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.

Joe Tresey hired to coach in UFL

My favorite Bearcat assistant coach of all time, Joe Tresey, the former UC defensive coordinator and USF defensive coordinator, was hired to coach defensive backs for the United Football League’s expansion team in Omaha, Neb., by new head coach Jeff Jagodzinski.

“I’m very excited to be coaching,” Tresey said. “It was a long haul, but it’s good to be coaching again. It’s a new venture, but I’m with a lot of guys with a tremendous amount of experience, both at the pro and college level.”

Tresey came to Cincinnati with now Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly from Central Michigan in 2006. He led the Bearcat defense to one Big East title, then left for South Florida, where he was not retained following the firing of Bulls head man Jim Leavitt.

Tresey will not be the coordinator in Omaha, but he will just stick to coaching defensive backs, something he assisted Kerry Coombs with in Cincinnati. One Cincinnati area player is on the Omaha roster, defensive back DeJuan Tribble, who hails from North College Hill High School, and who played for Boston College before making it into the UFL last year.

The only question I have is…does Omaha need a video guy? Because Coach Tresey would love to have me, I guarantee it. I’d be there in a heartbeat. Congrats to Coach Tresey on landing a job, and here’s to hoping he’s as successful in the UFL as he was in the Big East (at least while he was in Cincinnati).

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.

Kelly keeps rolling with “Next QB In”

In my second trip to Tampa Bay, Florida in three years I expected the expected from UC and USF. I should have known to expect the unexpected when it comes to UC football and quarterback injuries. By now I’m sure you’ve heard about the masterful job of Stuebenville’s Zach Collaros, who came into last week’s 34-17 win over South Florida for the Bearcats and led Brian Kelly’s team in the second half.

With a brand new computer program (Windows Live Photo Gallery) I was able to make a bunch of pictures into one. The next one will come from Syracuse, NY in a little over a week.

His signature move was a 75-yard touchdown scamper on a 3rd and 11 quarterback draw. With a playcall that made Doug Ramsey envious, Collaros followed a block from senior running back Jacob Ramsey and didn’t stop running. The ‘Cats took the lead 24-10, and didn’t look back after that.

Bottom line is UC wins, and takes a commanding step toward heading to another BCS Bowl game

Then the BCS rankings came out on Sunday and the UC Bearcats found themselves in 5th. National Title talks have been tossed around, people are in a “Bearcat craze,” and local radio station 700 WLW is running very inflammatory anti-Ohio State ads that would make even the slightest Buckeye fan cringe.

But back to seven nights ago. It was nothing new from Tampa Bay; the warmth of a summer day in the midst of a mid-October night, and of course, the Pirate Ship in the endzone.

The "Pirate Ship" at Raymond James Stadium, as viewed from the field

It was nice to see a near full-house at Raymond James Stadium. A crowd of 63,976 enjoyed watching Collaros go toe to toe with the kid he emulated the week before for the UC scout team, USF’s B.J. Daniels—who was as easy to tackle as a proverbial greased pig for the UC defensive line. It’s shaping up to be one heck of a rivalry in the near future.

But of course it was all about the here and now seven nights ago and Kelly’s out witting of USF defensive coordinator Joe Tresey—the same man who patrolled the UC sidelines for the past two seasons—was one whale of a battle. I almost would have paid to see it, but with my job, it was more along the lines of getting paid to see it. Bonus time…

Tresey (in the middle, in a white shirt) was dejected after the game according to reports, and he did not have a chance to talk to his favorite UC student video staffer

The final line read UC-34, USF-17, and Brian Kelly’s Bearcats moved to 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in the Big East. At the halfway point of the season the Bearcats are the national story of the year in the Big East, the state of Ohio and possibly the Midwest.

Can we keep it up in the next seven weeks? I’ll be back in tomorrow to tell you about my first home game as the endzone video guy in 2007. A game that has almost a scary comparison to this weekend’s game. We’ll see if you agree…

USF finds out about Kelly's tricks of the trade in 2007

What could have been a potential top ten matchup between the schools turned into a mid-afternoon struggle between two teams looking to back on track in Big East play. What could have been a primetime game on ABC, what could have been a game where ESPN’s College Gameday broadcasted their show from the “Pirate Ship” in Raymond James Stadium, turned into a shootout between new Big East foes.
But enough about what could have been.

