Bennett joins Big Ten Blog

If you are a fan of Big east football, you’ve certainly read Brian Bennett’s Big East blog on ESPN.com’s College Football blog network. If you’re anything like me, you’re a religious reader of the blog.

So when Bennett suddenly announced on Friday afternoon that he was leaving the Big east blog to go help Adam Rittenberg cover the newly revamped Big Ten (or 12, however you care to look at it) it shocked a lot of people, yours truly included.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet BB (as we in the UC football video office refer to him as) a few times. The most notable was in the Rutgers pressbox in 2009, hours before the perfect season kicked off.

Bennett had just finished a story about our new EA Sports video game system that our quarterbacks would use for the first time on that road trip. Brian had interviewed John Sells, UC Video Coordinator, about how the program worked and was being utilized by our program. Our Sports Information Director Ryan Koslen introduced us as “big fans” to BB. He stood and chatted with us for a few minutes before we parted.

So when it came around to getting help for my Journalism seminar class project this quarter, I reached out BB, and told him of the many times we’d crossed paths. He kindly obliged to answer a few questions via e-mail about our project and his view of the field of journalism.

I’m certainly going to miss Brian Bennett’s take on the Big East, but I do wish him well on his new venture in the Big Ten. I’m sure he’ll have a lot to write about there, and he’s damn good at what he does.

Enjoy it Big Ten fans. BB is a good one…and a great guy to boot.

Sports thoughts on this Friday

Some sports thoughts heading into this weekend…

Miami (OH) wins GoDaddy.com Bowl, finishes season 10-4
The Miami Redhawks have had a turbulent offseason to say the least. In the days after winning the MAC Championship game over Northern Illinois they found out their head coach, Mike Haywood, was leaving to go coach the Pittsburgh Panthers. Lance Guidry was named the interim head coach. Haywood was arrested on New Year’s Eve, fired one day later as Pitt coach, and on New Year’s Eve, Miami announced that they were hiring Michigan State offensive coordinator, and Miami alum, Don Treadwell.

Enough to make your head spin.

Haywood’s turnaround of the Redhawk program was the best one-year turnaround of any FBS team this season, as I mentioned in December. Miami defeated Middle Tennessee State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala., last night to improve their record to 10-4, ending a bowl season of ups and downs on an up.

By the way, UC football fans can take solace in the fact that the Bearcats whipped the Redhawks at Nippert in early October, 45-3.

UC beats XU in Crosstown Shootout
UC fans can also take solace in the fact that their basketball team is better than Miami’s, and another, bigger rival of theirs.

Cincinnati native and Withrow High grad Yancy Gates was recruited by both UC and Xavier in high school. In his three seasons at UC, Gates had never beaten XU. Until last night.

UC ended a three-game losing streak to its cross-town rival by beating the Musketeers 66-46 in the 78th edition of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. I had to watch the game in class and have to deliver a full game report (which I’ll attempt to post here later today or tomorrow).

Andrew Luck staying in school
All those teachers that told us, “Stay in school, it will only help you,” were right. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, one of the top pro prospects in the country announced yesterday he was staying in school. According to ESPN’s Joe Schad, Luck wants to remain in school and get a degree.

“I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012,” Luck said in a statement.

In a world of kids who leave college early to get paid millions, Luck passed on the guaranteed big bucks to get something a lot more worthwhile: a college degree. That’s something that makes me want to stand up and applaud Andrew Luck.

If only more guys were like Luck.

LeGrand talks with ESPN
Rutgers’ Eric LeGrand, who was injured on a kickoff return in the Scarlet Knights’ Oct. 16 game with Army, has now regained some feeling in his entire body. He was paralyzed from the neck down after hitting Army’s Malcolm Brown on the kickoff return.

LeGrand’s first interview aired an hour ago on the 9 a.m. episode of SportsCenter. He revealed his thoughts with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi.

“Fear of death, that's the biggest fear that I got because I couldn't breathe the way I was breathing and I couldn't move,” LeGrand told the ESPN reporter. “Laying out on the ground, motionless, not being able to breathe was the hardest part in thinking, can I die here?”

