If someone had said just a few years ago that the Big East was one of the best and most competitive conferences in college football, they likely would’ve been laughed into rescinding their comments, or committed to a sanitarium.
After Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College defected to the ACC, it looked like the Big East might fall into the abyss.
However, the exact opposite has happened in the last few seasons, and not just because of Temple’s move to the Mid-American Conference, where it appears the Owls could be primed for success this season and beyond.
Syracuse may have dropped off of the map from where they were a decade ago, but right now, they’re really the only also-ran in the Big East.
Rutgers has become a winner over the last three seasons, winning 26 games and making three consecutive postseason appearances.
Connecticut has also turned the proverbial corner, and after their first I-A postseason appearance in 2004, won nine games last season.
Pittsburgh has found the going rough thus far under Dave Wannstedt, but he’s built a talent-laden squad that showed their potential in their momentous upset of West Virginia last season, a victory that could be the springboard for a Big East run this season.
And of Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College’s replacements? Louisville won the Big East title and the Orange Bowl in the 2006 season, and last season, Cincinnati (10-3) and South Florida (9-4) combined for 19 wins, with the Bulls, in only their 11th season in I-A, rose as high as #2 in the top 25.
This season, defending champion West Virginia is the favorite in the conference, but six of the eight teams can legitimately wind up on top of the standings at the end of the regular season, and if Louisville can thrive in offense under new quarterback Hunter Cantwell and make the necessary improvements on defense, the Cardinals could push themselves into the mix.
Not bad for a conference that was all but left for dead by quite a few people only a few years ago.
Conference Favorites
All that happened between December 1st of last year and now with the West Virginia football program has been well-documented by everyone from the national media to the blogosphere to Internet message boards.
West Virginia goes into Backyard Brawl at home with chance to lock up berth in national title game. Mountaineers lose at home. Rich Rodriguez bolts for the Michigan job a short time later, Mountaineers rout Oklahoma in Fiesta Bowl, interim head coach Bill Stewart gets the job full-time. Messy legal stuff, blah, $4 million, blah, ‘he said, she said’ war of words, blah, blah, blah.
Stewart inherits a talent-laden squad, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Pat White, and his new right-hand man, sophomore speedster Noel Devine. White’s skills as a runner are known by opponents far and wide, but he stands to throw the ball more this season, which bodes well for his opportunities to show NFL scouts that he has the throwing ability to be an NFL QB.
The defense returns only a handful of starters, but their linebacker corps is a force to be reckoned with, led by Reed Williams and Mortty Ivy.
However, as good as they are, it’s not smooth sailing for the Mountaineers. The schedule offers up a bevy of tests from the get-go, from having to go to a couple of quality non-conference opponents in East Carolina and Colorado, hosting Auburn in one of the must-see games of the season in October, then finishing up the season with games at Connecticut, Louisville, and Pittsburgh, and at home against Cincinnati and South Florida.
So, just as easily as they could win the Big East in that stretch, they could easily fumble it away and watch one of the several chasers yank the crown from their grasp.
Pittsburgh is the sexy pick among many, led by potential Heisman candidate LeSean McCoy, who ran for 1,328 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman in 2007, and a defense that features one of the best linebackers in the country in Scott McKillop, but the Panthers aren’t the only team that could throw a wrench into West Virginia’s hopes of a third conference crown in four years.
South Florida has some retooling to do in the secondary, where they lost the cornerback duo of Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams, and they also have to replace star linebacker Ben Moffitt, but seven starters return on defense, including the beast of the Big East, sack machine George Selvie, and safeties Nate Allen and Carlton Williams.
But, what could put the Bulls over the top in 2008 is the return of 10 starters on offense, led by junior QB Matt Grothe. Grothe (2,670 yards, 14 TD passing, 872 yards, 10 TD rushing) is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, but if he can get the interceptions down (14 in 2006, 14 in 2007), it’s all the better for an offense that returns most of its top receiving weapons, most of the starters on the offensive line, and the RB duo of Mike Ford (645 yards, 12 TD) and Benjamin Williams (425 yards, 6 TD).
Connecticut is primed for a run after their nine-win campaign in 2007. Randy Edsall has the luxury of returning nearly all of his starters, from QB Tyler Lorenzen and running backs Donald Brown and Andre Dixon, to linebackers Scott Lutrus and Lawrence Wilson, who were both Freshman All-Americans in 2007. However, their Big East title hopes could hinge on the few starters they have to replace.
Darkhorses
Cincinnati had a stellar year in Brian Kelly’s debut season, going 10-3 and finishing the season ranked in the top 20 after a bowl win over former C-USA foe Southern Miss.
