Big East football schedules: Week 7

Week seven sees two ESPN primetime games for the Big East. The UC Bearcats love ESPN in primetime, and will battle for yet another rivalry trophy for the second straight week. This week also marks the beginning of Big East play for UC, Louisville, Pitt, and West Virginia. UConn has the week off.

Here’s week seven.

Week 7 Big East Schedule
Thurs., Oct 14-West Virginia vs USF
Fri., Oct 15-Cincinnati at Louisville
Sat., Oct 16-Pittsburgh at Syracuse
Oct 16-Rutgers vs Army

AN: The one and only trip I’ve made to Louisville for football was on a rainy night in mid-November on the day before I turned 20 years old. The end result was a lot of wet clothing and a trip back to Cincinnati with the Keg of Nails in our possession for the first time since 2002.

I mentioned in the week one preview that Charlie Strong, the former Florida defensive coordinator, and new head coach for the Cards, has built a strong program up in the short time he’s been running the show in Kentucky’s most populous city. And the early season results are certainly showing that "The Ville" is getting better.

So, this game scares me a little bit. I’m just not sure that Louisville has the fire power they need to overcome all the playmakers that UC has, but in a game that will be played at the renovated PapaJohns Cardinal Stadium, anything could happen, as we nearly found out in 2008.

Strong has already shown the UC players he can coach a darn good team, but will he be able to translate success against the Brian Kelly system into success against the Butch Jones system? To say I’m 100 percent certain UC will win this game would be a lie, but I am confident that this game should, should go in favor of the Bearcats. But don’t be surprised if the game is closer than you think.

JM: Pitt’s coming off a close loss at Notre Dame last weekend and looks to even its record at 3-3. In my opinion, this is a must-win game. Syracuse has its first legitimate shot at a bowl game since 2004 and is coming off its biggest win of the season last week against USF.

Pitt showed some progress against the Irish, with Tino Sunseri showing some improvement and the offensive line appears to be getting its act together. This will be a nice test for the Panthers as they go against a decent opponent, but one with less talent, that they should be able to beat. Beating Syracuse would be a good confidence booster and would kick off the Big East slate the right way. I like Pitt in a close one.

AN: Obviously the best game on the schedule has to be the battle between USF and West Virginia on Thursday night in Morgantown. USF has beaten the Mountaineers in ’06, ’07 and last season, and in 2008 they lost by a touchdown in their last visit to Milan Puskar Stadium. These two teams have had some epic battles in the past few seasons, and I expect this season to be the same.

"Almost heaven..."

With Skip Holtz running the show in Tampa, the USF Bulls might be in better shape than many think. In 2008, West Virginia was primed to win a Big East title behind the likes of Pat White and Noel Devine, but in game two of Bill Stewart’s first season, the Mountaineers were walloped by East Carolina 24-3 in Greenville.

The head coach of ECU that year? Skip Holtz. Now, Holtz and the ECU Pirates traveled to Morgantown last season and lost 35-20, but at least Holtz knows he has beaten West Virginia, and will know just how intimidating Milan Puskar can be for opposing teams.

JM: Well, I guess that leaves the Rutgers-Army game as the only other game on the docket. Rutgers has looked good at times and is coming off a win against UConn, but is still inconsistent. Army, like Syracuse, has a decent shot to get to a bowl game this season. The Black Knights run my favorite offense (as well as Adam’s favorite) the triple option, which can be a tough matchup for any team. I think Rutgers should win this game, but don’t be surprised if Army pulls off the upset.

AN: I do love the option.

Thanks for joining us, and stay tuned for another week of Big East football here on the blog. Next week you’ll get a little taste of the renovated PapaJohns Cardinal Stadium with some photos and a short recap of the Louisville/UC tilt. Til then, enjoy a weekend of football.