LeGrand also says he feels he will one day walk again, and is optimistic about his chances of recovery.
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I’ll have much more as the weekend rolls along. Tomorrow, with 43 days until the Daytona 500, I will discuss “The King,” Richard Petty, and his role in NASCAR, along with a preview of his team Richard Petty Motorsports. Sunday is Mark Martin’s birthday, so I’ll offer some thoughts on the man who has been my hero since I began watching the sport nearly two decades ago.

And on Monday, I’ll give you one reason why I’m rooting for Oregon to win the National Title game, and it has nothing to do with what happens on the field, but rather, with an Oregon player who is paying tribute to one young man who lost his life this college football season.

Stay tuned, have a nice Friday and thanks for reading.

Big East football schedules: Week 11

A lot of fans think that referees like to pander to the best teams in the league to ensure that the best teams in the conference represent the conference in the BCS. Ask West Virginia fans about November 13th 2009, and almost every Mountaineer fan will tell you that referee John McDaid (a favorite of yours truly and my guest blogger) handed a victory to the UC Bearcats by overturning an obvious fumble by Isaiah Pead in the endzone, resulting in six points for the Bearcats.

ESPN replays showed the ball crossing the goal line. Decide for yourself
So, 365 days later WVU fans will get their shot to avenge a loss in 2009, and an overtime loss to the UC Bearcats in 2008. That ’08 game shifted the title of top dog in the Big East to Cincinnati from Morgantown, and now Bill Stewart has his shot to regain the power in the conference from former West Virginia wide out coach Butch Jones, who now leads UC.

Talk about storylines. Here’s week 11:

Week 11 Big East Schedule
Thurs., Nov 11-Connecticut vs Pittsburgh
Sat., Nov 13-West Virginia vs Cincinnati
Nov 13-Louisville vs USF
Nov 13-Rutgers vs Syracuse

AN: As much as I’d love to continue talking about UC and West Virginia, and one of the most dangerous venues in all of sports—Milan Puskar Stadium—I have to turn it over to Jake. Pitt and UConn have similar “pro style” offenses, so on Veteran’s Day in Hartford, Conn., who takes the “W”?

JM: Well, Pitt’s “pro-style” offense has been improving from week to week this season and is starting to get back to the effectiveness that Pitt fans enjoyed last year with Bill Stull at the helm. Meanwhile, UConn’s offense has been a mess all season they’ve gone through several quarterbacks and still cannot find a viable passing game.

UConn can run the ball however with a talented running back, Jordan Todman. The combination of a good night from Todman and a solid performance by UConn’s defense could be enough to beat the Panthers, but I don’t see that happening. Pitt has made too much progress this season and controls its own destiny for a BCS bowl bid.

Honestly, one of my biggest concerns this week is the weather in Hartford. Around this time of year, Connecticut becomes basically a frozen hell, so some intense weather conditions are very possible and could play a major factor in this game.

AN: I look forward to going to Milan Puskar Stadium every other year because it is full of rabid, passionate Mountaineer fans. And as crazy as it sounds, it’s one of the coolest gameday atmospheres I’ve ever encountered (second to Oklahoma and NC State). Last year Isaiah Pead, Zach Collaros and Tony Pike all combined to put UC up 24-14, and a late WVU touchdown made it 24-21, but it was all too little too late for the Mountaineers. UC moved to 10-0, and asserted that the Big East title moves through Cincinnati, not Morgantown.

Speaking of Pead, the then sophomore running back rushed the ball a career high 18 times for 175 yards and one touchdown against West Virginia last year. The 3-3-5 “Stack” defense that Rich Rodriguez made so popular was torched by the UC offense, which never was known for its run game prowess under Brian Kelly.

If anyone knows what the atmosphere will be like in Morgantown, it’s Butch Jones who was the wide receivers coach for Rodriguez in 2005 and 2006. Will that experience translate into a win for UC? With so many injuries on both sides of the ball for the Bearcats, it’s tough to say if it will.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bill Koch, Collaros is expected to start after resting up during the UC bye week last week. A fully healthy Collaros and an offensive line that dominates the questionable scheme West Virginia runs will lead to a Bearcat win. Anything else may effectively end UC’s chances of even going bowling this holiday season.