The Bearcats return 12 starters, including a potential first-round pick in cornerback Mike Mickens, but there’s a big question mark looming over the team as we get into August.
QB Ben Mauk, who threw for 3,121 yards and 31 touchdowns last season, is currently in an appeal with the NCAA over a sixth year of eligibility, based on a season-ending shoulder injury that he suffered in the 2006 season opener at Wake Forest.
If Mauk gets a favorable decision, Cincinnati’s prospects for making a push towards the top look a lot better on paper. If the appeal is denied, then it’ll likely be senior Dustin Grutza, who saw average results as a starter in 2005 and 2006 and was Mauk’s backup last year, getting the call under center. Either way, the Bearcats have the making of a potential contender.
Rutgers takes a significant hit with the loss of star RB Ray Rice, who decided to give up a chance at breaking Ron Dayne’s career rushing record to make an early jump to the NFL, but the Scarlet Knights are well-positioned for a run as well.
Even without Rice, the offense should be just fine. QB Mike Teel blossomed into one of the top quarterbacks in the conference last season, throwing for 3,147 yards and 20 touchdowns, and the senior will have a chance to improve upon those numbers with the return of 1,000 yard receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood, who combined for 127 catches, 2,332 yards, and 15 touchdowns last season. The defense also returns eight starters, including safety Courtney Greene (299 tackles in three seasons), so Greg Schiano has reason to look forward to another eight-plus win campaign, at least.
The Rest
Louisville, Louisville, Louisville. The Cardinals were one of the nation’s biggest disappointments last season, and no, it was not because of a) Bobby Petrino’s departure (as inevitable as inevitable things come), b) Steve Kragthorpe’s inadequacies as a head coach, or c) gravity.
Louisville was a top-10 team and dark horse national title contender heading into last season, and the Cards scored 131 points in a 2-0 start. But, a heartbreaking last-minute loss to Kentucky proved to be the beginning of the end, and thanks to an inconsistent running game and a defense that was, in a word, atrocious, despite the passing game’s best efforts, a 6-6 record and a postseason-less campaign weren‘t as surprising as it would‘ve appeared, say, before September 15.
This season, there are a lot of if’s for the Cardinals, but there’s potential, even with a new starting QB in the senior Cantwell, who takes over for Brian Brohm. The defense can honestly only go up, with several starters returning. However, there’s a great amount of reloading to do at linebacker, thanks in part to the strange decision by Lamar Myles to enter the NFL Draft.
Cantwell will have to work with a receiving corps that already was going to be without Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia, but has now lost trouble magnet JaJuan Spillman (addition by subtraction?) and will be without Trent Guy, who was shot in July (purely unintentional rhyme), for at least a good part of the season. But, if he can showcase the talent that he showed in fill-in starts for Brohm in 2005 and 2006, and if their backfield by committee produces consistent results, the Cardinals could at least return to the postseason.
Then, there’s Syracuse. As much as Orange fans might like to hop in the wayback machine and go to 1998, or even the early part of this decade before things went south, the reality of it is that it’s going to take a little time for Syracuse to get back to where they were not too long ago.
Junior QB Andrew Robinson (2,192 yards, 13 TD, 7 INT) had two 400-yard performances last season (423 yards, 4 TD in a win over Louisville, 419 yards and 3 TD in a loss against Cincinnati), and could lead an upset or two, but a winning season doesn’t look to be on the horizon, which could see Greg Robinson shown the door.
Conference Predictions
1. West Virginia - Explosive duo of White and Devine should lead the Mountaineers to glory, but a tough schedule could trip them up.
2. South Florida - The Bulls have upset the Mountaineers each of the last two seasons, and they could knock them off the top of the Big East standings this season, if everything clicks for Jim Leavitt’s squad.
3. Connecticut - As long as the few holes that they have to fill don’t trip them up, the Huskies have the talent to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke.
4. Pittsburgh - The talent is there for a conference title run, but if there isn’t any continuity under center, the Panthers could just as easily fall into the middle or back of the pack.
5. Rutgers - No Ray Rice, no problem. Big East defenses will have their fill of Teel by season’s end.
6. Cincinnati - They’re preparing for life after Mauk already, so if he doesn’t get his sixth year, they’ll be ready to go. Another impressive season, and Brian Kelly could have some very enticing offers come December and January.
7. Louisville - Lots of questions, but there’s potential.
8. Syracuse - It may not necessarily be a bad thing if Robinson gets the boot, but I’m certainly not wishing a poor season on Syracuse.
Part II will come tomorrow, and that will cover key games, impact newcomers, and give our preseason All-Big East picks.