In 2007 Brian Kelly’s UC Bearcats started off 6-0. The ‘Cats rose to national prominence and a #15 ranking, unheard of in recent memory for UC fans. In mid October they dropped two games in a row, to rivals Louisville and Pittsburgh before a bye week. After the bye the ‘Cats traveled to Tampa, Florida and tried to right their ship.
USF had a dream season in 2007 as well. They rose to #2 in the country before dropping games to Rutgers and Connecticut. They came into the game against the Bearcats ranked #18 and favored at home.

The parallels between that matchup and this one are very few and far between, but the Bearcats are coming off of a bye week heading to Tampa and the Bulls are ranked #21—close to 18th—in the polls.
But that game in 2007 was one of the wildest games I have ever witnessed. A game that saw Brian Kelly throw out every play in the playbook, including a fake punt and fake field goal, in order to pull off a stunning 38-33 victory.

The first quarter took over one hour to complete. USF struck first on a 73 yard “pick six” five minutes into the game. Two-and-a-half minutes later Ben Mauk hit Antwuan Giddens for 63 yards and a touchdown. The ensuing kickoff was returned 100 yards by the Bulls’s Mike Jenkins and that quickly the game became a track meet. It was 14-7 with 10:30 showing on the clock.

We needed a TV timeout or two just to catch our breaths after watching the first five minutes, but the fireworks were not over yet. The Bearcats scored 24 straight first quarter points, including a blocked punt which was recovered in the endzone by Giddens and a “pick six” of our own by Mike Mickens.
After one it was 31-14 and the ‘Cats seemed like they were clicking on all cylinders even coming off of a bye week. But after two field goals by USF and one UC touchdown in the second quarter it was 38-20 at halftime.

The first half was as crazy as it sounds. Kelly, who doubles as UC’s playcaller on gamedays, threw everything his mind could imagine at USF. On one fourth down in my end of the stadium he let Kevin Huber—now with the Cincinnati Bengals—fake a punt. The play was supposed to be a short pass from Huber to blocking back Doug Jones. Jones tripped on the play and Huber sprinted, well ok, he ran, for a first down instead.

Kelly also called a “flea flicker” pass where Ben Mauk handed the ball to Jacob Ramsey who was going to run forward into the line and toss the ball back to Mauk, who would then heave it down the field for a receiver. Ramsey fumbled the ball and the Bulls took over.

One other play featured Mauk swinging the ball out to wideout Marcus Barnett who then launched the ball down field to Mardy Gilyard. Gilyard got tripped from behind just short of the goal line.

On fourth and 13, with less than half a minute left on the clock, UC up 38-33, and at the USF 28, Kelly took a timeout. He wanted to kick a field goal, or did he? If you were watching on TV you may have seen ESPN do a close up shot of Kelly who uttered the phrase, “Let’s fake it.”

And they did.

Huber was the holder and he got the snap from long snapper Mike Windt. Instead of placing the ball on the ground he flipped it over his head to Rogers who swung behind him. Rogers was ready to throw the ball deep to Craig Carey—who was still a quarterback at the time—but was hit for a loss on the play and South Florida took over from there.

After two futile shots at the endzone with only seconds remaining, the UC players flooded the field, escaping Tampa with a 38-33 victory. It was easily the most exciting game in the Kelly era to that point. “We said it was going to be exciting,” he said. “We certainly are not cookie cutter when it comes to the way we play the game of football.”
And if that game was any indication, we’re in for a treat when the two teams meet tomorrow evening on ESPN at 7:30. I have a feeling that we won’t be seeing any more fake field goals with thirty seconds left on the clock.

USF Defensive Coordinator is truly Tresey

Back in March I looked back at some of the finer, funnier moments of the past two seasons of interacting with former UC Defensive Coordinator Joe Tresey. (Read it here: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2009/03/former-cincinnati-defensive-coordinator.html)
This week Tresey will square off with his former team in what many consider to be the Big East’s biggest game since the Labor Day pounding that UC laid on Rutgers a little over one month ago.