Jake, I know you’ll have a free Saturday to watch Big East football. What stands out to you?

JM: Rutgers vs. Syracuse stands out to me because the Orange have a chance to lock up their first bowl game bid since 2004. However, the Orange may have seen any hopes of a Big East title go out the window in last week’s loss to Louisville as Syracuse is now a virtual two games back of Pitt.

AN: And beyond our trip to Morgantown, I want to keep my eyes stuck on the Pitt-UConn game on Thursday night. As an Elder Panther football fan from the early part of the decade, I’m used to seeing pound-it-out, power football. Jake, you can attest to the likes of Kyle Koester and Bradley Glatthaar pounding the ball behind those big offensive lines that we had in the early 2000s.

JM: Back in my day, we didn’t have these fancy spread offenses. If you wanted to win, you ran the football. Man, those were the days…

AN: So the “power” rushing attack that both teams will employ may look boring to the fans who love seeing the ball fly through the air, but I’ll definitely tune in to see some old-time football. I’d say the over/under on how many times each team runs “power” is 50. Over or under Jake?

JM: I’ll take the over. We’re in for a little good, old fashioned caveman football.

AN: I do think that the Pitt Panthers have a little more balance on the offensive side of the ball, but I think this game will be an epic Big East battle. Even though West Virginia couldn’t pull it off in Hartford, I believe the Panthers win, and keep the stranglehold on the Big East title.

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.

Big East football schedules: Week 6-“Opening Week”

Week six is the beginning of the Big East title chase as four Big East schools begin their quest to knock off the Cincinnati Bearcats and become Big East champions.

But it’s also the first Big East test for the two-time defending Big East coach of the year—Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, who welcomes to South Bend the last Big East team he faced, Pittsburgh. I know Jake is itching to talk about his two favorite teams, so here’s the schedule.

Week 6 Big East Schedule
Fri Oct 8-Rutgers vs Connecticut
Sat., Oct 9-USF vs Syracuse
Oct 9-Louisville vs Memphis
Oct 9-Cincinnati vs Miami (OH)
Oct 9-Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
Oct 9-West Virginia vs UNLV

AN: I can already hear the call, “Live from Notre Dame Stadium, fulfilling a lifelong dream, this is WPTS Sports Director Jake Meyer.” Does that sound accurate to you?

JM: Yeah, that’s about right. I’m really looking forward to calling this game and can’t wait for Saturday. This is a very interesting matchup of two of the biggest underachievers in college football so far this year. The Panthers have won the last two meetings between these teams, including a four-overtime win at Notre Dame Stadium in 2008. Pitt’s struggles have been much documented in this forum, and they will face another tough test this week.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame has is still a work in progress. There’s some serious growing pains going on in South Bend as QB Dayne Crist’s play has been inconsistent so far as he learns Brian Kelly’s offense. However, Crist is a very capable passer and has some tremendous targets to throw to in wideouts Michael Floyd, Theo Riddick and T.J. Jones as well as maybe the best tight end in the country in Elder alumnus Kyle Rudolph.

Pitt’s defense is facing its fifth straight opponent who runs some variation on the spread offense and Pitt has struggled to stop the short passing of these teams. The onus in this game will be on Pitt’s secondary, namely cornerback Antwaun Reed and Ricky Gary, with the latter struggling mightily at times. One interesting position of note is the weakside linebacker position, where strong safety Dom DeCicco will get the start for the second straight week.

DeCicco’s presence should provide a boost to a linebacker corps that has struggled in coverage against spread teams and has trouble running with the wide receivers they are often forced to cover. Pitt’s run defense has been solid, but their ineffective pass defense makes it hard for the defense to get off the field. Look for Pitt to try to pressure Crist with Jabaal Sheard into making poor throws.

