The Sports Fist

The Big East Conference sent five of their eight teams to a bowl game last year. They had a national title contender in West Virginia, who shared a Big East title with a surprising Connecticut team. Pittsburgh struggled much of the year, until they showed heart against WVU in the last game of the year, beating them and taking them out of the BCS Title game. This conference has plenty of talent, Heisman Trophy contenders, and parity. The season will prove to be another dogfight to the end to see who will take the Big East title. Granted this conference does not have a title game at season’s end, it is quickly becoming one of the tops in the nation because everyone can beat each other up.

1- South Florida Bulls-
2007 Record: (9-4 overall) (4-3 conference)
Sun Bowl: vs. Oregon L 56-21
Opening Game: August 30th @ 7:00 vs. Tennessee-Martin

The state of Florida added another team to their rich football traditions last year, as one of the nations best teams. The South Florida Bulls, who play out of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stadium, had their best year ever last season. They were even at one point ranked as high as #2 overall in the polls. It was absolutely a break through year for USF. Unfortunately, they closed out the
season with a horrific loss to Oregon in a bowl game. However, they have a lot of the same coming back this year to bring even more firsts to the school, like a Big East Title maybe?

(+) Pros- QB Matt Grothe returns, this year as a junior to once again take the reigns in South Florida. Grothe, coming off a good campaign last year, throwing for 2,670 yards and even rushing for a solid 872 yards. Grothe can run when the situation calls for it, but the best thing about him is how well he is able to distribute the football. Last year the Bulls had 9 players with more then 10 receptions and 10 players with more then 100 yards receiving. Now, I know 100+ yards receiving over the course of one season is not great for a receiver, but I’m not bragging about the USF receiving talent. It is exceptional for a QB to throw to that many targets and that is what I want to get accross. With Grothe able to get the ball around, expect USF to rack up decent yards in the air, as they will keep defensive units guessing as to where the ball is going to end up after it leaves Grothe’s hands.

(-) Cons- One huge hit this team takes this year, is the loss of two great defensive backs in Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams. Both went in the draft, Jenkins as high as a first round pick, so that just goes to show what kind of job they have in replacing him. The coaching staff will put in reputable players to fill the void these two guys left, don’t expect them to be making the kinds of plays you saw a year ago. But, at the same time, don’t expect USF to get lit up in the secondary. Another issue the Bulls need to address is the fact that Grothe really ran a bit more then he needed to last year, and needs more action from his tail backs. RB Mike Ford was just a freshman a year ago and made serious progress in just a one-year span, so look for Ford to have more of a role on this offense so Grothe does not risk any injury while running too much.

2- West Virginia Mountaineers-
2007 Record: (11-2 overall) (5-2 conference)
Fiesta Bowl: vs. Oklahoma W 48-28
Opening Game: August 30th @ 3:30 vs. Villanova

Expecting to see the Mountaineers in the 1 spot were we? Well, let me explain myself. I have read, listened, and watched predictions on the Big East, and they are either predicting USF or WVU to finish atop the pack. I tried to find reasons why South Florida would not win this conference and my end result had nothing to do with either roster, coaching, or experience. West Virginia’s schedule is, in my opinion, much more of a challenge. With that said, these guy’s also have a disappointing end to the season to overcome, they will go a whole season under a new head coach (Bill Stewart), and have a new #1 back (Noel Devine) with Steve Slaton gone.

(+) Pros- The Mountaineers mostly want to continue on what coach Rich Rodriguez built on. I expect under a new coach, we will see much of the same. This team will put up points as they have the last couple of years with relative ease. Pat White returns for his final year as a Mountaineer, this time without partner in crime, Steve Slaton. That’s just fine, considering Slaton really had his best season with them two years ago and even last year when he wasn’t as good, WVU still racked up points on the ground. This year Noel Devine is the RB. He will step in nicely with Slaton gone as he showed sparks of brilliance last year averaging 8.6 yards a carry, and reaching the farm 6 times. The real driving forces of this offense though, are the boys up front, in the trenches. The offensive line’s starters for this year are all experienced from a year ago, including guard Greg Isdaner and tackle Ryan Stanchek, who were All-Conference just a year ago.

(-) Cons- As mentioned before, the Mountaineers, have (in my opinion) the most difficult schedule in the Big East. They have two difficult non-conference games when they have to travel to Boulder to play Colorado and have Auburn at home later on in the year. They also have to face rival Pittsburgh at Heinz field this year in a revenge game from last year, and they finish the year up against South Florida at home, a game that could potentially decide the Big East title. Schedule difficulty aside, WVU’s defense was at the top’s of the conference in statistics and excellent against the run. However, they have lost the majority of that group, as they only have 4 returnees on defense. The line up front will be inexperienced and will have to gain confidence quickly to put pressure on opposing QB’s. The LB crew has two starters coming back with Reed Williams (leads teams in tackles amongst returning athletes) and Mortty Ivy, who will bring guidance, as well as their own experience to any new LB’s. One last thought, the secondary is going to see some tough times due to the fact they have a lone returnee in the secondary, so I foresee some yards being accumulated through the air against this defense.

