, had a better grip on the starting position from the start of spring practices than Grothe, beating out senior Adam Barmann in a similar situation to South Florida’s. Meier struggled last week against Toledo and even was banged up late in the game, but should be 100 percent for South Florida.

South Florida's Matt Grothe.

“He’s a fierce competitor,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “He’s a lion-hearted guy. He comes to play, and he gives you a lot of savvy. His teammates after the game – he threw a couple of interceptions and they’re bragging about him, because they’re in the huddle with him. They said ‘This guy’s unbelievable.'”

Meier was mortal against Toledo, and what appeared to be a bruised shoulder did prevent him from making crisp throws toward the end of Friday’s game. He refused to come out when asked by Mangino if he was OK, something Mangino ultimately respects.

“The bright side is,” Mangino said, “boy you like having a kid like that on your team.”

“Kid” is the key word. Looks like fans in Lawrence will get to see a couple of them lead their teams Saturday.