Defensively, Notre Dame has improved over last season and is a better unit than they are given credit for. The Fighting Irish held a lackluster Boston College offense to 13 points last week, six of which came after the Irish turned it over deep in their own territory. ND’s defense is led by sophomore inside linebacker Manti Te’o, who recorded 21 tackles in a loss to Stanford two weeks ago. Pitt may struggle to run the ball against the Irish defense, despite the presence of your favorite coordinator Bob Diaco and his 3-4 scheme. If Pitt can’t run the ball, Pitt will not win this game. Tino Sunseri has struggled mightily at times, but has also shown flashes of potential. However, at this point, he is not ready to carry the offensive load for Pitt, especially given the shaky pass protection Pitt’s offensive line has provided him.

Since I’m calling the game, I won’t make a prediction on the winner (you know, that whole journalistic integrity thing), but I will give two key matchups. First, it’s Dayne Crist versus the Pitt secondary. Can Pitt cover well enough to break up ND’s passing game? Second, it’s Dion Lewis, who returns after missing last week with an injury, and Ray Graham, who rushed for 277 yards in Lewis’ place last week. Pitt has to get those two guys going early.

Adam, how do you think your Bearcats will fare in the Battle for the Victory Bell?

AN: All in all, it was a little rough for UC last year in Oxford, but there were two shining stars in the Battle for the Victory Bell in ’09. Armon Binns had a coming out party, leading UC with five catches for 83 yards and one score, and Jacob Ramsey became only the second player to rush for over 100 yards in the Brian Kelly era. Ramsey rushed for 103 and three scores on the day, and became the first Bearcat since Butler Benton rushed for 100 plus against SEMO in 2007.

The Battle for the Victory Bell is UC’s first rivalry game of the year, and Butch Jones has made it a point that one of the program’s goals is to, “Beat our rivals.” I have a feeling that only Miami grad Ben Roethlisberger could help the Redhawks in this matchup, and even then it’d be tough for UC to lose.

However, Miami played it close with Florida in week one, and although they got demolished by Gary Pinkel’s Mizzou Tigers two weeks back, they could be a dangerous team. Just not as dangerous because UC will be able to use a loud and raucous crowd to gang up on Miami.

Which game other than the Pitt/ND game do you have circled on your calendar Jake?

JM: Well, it’s not a great schedule in the Big East this week, but the best game on the slat is that Rutgers-UConn game. UConn had very high preseason expectations which have been dampened somewhat after an opening week loss at Michigan. Meanwhile, Rutgers is struggling despite its powder puff schedule, losing at home last week to Tulane. Ouch. Both teams need a win to open conference play. I think UConn wins.

AN: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m definitely going to tune in to the Panthers and Fighting Irish. As intriguing as Rutgers and UConn could be on a Friday evening, nothing will be better than seeing Dion Lewis make Bob Diaco look silly again. On national TV, too.

Pitt’s power rushing attack made the 3-4 scheme Diaco uses look like Swiss cheese at Heinz Field in early December last year, as we all can attest to. As long as the grass isn’t too high (and with Kelly calling the shots with an uptempo offense, I doubt it will be) at Notre Dame stadium, Lewis and Ray Graham should have a field day. Even though Pitt has struggled this year, and Notre Dame’s defense has looked OK, I’m standing by that statement.

I liked Brian Kelly, but watching the Panthers run rampant on the Fighting Irish in 2010 will be a highlight worth replaying over and over and over again. Hopefully that will happen.

Big East bowl lineup includes UC-Florida

On Monday October 20th I posted that there was a pipe dream shot that the University of Cincinnati Bearcats would end up in New Orleans, Louisiana playing former Bearcat Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators. (http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2008/10/could-this-happen.html)

Fourteen months later, I have a dream come true.

I have so many reasons why this game will be so darn exciting, the least of which is the video tape I have of Meyer proclaiming that UC was a “bull**** program” when he played there. I’m sure Kelly and his staff will use these sound bites as inspiration for a team that is headed to its second straight BCS bowl game.

UC is 0-1 against the Gators all time, losing 48-17 on October 20th, 1984. Yes, that was 24 years before I posted that I’d love to see the matchup. Sometimes even weird things come true. More on this bowl game throughout the month of December.

Other Big East teams going bowling this season include:
-Konica Minolta Gator Bowl: West Virginia (9-3) vs. Florida State (6-6)
I’m thinking West Virginia will be a little bit too much for Florida State, but FSU will be playing in their last game with legendary Bobby Bowden as Head Coach. By the way, for what it is worth, South Florida defeated FSU and West Virginia this season. So in the common opponent theory doesn’t make much of a difference here.

