Is the Big East for real or not?
Is it even an either/or proposition, or somewhere in between?
The Big East has been riding high ever since West Virginia upset Georgia in the Sugar Bowl following the 2005 season. The conference was 5-0 in bowl games last season, and finished with three teams ranked in the top 12.
Coming into the 2007 season, three Big East teams were ranked in the AP's preseason top 16.
Again, though—is this for real? Does the emergence of new teams within the league signal a fall of the conference heavies...or an internal restructuring that will play out at the national level.
Let's take a look at this weekend's upcoming games and see where the Big East really stands...in Week Three and beyond.
* We'll begin with a gimme: Norfolk State at Rutgers.
Rutgers won't lose this one—everyone is on the lookout for FCS/I-AA teams by this point. With Ray Rice, a solid defense, and Coach Greg Schiano in the fold, Rutgers is probably the team to beat in the Big East.
* Cincinnati at Miami (OH) doesn't seem to be a huge advantage for Cincy, but they're looking plenty good enough to handle one of the better MAC teams.
13 takeaways in two games, seven courtesy of Oregon State, makes the Bearcats a formidable up-and-comer. They're poised to pull one of their conference mates down and move up to take their place.
* Temple at Connecticut should result in a Huskies win—but with UConn's stadium turf disintegrating, anything's possible.
Nonconference cupcakes and a good early record don't make UConn a real threat to the conference's elite programs.
* Illinois at Syracuse should result in a Big Ten win, if the Orange's first two games are any indication.
It looks as if even a repeat of last year's 4-8 season is out of the question for a hapless Syracuse squad, but it's a long season. We'll see.
* Toss-Up Game No. 1: Pittsburgh at Michigan State.
This probably isn't much of a toss-up—the Spartans have looked pretty darn good, and the Panthers are riddled with injuries. Pitt is a still middling team, as ex-Cincy coach Mark Dantonio will show on Saturday.
* Toss-up Game No. 2: Louisville v. Kentucky
Look for a real shakeup here. The #9 Cardinals will get exposed by the Wildcats (as they were partially exposed by Middle Tennessee State last week), opening the way for other contenders. With a new coach, a very suspect defense, and the impending loss of numerous key seniors, Louisville is definitely going to be trending downward.
* The Upset: #4 West Virginia at Maryland on Thursday night.
With a ball-control offense, the Terps can keep the Mountaineers' stars on the sidelines. The WVU pass defense is a weakness. I'd still consider West Virginia to be a major player in the conference, but a loss to Maryland opens the way for Rutgers, South Florida, and Cincinnati to move up.
* Bringing us to South Florida, which is idle this week. The Bulls' win over Auburn last Saturday (on the heels of big wins against Louisville and West Virginia teams the past two seasons) proves that USF is a program on the rise.
Rutgers wins the Big East this season, but South Florida gets the title in 2008.
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about 1 year ago
The Big East brought in the right teams for them to be where they are right now. Louisville was on the rise in C-USA, and the Cards have simply exploded in the Big East. South Florida was able to get a few recruits that didn't want to go to FSU and Miami when they became a Big East team. Cincinati's rise is a bit fluky. I have no clue when they became such a stingy team, but those three additions have done wonders for the conference.
about 1 year ago
I've been writing the Big-East up for two years now. The Big-3, former CFA teams of course, Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech left, and I found it ironic that the talk turned from Bashing the PAC, to Sliming the Beast's in the East.
The Big East is already a rising power, but what if they expanded to include Army and Navy, as well as, E. Carolina and Appalachian State? With S. Florida's whipping of Auburn and Cincinnati's demolition of Oregon State - the strength of the conference is without question. The recruiting advantages of being in a BCS conference are enormous, which is why Cincinnati is a major player now, about where Louisville was about 5 years ago. The Conference could be unbelievably strong if they expanded to 12 with the four teams I mentioned above.
about 1 year ago
I agree about the recruiting bases. Some of the best high school football players that live nearby, but don't get into top notch college football programs like Tennessee, Miami-FL, or Penn St., have the choice of going to other winning (and NFL draft pick producing) schools nearby.
In a 200 mile radius...
- Louisville is nearby Knoxville, TN and Lexington, KY
- Cincinnati is nearby West Lafayette, IN and Columbus, OH
- WVU is nearby Charlottesville, VA
- Rutgers is by Happy Valley, PN and College Park, MD
and South Florida is nearby Miami, FL
The same goes for assistant coaches who want to become head coaches. Mark Dantonio went from being the DC at Ohio State before coaching at Cincinnati.
The problem is when you have too many winning programs around one school, then there isn't that one school that gets to reap most of the local talent that the big school doesn't get. That's my theory as to why none of the mid-major schools in Michigan and Indiana have moved up to BCS status. Cincinnati and TCU are the two exceptions to this theory (even though TCU is still a mid-major, there record in their last 9 games against big 12 teams is better than Baylor).
The Big East is the real deal, thanks to good recruting, and the hiring of coaches who know the regions that they are recruiting in.
about 1 year ago
Let me rephrase that part, it's thanks to the hiring of good coaches who know about the nearby high schools.
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