Big East Football: Can the Conference Recover from the First Two Weeks?

The thud everyone heard over the Labor Day weekend was the brick the Big East Conference laid in their opening weekend of football.

Labor Day weekend is the final summer holiday of the year, a time for family and friends to congregate and enjoy barbecue and fun.

For the Big East Conference it was certainly labor, fun was not part of the equation. If the opening weekend is any indication, 2010 will become a long and arduous season for some members of the conference.

Cincinnati, the Big East Conference champion the last two seasons, was completely mauled by Fresno State. Outside of the first quarter of their game, there are very few positives that the Bearcats can derive.

What was considered a strength for Butch Jones’ team, the offensive line, was simply offensive in the second half of the Fresno State game, allowing three sacks on one series during the half.

Run blocking by the unit was even worse; the Bearcats averaged 0.5 yards per rushing attempt against Fresno State.

The University of Connecticut Huskies were picked to contend for the Big East title in 2010. Apparently, UConn is simply a pretender based on their performance in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on opening Saturday.

The Husky defense allowed Denard Robinson to cast his lot into the debate for the Heisman Trophy with their performance in this game. Robinson produced 383 yards of offense for the Wolverines.

Robinson completed 19 of 22 pass attempts for 186 yards, and rushed 29 times for 197 yards. Robinson’s total yards were 40 yards more than the entire Husky offense.

Pitt, and head coach Dave Wannstedt, were picked in the preseason to win the Big East Conference for 2010. Pitt even began the season in the top-20 of most preseason college football polls.

Pitt’s vaunted running game from a year ago was nowhere to be found against Utah. Dion Lewis, the favorite entering the season to win the rushing title in the Big East, could only muster 75 yards in this game.

Wannstedt must rely on quarterback Tino Sunseri to lead the Panthers in Lewis’ absence. Sunseri was not up to the challenge against Utah. It was a Sunseri interception in overtime that cost Pitt the win.

Utah not only beat Pitt in overtime, the loss knocked them out of all the polls as well.

Charlie Strong’s debut at Louisville against rival Kentucky showed how much work is still needed. Strong will need to be just that, in his rebuilding endeavor.

Doug Marrone and his Syracuse charges ruined Akron University’s opening weekend by dominating them on their home turf. Ironically, Syracuse was the only Big East team to post a win against a member of the FBS on opening Saturday.

To those that felt opening weekend was bad, and things could not get any worse, there was the second weekend of Big East football.

The University of South Florida Bulls entered week two with a matchup against the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Florida.

The Bulls marched 96 yards on 17 plays on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead, an impressive drive to open the game against the Gators.

As with the Bulls fellow Big East football members, South Florida turned the ball and the game over to Florida, eventually losing 38-14.

Syracuse traveled to Washington to play the Huskies at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington.

Unfortunately, Syracuse could not come away with a win in week two. Washington jumped on the Orange to the tune of 41-20.

West Virginia University traveled to Huntington to play the Marshall Thundering Herd on Friday night.

With the Marshall faithful screaming, “We are Marshall,” it appeared that the Mountaineers would finally fall to their neighbors to the south.

WVU needed two scoring drives, and a two-point conversion, in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. The Mountaineers eventually won the game in the overtime period.

With the first two weeks of the 2010 college football season in the books the Big East conference football members hold a 3-6 record against fellow FBS member schools.

Of course, those three wins were over Florida International, Akron and Marshall that, combined, show a 0-5 record in 2010. One of the losses by Akron was to a team from the FCS.

Currently, Rutgers University and WVU are tied for first place in the conference with identical 2-0 records. Two of the four wins posted by the two schools are over members of the FCS.

An ominous start, to say the least, for the Big East football conference in 2010. The only positive that can be derived, it is still early in the season.

To add insult to injury, both Pitt and WVU had players arrested for DUI over the weekend.

Panther running back Jason Douglas fumbled a kick-off in Pitt’s opening loss to Utah. Early Sunday morning he may have fumbled away his career for the Panthers. Douglas was charged in a hit-and-run DUI accident.

The pedestrian that Douglas hit was taken to the hospital and treated for head injuries.

Douglas has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities.

Douglas apparently thought everything would be just fine when he told the police, "Hey, I play for Pitt football...Please don't arrest me." Reported by Brian Bennett, ESPN.

Mountaineer starting corner Brandon Hogan was arrested early Sunday morning for DUI. Hogan was driving the wrong way on a one-way street in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Head coach Bill Stewart had this to say about the Hogan arrest, "I have been made aware of the situation and am gathering facts at this time. I will take appropriate action when all the facts are in." Reported by Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail.

With Big East football members struggling to win decisive games, and players struggling to stay off police reports, 2010 could turn into a very long season for the Big East.

Many looked to the 2010 season for the Big East to generate respect for the conference. There is still time for the football conference members to achieve that goal. Many of the marquee games slated for the season are still to be played.

With the first two weeks of the season in the books, the dynamics of the situation have changed considerably. Continued paltry play will erode the foundation the Big East conference is trying to build.

The only certainty is that Big East football members must win their out of conference games. Big East fans need wait no longer than the weekend of September 25.

Pitt starts the weekend playing a Thursday night contest, September 23, against Miami(Fla.). Yet, it is the Saturday games that will tell the complete tale of the Big East’s overall strength. Cincinnati plays Oklahoma, WVU plays LSU, and Rutgers plays North Carolina.

By Sunday, September 26, the Big East will have the majority of the answers it needs.

On Tuesday, September 14, those answers do not look promising. Of course, that is what makes comebacks so great, improbability. Fans of Big East football should get their lucky hats, t-shirts, rabbit’s foot, or anything else that can help their team to victory, they’re going to need it.