-Meineke Car Care Bowl: Pittsburgh (9-3) vs. North Carolina (8-4)
Pittsburgh—as you may know—was very close to being in the Sugar Bowl yesterday. Unfortunately they’ve fallen to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. This matchup should be an interesting battle between two former pro coaches, and two similar pro offenses.

-Papajohns.com Bowl: Connecticut (7-5) vs. South Carolina (7-5)
UConn might be the story of the year this season and they’ve rallied behind each other since losing corner Jasper Howard midway through the season. They’ll get to play the Gamecocks of the SEC in Birmingham. Everyone who isn’t wearing maroon and white will be pulling for the Huskies in this one, myself included.

-St. Petersburg Bowl: Rutgers (8-4) vs. Central Florida (8-4)
Rutgers got blown out by Cincinnati to start the season and made their way up the ladder from there. Central Florida played Texas, and that’s about all I can tell you about them. This game is early on in the bowl season and Rutgers will look to freshman sensation quarterback Tom Savage to lead them to another bowl victory.

-International Bowl: South Florida (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (7-5)
USF was looking at a possible BCS berth in early October, as they sat at 5-0 on October 3rd. Then they lost to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Miami (FL) and UConn. Even though they beat West Virginia and a lowly Louisville team, it wasn’t enough for USF to get a good bowl. Instead the kids from Tampa get a road trip to lovely…Toronto? What should be an easy win could be a tough game for the Bulls who may be less than inspired to be in Toronto.

Rutgers new stadium expansion is nice and team was bad

When we pulled up to Rutgers’ stadium on Sunday afternoon for the team walk through, we saw a completely different look to the place that we visited in 2007. Rutgers has added about 12,500 seats in their endzone, which became a sea of red clad students yesterday.

Rutgers students packed their new endzone seats yesterday. They left disappointed

The whole stadium looked very nice, and very red. It seemed to me that most everything had been painted, and just as I noticed the fresh red paint, I turned to see a man painting the sideline camera box, where the team video is shot from.

It's tough to see here, but the very left side of the booth isn't painted yet

I don’t remember seeing “banner” scoreboards on either side of the stadium either, but they were there this year, and they added to the “big game” feel at Rutgers stadium.

The banner type scoreboards proclaim "Rutgers: The Birthplace of college football" before each game

Overall, I’d have to say the fans were loud and excited, providing a heck of an atmosphere for about a quarter and a half…and then UC pulled away. The game got boring as the Bearcats hung 47 points on the Scarlet Knights, the most UC has scored against any Big East opponent in Brian Kelly’s reign as head coach in the Queen City.

Even though I said it yesterday to many folks, including my counterparts at Rutgers—Steve and Alex—Brian Bennett, the ESPN.com Big East blogger (who, by the way, we met before the game) might have said it best when he wrote, “I’m not sure even the most optimistic Cincinnati fan could have predicted this kind of performance in the season opener.”

And he is right. Even the video guys couldn’t have predicted that kind of game. In fact, as we talked with Bennett before the game, I answered a text message from Elder High School head stats guy Greg Metz. He asked me simply, “Score prediction?”

I responded, “UC-at least one more point than Rutgers…You know I don’t predict scores that well.”

All in all, the road trip turned out well. No video glitches, the highlight video fired the team up and the flight was smooth. Nothing could be better. Well, winning a few more games in the fashion we did yesterday would be.
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Check back in later for more Rutgers photos and on Thursday for a recap of the 2007 game between UC and this week’s opponent Southeast Missouri State—aka SEMO. Thanks for reading and make sure you enjoy today.

“Next Man In” takes team video to new level

Last season UC head coach Brian Kelly was hailed from coast to coast as he played five different quarterbacks in game action on the Bearcats way to winning 11 games and their first Big East title. In 2007 though, his philosophy of “Next Man In”—a saying which adorns the side of the Big East title ring that each member of the 2008 team received—was put to the test when the team traveled to Rutgers in the first weekend of October.

