Big East Football Week 2 Preview: Entrees, Appetizers, and Gators

While the preseason powers in the Big East try to recover from their "humble pie" eating contest last weekend, we present this week's entrees, appetizers, and a lot of cupcakes.

Friday, September 10

West Virginia (1-0) at Marshall (0-1)

Doc Holliday survived the gunfight at the OK Corral. Marshall's head coach, Doc Holliday, the former ace recruiter for West Virginia, will be victimized by his former recruits on national television. After getting thrashed 45-7 by Ohio State last week, Marshall will find out how much it has left in the tank.

Real simple here. The Mountaineers win their second game of the season; Marshall goes 0-2. Just a solid appetizer for Noel Devine and the gang.

Big Edge: West Virginia

Game on ESPN, 7 p.m.

Saturday, September 11

South Florida (1-0) at Florida (1-0)

This is the day USF fans have waited for. They get to measure their team against the state's "gold standard," or should we say Orange and Blue standard. The Swamp, aka Florida Field, is one of the toughest venues in college football.

Florida's horrific performance in the opener has boosted the hopes of USF and its fans. In fact, the game film was so ugly it could make the Bulls overconfident, if that's possible. When Skip Holtz was introduced to the student body early this year, someone hollered in the crowd, "Beat Florida!" Skip immediately retorted, "That's why I'm here."

USF has a chance, but not a great one. Florida will not repeat the mistakes of the Miami of Ohio game. Huge entree for USF—too much to eat.

Edge: Florida

Game on SEC Network, 12:20 p.m.

New Hampshire (1-0) at Pittsburgh (0-1)

Pittsburgh fans will watch this game and declare, where was New Hampshire last week when we needed them? New Hampshire was winning over Central Connecticut, 33-3, while Pitt was embarrassing itself against Utah. Look for the Panthers to rebound big time on Saturday. A real cupcake for Pitt.

Big Edge: Pittsburgh

Game on ESPN3.com, noon

Texas Southern (0-1) at Connecticut (0-1)

Randy Edsall has a way of getting his teams to bounce back well after a loss. Here's the cupcake the Huskies needed to start their year, rather than that 100-pound challenge at Michigan. Southern dropped its opener to Prairie View A&M, 16-14. The view will be bad again for Southern.

Big Edge:  UConn

Game on Big East Network (local)

Syracuse (1-0) at Washington (0-1)

The Orange gets a look at Jake Locker. He led the Huskies to a 42-12 win in the Carrier Dome in 2007. "That seems like a long time ago," Locker said this week. Washington lost its opener to BYU, and if Locker has any Heisman hopes left, he'll need to have a big game. Syracuse will find out a lot more about itself this week.

Edge: Washington

Game on Fox Sports at 7 p.m.

Indiana State (1-0) at Cincinnati (0-1)

The Bearcats need to rebound after last week's demise. Indiana State whipped up on the St. John's Pumas to the tune of 57-7 but will find that a Bearcat is definitely tougher than a Puma. This one could get ugly. The Sycamores are a cupcake for Cincinnati, and Butch Jones gets his first win.

Big Edge: Cincinnati

Game on Fox (Ohio), noon.

Rutgers (1-0) at Florida International (0-0)

Florida International can be tough at home. The heat could be a factor in south Florida. But the Scarlet Knights have too much defense in this one, even if they have to sweat a lot.

Edge: Rutgers

Game on Big East (local) 8 p.m.

Eastern Kentucky (0-1) at Louisville (0-1):

Charlie Strong's guys will play strong in this game. This will be his first win. Eastern fell to Missouri State 31-9 last week and will go down at Papa John's.

Edge: Louisville

Game on Big East (local) 3:30 p.m.

There you have it—a chance for last week's losers to rebound. Wipe the humble pie off your faces and get down to business. Professor Tom will see you on Monday with the grades.