Brett McMurphy of TBO.com wrote a preseason feature story on Tresey and described him as, “a colorful character that prefers to use some, uh, colorful nouns, adjectives and even adverbs.” Definitely not friendly for a family setting such as this. (http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/usfs-colorful-new-dc-tresey-im-a-little-bit-type-a)

But everything else in that article is true. He was intense, he was an excited person, and he got the job done as defensive play caller here at UC in two years. Now comes the hard part for Brian Kelly and his staff; beating their former DC, who led a defensive backfield that was second to none in the Big East, with a Heisman hopeful at quarterback.

Last week Tresey answered questions to Tampa reporters in a press conference. But, he “politely declined” an interview request from Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Here’s what he told the local media last week.

Tresey was asked about his firing from Cincinnati. He said, “I’m really focused on South Florida, our defense and our football team, not what occurred at Cincinnati.” Tresey was fired in early February from UC where head coach Brian Kelly wanted to switch to the 3-4 defense. Tresey was rumored to have interviewed for the Defensive Coordinator spot at Miami (Florida) which I’m sure didn’t help his position at UC.

Most fans and “experts” on college football will find it strange to see Tresey on the field before the game, sporting a green and white shirt with the USF logo on it when two seasons ago he stood on the opposite sidelines at Raymond James Stadium—a game that UC won 38-33. Tresey said it might seem strange, but after the game gets started it will be back to business as usual.

Tresey, now wearing his USF green, will be in a familiar setting on Thursday night—coaching against the team that he coached for the past two years (Photo from The Tampa Tribune)

“Once the first snap happens, you're just coaching against the team you're playing,” he said. “And no matter who it is, you want to win.” Kelly feels no bad blood between himself and Tresey. In fact, he complimented Tresey last week. “Joe does a great job and he'll have his defense ready to go,” Kelly said. “It’s not about Joe Tresey and Brian Kelly. It's about our players and how they play.”

Don’t tell the media that. I guarantee it will be the major storyline on ESPN’s gamecast too. They’re always up for a good story.

According to reports, the whole USF coaching staff met with Tresey last weekend to discuss the UC team, player by player. USF Head Coach Jim Leavitt felt that even though it was good to hear Tresey’s side that Kelly’s knowledge of Tresey would make the meeting, “a wash. Our advantage is their advantage also.”

Advantage no one? That means this has all the makings of another classic game between two Big East foes.
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For more on the Joe Tresey vs Cincinnati story where I found some of these comments, visit http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct/11/110034/cb-usfs-tresey-used-to-be-one-of-them/
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Tomorrow I’ll be looking back at the 2007 UC/USF game, complete with photos of Raymond James stadium and maybe a little more on the Joe Tresey story. After all, as Tresey told me one November morning, “You know, I’m the only defensive coordinator in America that will do that for you Niedameyer. You remember that.”

I have.

USF TV advertisement asks fans to “Protect this house”

USF, an Under Armour sponsored school, has rolled out UA’s “Protect this house” theme in a new commercial, attempting to drum up fan support for this Thursday night’s game against the #8 Cincinnati Bearcats.

The USF program is ranked #23 in the nation and has averaged 39,579 in their two home games this season—against Wofford and Charleston Southern. They want to have at least 60,000 fans in the 65,800 Raymond James Stadium on October 15th. Funny thing is, as big as this game is going to be, it’s not the biggest game played at “The Ray Jay” this year.

Remember the Super Bowl? Well, Raymond James Stadium was packed that night with over 70,774 fans. While I’d hope for an atmosphere like that one, I’ll take 60,000 fans. It makes games that much more interesting. (If you’re in Tampa next week you should check out their ticket deals. I’ve heard they’ve got $10 tickets available—you won’t be disappointed by the football value)

Anyway, in order to get 20,000 more fans to show up to Raymond James, USF launched this TV ad to fire up their fanbase for such a big game. Check out the video here: (http://www.gousfbulls.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=204809695)

Today is “Monday” of the game week. Hope you are getting prepared for the big Thursday night game. I know I’m getting ready for some football.

UC and USF: Random Musings

Greg Auman of Tampabay.com blogged yesterday that Joe Tresey, (former UC defensive coordinator and current USF defensive coordinator) “was fine talking about [being UC’s defensive coordinator] for about eight minutes Tuesday with local media.” Auman added, “We'll have more on that story next week.”