Coming off a huge 48-28 win over San Diego State the Bearcats were ranked in the top 25 for the first time in many years. Kelly’s new style of offense and transfer quarterback Ben Mauk had the Bearcats sitting at 5-0 heading to Piscataway for the first Big East matchup for UC in the 2007 season.

The Bearcats will be in Piscataway on Monday afternoon to start their Big East title defense

What’s even more stunning is that Kelly had to start a true freshman in that game in a position that he had no prior training at. But the story wasn’t covered by any writers, the kid wasn’t heavily questioned by the media, and very few people even knew about how he got into his position. The reason…?

The true freshman was me. And, I wasn’t playing. I was just thrust into a spot I was very unfamiliar with, shooting the endzone copy of the UC/Rutgers game.

It’s a position that I have rightly held for the past season and a half since that date. How it came about is a story in and of itself, but here is the short version. Our fifth year senior endzone guy, Josh, had an appendectomy on Tuesday of game week.

Someone needed to do the endzone, but I had never done endzone in my life. When the news was broken to us by Director of Football Operations John Widecan, I offered to take over in the endzone, even though I had no idea how to do it. I watched the tape of previous games that Josh had done that season, learning exactly how to film from the endzone, and practiced by shooting endzone film at practice—a position I still hold today.

After the game video coordinator John Sells and I waited in line at the airport, copying files on our gameday laptops, with Coach Kelly waiting behind us. Widecan walked up and had to tell Kelly that I took over in the endzone for this game because of what happened to Josh.

His response, “Next man in,” as he chuckled and looked at special teams coach Mike Elston. Elston echoed, “Next man in.”

My dad often jokes that his son is a first team starter at a major college football program. When people ask him what he means he has to explain that all I do is stand behind a camera, but technically I’m still a starter.

We won the game that night 28-24 thanks to a big game from QB Ben Mauk and WR Dominick Goodman

As unimportant as some of my co-workers try to make our job seem, the job of gameday film is very important. It’s not just important for our coaches to watch and make improvements to the gameplan, but it’s also important for other teams who scout our team off of our film.

We won the game in Piscataway that night, improving to 6-0 on the season. It was a night that very few people know the backstory to; the true freshman taking over as a starter at a position he had very little practice at. But, it was the start of a mini-career for me, a mini-career that will continue this season, my second full season in the endzone.

The post game handshake between the two teams in 2007... from my endzone view

There’s no better spot to start than the place I first started—at Rutgers.
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Tomorrow you’ll get two posts, one featuring the NASCAR boys who travel to “Hot-lanta” this weekend for the penultimate race in the “regular season” in the Sprint Cup Series. Eight drivers battle for six spots in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.

You’ll also get a bonus post about Big East football and video technology, featuring someone mentioned above, who will be a minor celebrity come tomorrow morning.

Big East predictions: Why they can, why they can’t

With a few days remaining until the college football season kicks off it’s time for us to bat around all kinds of ideas to keep ourselves busy. My idea is to look at each Big East team today and give you a short list of reasons as to why they can win the Big East title and a few ideas as to why they can’t.

Let’s start with the Bearcats of Cincinnati, the team I know the most about, and the team who kicks off Big East play with Rutgers in just six days.

Cincinnati

Why they can: UC returns starting quarterback Tony Pike and wideout/returner Mardy Gilyard. Plus, two time defending Big East coach of the year Brian Kelly is still roaming the sidelines in the Queen City.

Why they can’t: The Bearcats are replacing ten starters on defense, and will employ a new defensive scheme.

The Bearcats were picked to finish third in the conference by the coaches. Most feel that replacing ten starters on defense will hurt the ‘Cats but those same people forget that Brian Kelly started his coaching career as a defensive coordinator in Division 2 where he won two national titles at Grand Valley State. If he can successfully defend the Big East title, it won’t surprise me.

Connecticut

Why they can: They’ll be an underdog in most Big East games, and that will provide some incentive for the 2007 Big East co-champions.