3- Rutgers Scarlet Knights-
2007 Record: (8-5 overall) (3-4 conference)
International Bowl: vs. Ball State W 52-30
Opening Game: September 1st @ 4:30 vs. Fresno State

Rutgers is still riding their incredible turn around season of two years ago. Coach Greg Schiano will not be satisfied with just mediocre seasons however. He certainly will not tolerate a losing conference record. This season, most people seem to be more down on the Scarlet Knights then they are up. A lot see a Pittsburgh team emerging ahead of them and I refuse to turn my head on Rutgers. With plenty of key players returning and a very smart coach making the calls, I expect Rutgers, to once again, surprise people.

(+) Pros- Mike Teel is now the leader on Rutgers with the departure of RB Ray Rice. Teel has plenty of experience and should have a good year with three of his top receivers returning. Wide Outs Tim Brown, Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood are all back to grab hold of Teel’s passes. Britt and Underwood both had over 1,000 yards receiving last year (the only other teams to have two 1,000 yard receivers were Texas Tech and Hawaii). With the loss of Rice, this offense will probably have to become more reliant on the pass, but with these guys all being available at Teel’s disposal, that shouldn’t be to hard of a transition. On the other side, the defense has eight players returning from starting roles and that includes standout safety Courtney Greene who led the team with a 101 tackles. Corners Jason and Devin McCourty also return to lead the nation’s fifth best passing defense of a year ago. With the defense bringing back familiar faces and the offense having a formidable air attack, don’t sleep on Rutgers this year.

(-) Cons- Alright, let’s state the obvious, loosing Ray Rice is clearly a con. When the offense did happen to struggle, they gave Rice the ball and he made things happen, which opened things up for the passing game. He’s gone now, and that’s that. Coach Schiano has other guys coming in to fill the spot of course, but this offense will need to rely on its receivers instead this year. That should be just fine considering they have extremely capable receivers. Mike Teel will just have to keep his turnovers down and his control up. As Ray Rice went, so did his blockers, as the offensive line looses three starters. That may prove to be a worse loss then loosing Rice if the replacements don’t give Teel the time he needs. The end result is this with Rutgers. They need to provide Mike Teel time to throw, they need decent performances in red zone situations from the new running backs and they need to have their defense continue to win games for them.

4- Pittsburgh Panthers-
2007 Record: (5-7 overall) (3-4 conference)
No Bowl
Opening Game: August 30th @ 12:00 vs. Bowling Green

Dave Wanndstedt has been in Pittsburgh now three years and has seen relatively little success. That little win over West Virginia in Morgantown however, could go a long way as the Panthers eliminated their rival from title contention. This year Pitt has high expectations and many feel they will challenge for a Big East title. The defense last season was fifth in the nation overall and finished best within the conference, a bright side to an otherwise failed season.

(+) Pros- Insert LeSean McCoy’s name here. Yes, get familiar with this name because he is the best rusher in the conference. He was a freshman last year and now with a season in him he’ll be even better. McCoy rushed for over 1300 yards in his freshman stint. As a freshman your always prone to making a few mistakes getting used to the new college competition, well with that out of the way, that’s the biggest reason he’ll have even more success because he already has a ton of talent. Sticking with the offense, Pat Bostick threw for 1500 yards last year, nothing great, but he didn’t play the entire season. Bostick stepped in while other QB’s Bill Stull and Kevan Smith were injured. Now, with healthy quarterbacks competing for the start it remains to be seen who will be the starter for Pitt. In my own opinion, I think Bostick did well as a freshman for what he was thrown into and will only get better as a starter if given the spot. Wide Reciever Derek Kinder returns after being injured all of last year. Kinder had 847 yards in 2006 and will be a good addition for last years leading receiver, Oderick Turner. The pass game is not Pittsburgh’s forte; expect to see most of their drives come via the ground attack. On D, this collaboration will continue on what it established last year, as one of the nations top defenses. They did loose some players, however, but not irreplaceable players. It will be a solid showing on D again, setting up good opportunities for the offense to capitalize on turnovers and good field position.