So, until Auman provides us with Coach Tresey’s insights, or Coach Tresey feels like opening up to Bill Koch (I still didn’t send in a request to interview him…Maybe I should stop joking about it and get it done) I’ve got nothing more than old Joe Tresey stories to share with you. Maybe I’ll work on that for the weekend or for Monday. Either way, hold off on your Joe Tresey enthusiasm until then.

In other UC news, it has been well publicized (across the city of Cincinnati at least) that today UC Head Coach Brian Kelly will be in Bristol, Connecticut at the ESPN Headquarters. They will put him through the, “Car wash,” as GoBearcats.com media personality Tom Gehlerter (or as we call him, Tommy G) said earlier this week.
He will be on some variety of ESPN media all day, so check it out and enjoy Kelly’s wisdom. He should provide a good one liner, or two or three. He’s really good with the media, and he shouldn’t disappoint today.

Pat Forde of ESPN.com weighs in on why Tim Tebow shouldn’t play this weekend on ESPN.com. In the article he mentions that even if Florida wins this weekend they can still make the national title game. And, “Some supposition on a one-loss Florida's potential competition for the two most coveted spots in college football:… [Florida] probably also would win a beauty contest with the champion of the Big East -- even an undefeated champion.”

Well, glad to see the Big East is getting some recognition at least. Heck, last year he wouldn’t have even bothered mentioning the Big East. We’re making strides (the author rolls his eyes).

But, Forde was not the only columnist this week conjuring up the possibility of an undefeated Big East champion getting jobbed out of a trip to Pasadena. Cincinnati Enquirer sports writer (and some would contend legend) Paul Daugherty wrote on Wednesday that, “UC could get Utah-ed. “It wouldn’t surprise me,” said Kelly. “I know the landscape of college football. When it gets down to a national championship game, people want to see the elite programs.”
Well, at least we’d then get to go to the Sugar Bowl like Utah did.

I’d take a trip to New Orleans over Birmingham any day.

More on a USF commercial that is begging for fans to show up next Thursday to Raymond James Stadium, and my look back at what happened when the Bearcats traveled to Tampa in 2007 throughout the weekend. Check back then, have a good day.

UC/USF game week begins today

The heat is on. In one week the UC Bearcats and South Florida Bulls will battle for Big East supremacy in Tampa in front of thousands of live viewers, and millions at home on ESPN’s Thursday Night Football broadcast.

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com says it’s possibly the Big East game of the year. And you’d be hard pressed to argue against that fact at this point. The only two Big East teams that are ranked are USF and UC. The two biggest non-conference victories from the Big East this season fall to USF’s defeat of Florida State two weeks back and UC’s downing of Oregon State three weeks ago.

And, although much of the talk this week has centered around who is the better team in Ohio, (Coach Kelly stated, “People ask me about Ohio State and us now. We may have a better team at the moment, but it’s going to take us three games at Nippert to draw what (OSU) gets for their spring game.”) the upcoming game in Florida is much more important to the big picture.

To start the season UC drubbed Rutgers in New Jersey. UC took the conference lead with a 1-0 record. In order to get back to a BCS bowl game, the ‘Cats must beat USF, or hope for another year like last year where everyone beats up on everyone else in conference. And if you ask me, that’s unlikely to happen this season.

In fact, Lee Corso says UC will lose sooner or later. He gave his trademark, “Not so fast my friend,” to every fan of the red and black, but added that no one else will go undefeated either. “Maybe the only team that will do it is Boise and they don’t play anybody,” he said.

So, it’s another week of ‘business as usual’ at the two schools. And I’m hoping that next Thursday night the Bearcats keep rolling like Bachman-Turner Overdrive and “Take Care of Business”.
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Tomorrow I’m going to try tell you about the most interesting storyline of the week, one that will be covered through and through as the UC/USF matchup nears. USF defensive coordinator Joe Tresey—former Bearcat defensive coordinator—is “politely declining” interviews with Bill Koch from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Maybe he'll "gladly submit" to an interview with his favorite video guy from UC. Not a bad idea to give it a shot, right? More on that tomorrow.

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.)