Why they can’t: Donald Brown is in the NFL now

The only team to defeat the 2008 Cincinnati Bearcats were voted sixth by the coaches a few weeks back and Randy Edsall was not happy about it. “We haven't gotten any respect since we've been in the league,” Edsall said. “I mean, really. And that's fine.” Whether they can prove that they deserved a higher ranking is still up in the air. They open Big East play with a trip to Pittsburgh in October.

Louisville

Why they can: They play seven games against Big East foes

Why they can’t: See above, and they have a bad offense, a bad defense, and they’re just bad all around.

Steve Kragthorpe is on the hot seat down in Louisville and a lot of folks expect that seat to melt under a bad Cardinal team. After the 2006 Orange Bowl victory the Cardinals have fallen off the face of the planet. This season should be no different. Kragthorpe is even worried about facing Indiana State this weekend—a team that has won one game in their past 53 tries. “I’ll kind of lay there in bed thinking, ‘Did we cover this enough? Did we cover that enough?’”

Pitt

Why they can: Picked to win it all by the coaches in lateJuly. TJ Porter is going to be good at wide receiver.

Why they can’t: Dave Wannstedt is the head coach, Bill Stull is the quarterback.

As much as WPTS radio personality, and former guest blogger Jake Meyer would like to admit it that Pitt is in the running I have a feeling that Pittsburgh will be held back by Stull’s limited arm and Wannstedt’s coaching. With that said, Wannstedt did allow offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh to go to the NFL, a move that can only help. Look for Frank Cignetti Jr. to try to revamp the Pitt offense. The final game of the year, a home matchup with the UC Bearcats could be another de-facto Big East title game.

Rutgers

Why they can: The Scarlet Knight offensive line is stout, and their stadium expansion will be in full effect against the top four finishers in the Big East last season—UC, Pitt, West Virginia and USF

Why they can’t: Schiano is 0-3 against Cincinnati in his past three tries, including a devastating loss in 2006 when Rutgers was ranked #7 nationally.

Head coach Greg Schiano is keeping his quarterback plans for the opener against Cincinnati under wraps. He names three players—senior Dominick Natale, senior Jabu Lovelace and true freshman Tom Savage—as his starting quarterback, all separated on the depth chart by the big word “OR”. Is this the year Rutgers finally beats the Bearcats and take an early lead in the Big East standings? We’ll know in six more days.

Syracuse

Why they can: Greg Paulus is playing quarterback

Why they can’t: Greg Paulus is playing quarterback

New head coach Doug Marrone has his work cut out for him in his first season back at his alma mater. With former Duke basketball player Greg Paulus making headlines as the starting quarterback, Marrone now must find 21 other guys to play for his team. He’s had quite a few people bail on the new program, and it will most likely take him a few years to get back to winning, but at least he knows he’s got a quarterback for this season.

USF

Why they can: Matt Grothe is back for year four at quarterback, and defensive end George Selvie will cause havoc

Why they can’t: They always seem to tank around mid-October, and I think they’ll lose to UC because Brian Kelly will out scheme his former defensive coordinator Joe Tresey

USF is a popular pick to win the Big East this season because they return Grothe and Selvie, but everyone seems to forget that it’s the same old song and dance year in and year out in Tampa. The Bulls start off hot, beat a few ranked opponents and then fall apart in mid-October. This season their mid-October matchup is a Thursday night duel on ESPN with the 2008 champs, the UC Bearcats.

West Virginia University

Why they can: Jarrett Brown has experience at quarterback and Noel Devine is back at running back

Why they can’t: Bill Stewart can’t manage games

West Virginia has a chance this year to prove that the Big East can play with the biggest boys in college football when they travel to Auburn and play host to Colorado. Last year West Virginia lost to Colorado in overtime when Bill Stewart mismanaged the game late and didn’t allow his senior quarterback Pat White—now with the Miami Dolphins—to lead his team to victory. White’s replacement Jarrett Brown looks to put the Mountaineers back in the national title hunt.

Hopefully you learned a little bit about each team in the Big East by reading my short thoughts on why they can and why they can’t win the conference. Tomorrow I’ll step away from the Big East and look into football the way it used to be played; the flexbone triple option attack that Navy will employ against Ohio State on Saturday in what I consider to be the most awaited game of the weekend. Until then, enjoy your Tuesday.