(-) Cons- Insert LeSean McCoy’s O-Line here. I do not care how talented McCoy is, and he is, but you will not succeed as a back without a decent line in front of you. Pitt has the arduous task of replacing OT’s Mike McGlynn and Jeff Otah. Anytime you have to replace sound OT’s like that, their replacements are going to struggle at first. Whoever will be the QB for Pitt is another concern. Yes, Bostick showed promise last year, but is he the answer for them to win right now? I usually think in terms of what’s best for the future and with Bostick and McCoy both being sophomores, I think Pitt’s best option is to have Bostick get the experience. But, the pressure is on Dave Wannstedt to win right away. Therefore if one of the older QB’s who are coming off injuries gets the nod, there is the risk of another injury as well as being rusty from so much time off. Finally, with a young line, the offense is going to struggle to get McCoy the running lanes he needs, and the time to throw, leading to 3rd and longs as well as giving the ball back to opposing offenses in good field position. The lack of experience at QB, the mediocre receiving targets and the difficulty McCoy will face finding daylight are the reasons I chose Pitt to be behind Rutgers. Rutgers has more overall depth, although they have a harder schedule, will persevere due to being more balanced then Pitt.

5- Connecticut Huskies- 2007 Record:
(9-4 overall) (5-2 conference)
Meineke Bowl vs. Wake Forest L 24-10
Opening Game: August 28th @ 7:30 vs. Hofstra

In 2007, Storrs, Connecticut became more then just a place for a basketball team. The Uconn Huskies grabbed a share of the Big East title and shocked all critics as they had their greatest year ever. Head coach Randy Edsall really established himself as a top coach within the conference. The Huskies showed the nation they cane play on the road, conference or non-conference. They lost by only one on the road against a tough Virginia squad and handedly defeated Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. This year the Huskies won’t be sneaking up on anyone. We will really be able to see where this program is headed as they deal with the spotlight on them; teams now know the Huskies are no team to take lightly anymore.

(+) Pros- The Uconn defense is the reason they were able to win 5 games in the Big East. They kept them in games and set up the offense with opportunities to score. They were second in the conference in turnover margin, which more times than not, set up the Husky offense in good field position. This year there are eight defensive starters coming back to Storrs including linebacker Lawrence Wilson who accumulated 113 tackles, which lead the team. Speaking of the LB core, senior Dahna Deleston and last years surprising freshman Scott Lutrus will make this linebacker unit the best in the conference. The front four on the line and the secondary also have their fair share of experience also. Watch out for cornerback Darius Butler, who will look to become a real shut down corner-man in the league. With the defense discussed as the best part of this team, it leaves little to say about the offense. However, a bright spot for the Huskies are the two backs they have. Both Andre Dixon and Donald Brown are back from 800+ yards gained on the ground, and Brown was a great back in the red zone for them.

(-) Cons- With the defense as their strong suit, the Husky offense seemed to struggle last year when the defense was unable to set them up. They have experience coming back at QB with an underrated guy in Tyler Lorenzen (who threw for a svelte 2,367 yards). Lorenzen isn’t the problem on offense so much as it is his line in front of him and his receiving targets. The line gave up 2.3 sacks a game, which ranked 77th in the nation. The line will have to give Lorenzen more time to be able to read the D and find one of his lackluster wide outs. In his final year in Storrs, Tyler Lorenzen will try to leave this program in good hands, but he will have a challenge getting the ball in the end zone with the kind of time he will see, and the fact that he really does not have a big play option to throw to.

6- Cincinnati Bearcats-
2007 Record: (10-3 overall) (4-3 conference)
Papa Johns.com Bowl: vs. Southern Miss W 31-21
Opening Game: August 28th @ 7:30 vs. Eastern Kentucky

First year head coach Brian Kelly stormed into Cincinnati last year and gave the Bearcats their best finish in the Big East standings since they entered the league three seasons ago. They really rose above any expectations that may have been perceived for them, and also brought about a reputable belief in this program. However, with a programs success will come more challenges in the later years. A prime example is the Bearcats schedule this year. They will be making a grueling, second-week trip to Norman, OK to face the Sooners, in what is probably the hardest non-conference opponent of any Big East team this year. They also face tough road games within their own conference, having to go to WVU, Uconn and Louisville. Not to mention the longest road trip any one can possibly take, as they will go play Hawaii at seasons end.

(+) Pros- Cincinnati is not without potential this year. Cornerbacks Mike Mickens and DeAngelo Smith return for their senior seasons after combining for 14 interceptions last year. The Experience felt on the corners will provide a good curtain against the pass and will be a suitable substitute for any D-men that are gone from one year ago. The biggest improvement last year was the threats at wide receivers. It was expected that Dominick Goodman would be a quality receiver, but Marcus Barnett and Marshwan Gilyard made it nearly impossible for the opposition to cover everybody.