The Big East really isn’t that bad, right?

Coming off the heels of my comparison of the two worst BCS leagues—according to one expert’s rankings—today I re-visit the idea of how bad the Big East will be this year, according to more writers who have the name ‘expert’ tabbed on their business cards.

While I don’t claim to be a college football expert by any means, I know I’m much more informed and a much better arguer than Bill Kimm of NASCAR.com who made an absolutely ridiculous statement earlier this week. (Read his clip here: http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/features/08/04/head.2.head.jjohnson.free.pass/index.html) If I was in a NASCAR writing mood I’d consider ripping what little credibility Mr. Kimm’s argument has. If you’re a NASCAR fan then maybe you can already see what’s wrong with his arguments.

But, back to the more pressing issues of the day, college football, and more importantly, the Big East conference. I’ve been keeping tabs on the Yahoo! Sports/Rivals.com rankings throughout the summer. For the countdown check out this link: http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=954694

The UC Bearcats came in at #33 overall, not bad considering the fact that we have to replace 10 starters on defense. The only two other Big East teams that came in ahead of us were South Florida at #25 and West Virginia at #19.

This sparked an open discussion between Rivals.com writers Olin Buchanan, Tom Dienhart, David Fox, Mike Huguenin and Steve Megargee about the Big East. Would any Big East team finish in the top twenty at season’s end?

Well, history says, “At least one team currently in the Big East has finished in the top 20 every season since 2004,” Buchanan writes. “After all,” he continues, “Cincinnati's 11-3 showing last season was something of a surprise. I wouldn't bet on a Big East team to contend for the national title, but getting one team in the top 20 doesn't seem too unlikely.” Well, that’s a plus, right?

Not so much. Let the Big East bashing commence. He finished with, “If it doesn't happen, that would add fuel to the Mountain West Conference's argument to be included as an automatic qualifier for a BCS bowl.”

Put the nails in the coffin, the Big East is dead.

David Fox offered this; “The Big East's worst nightmare is a possibility, but I doubt that will happen. There’s not a top-15 team in this conference, but there are five candidates who could fit in the 15-25 range.” Well, I guess that’s an okay scenario. No top fifteen teams but we could potentially put two or three within the last ten spots of the poll. That’d save some face for the Big East. As long as Buchanan doesn’t get to continue his Mountain West promoting.

But Olin Buchanan isn’t the only one touting the Mountain West. “I think each Big East team will have at least three losses, and I don't think, given the relative strength of the other leagues, that a Big East team is going to finish in the regular-season top 20,” wrote Mike Hueguenin. “I think things could get mighty interesting in December, when a nine-win Big East team is guaranteed a BCS slot and an 11-win Mountain West team could be on the outside looking in.”

Last year the Big East champs had 11 wins, but let's not mention that. The Mountain West is, after all, a much better conference for football

I know Utah won the Sugar Bowl last year, but seriously men, do we need to say the Big East is worse than Mountain West? I guess they get paid to express their opinions. Maybe I need to be on payroll somewhere so people will respect me as an “expert.”

Steve Megargee wrote, “The Big East doesn't figure to have any elite teams this season. It wouldn't surprise me if the league champion had four losses…I'll be surprised if any Big East team lands in the top 10, but I would guess somebody from that conference finishes somewhere in the high teens.” Another luke warm reception for the Big East.

What will it take for the Big East to gain national respect? Well, as I stated on Tuesday all it would have taken was West Virginia to beat Pittsburgh in 2007 and head to the national title game (where, in my opinion, they would have throttled the Ohio State Buckeyes) to gain some respect for the Big East.

Take it or leave it folks, how you see the Big East is up to you, but if you are a fan of Big East football then I’m just telling you something you already know. It’s going to take years for a Big East team to make it to a national title game because of the perception that the Big East is a weak league.

Even if Rutgers, UC, West Virginia or even USF were to run the table this year and go undefeated, they’d probably be left out of the national title game where two teams with one loss will duke it out. And then, well, then maybe the guys at Rivals will write about how the Big East got screwed.

And we can all point to this article and say, “Wow, he was right.” (Probability of that happening is very low, but hey, let me have my dreams.)