(-) Cons- The Bearcats will be without their leader in QB Ben Mauk. Mauk lost an appeal with the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility, but it was expected that he would considering six years is a little over the top. That isn’t the worst thing that could have happened because senior QB Dustin Grutza will step in as a guy who has had experience with this offense. In 2005 and 2006 he threw for over 1600 yards, yet he also threw just as many picks as he did TD’s. Grutza may be familiar with playing within this offense, however he lacks the control that Mauk showed. They have the option of using Notre Dame transfer Demitrius Jones in certain situations if Grutza continues on throwing more interceptions than he does TD’s. Another concern will be on the defensive line due to a lack of experience at the ends after sack leader Anthony Hoke was drafted by the Bengals.

7- Louisville Cardinals-
2007 Record: (6-6 overall) (3-4 conference)
No Bowl
Opening Game: August 31st @ 3:30 vs. Kentucky

Last season was a train wreck for Louisville. They were expected to contend with West Virginia for the conference title, they had a Heisman trophy contender in Brian Brohme, and a potent offense. Yet it all came crumbling down for the Cardinals. They missed a bowl game for the first time since 1997 and things were really down. I hate to say it, but I expect more of the same this year. There is just not enough to go on here to say the Cardinals will turn things around and be able to right the ship. Steve Kragthorpe stepped in last year and hardly delivered what he was meant to. The heat will really be on Kragthorpe to turn things around.

(+) Pros- There is not going to be a lot to discuss here. The good thing about going into this season is the sense of not having anything to loose. The last few seasons, they were looked at as being national title contenders and were targeted. Now, they have a fresh start with new faces. One of the new faces will be QB Hunter Cantwell. He is a senior and spent plenty of time behind Brian Brohme and should have no problem knowing what to do with this offense, he just does not have the experience. Also, it is worth noting that they do get to play USF and WVU at home, at least.

(-) Cons- Okay, now I have some things to say. Hunter Cantwell came to Louisville as a good prospect and many feel he will step in as a great replacement for Brohme. Well all I can say to that is, who is this guy going to give the ball to? Both wide receivers Mario Urritia and Harry Douglas are gone and not to mention TE Gary Barnidge. These guys were the three leading receivers for Louisville. They are also missing starting running back Anthony Allen. That is on one side of the ball, which was the best thing they had going for them. With the offense now dismantled and the defense (if you want to consider what this team put on the field to be a “defense”) still very vulnerable to air or ground attacks, the Cardinals will be taking even more of a step back next year. They lost all of their starting LB’s and have huge holes in the secondary due to a lack of talent. Expect this to be the final year for head coach Steve Kragthorpe.

8- Syracuse Orange-
2007 Record: (2-10 overall) (1-6 conference)
No Bowl
Opening Game: August 30th @ 12:00 @ Northwestern

Greg Robinson has a 7-28 record at head coach at Syracuse. Why is this guy still the coach with that kind of record? I don’t have answer for you, I guess he has either made really good pleas to keep his job or the ‘Cuse AD just does not care. The last three years Syracuse has a combined for TWO Big East wins. That is abysmal for a D-1 program to put that kind of performance together for three consecutive years. This prediction of The Orange being dead last again is just about a lock! Donovan McNabb isn’t walking through that door folks!

(+) Pros- It’s honestly a real challenge for me to write about what is good about this team. The passing attack was at least 4th in the Big East averaging 229 yards per game, which is better then four other teams. Their QB, Andrew Robinson, is coming back, so that may add some consistency and he did have a decent campaign throwing for 2,192 yards with 13 TD’s and 7 INTS. With that being said, at least ‘Cuse fans can say he threw more touchdowns than interceptions. Robinson also has a good target to throw to in a 6’2 receiver Mike Williams who had 60 receptions, 837 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those are solid stats for a wide out on a team that is this awful.

(-) Cons- This team ranked dead last in every major statistical category except for the passing yards. They had a bad offensive line, so they couldn’t rush well, only averaging a terrible 63 yards a game. With a bad O-Line means very little time for your QB and this reigned true for Syracuse. Robinson was sacked 4.5 times per game, which is hard to do. No, I mean it’s hard to allow that many sacks a game, that’s how bad this line, really is. The line will have most of its guys returning, but they need to do tons of work in order to allow the rush game to improve, as well as keeping Robinson off the turf. The defense? Well, they allowed a whopping 207 yards rushing a game. The passing defense is even worse; they allowed 260 yards a game. Between those rush and pass yards, that is a whole lot of yardage to be giving up in one game, leaving them absolutely no chance at winning a football game. No wonder why these guys only have two conference wins over three years.