Big East Week 8 Preview: Entrees, Appetizers, Bulls and Bearcats

 Finally, an all Big East weekend with nothing but conference matchups. It's what we've been waiting for. More questions answered and nothing better to start us off than a Friday night showdown in Cincinnati -- Bearcats vs. Bulls, as in "we cannot score a touchdown" USF. Just to get you in the mood, we've served up a heaping plate of that Cincinnati staple -- Skyline Chili -- with just a little bit of cheese on top. So dig in and digest these match ups:

Friday:

South Florida (3-3, 0-2) at Cincinnati (3-3, 1-0):

Nice game to get the weekend started.  USF brings a pretty stout defense, but will face some great weapons from Cincinnati. Starting with quarterback Zach Collaros, then adding the legs of Isaiah Pead and John Goebel, plus the hands of Armon Binns and D.J. Woods, and you can see that the Bearcats may be a handful for the USF defense.

USF also has another major problem: The Bulls offense hasn't scored a touchdown in two Big East games.  Will this be the night? Skip Holtz is very frustrated with quarterback B.J. Daniels, who has regressed in his decision making progress. The difference between Collaros and Daniels is about the width of the Grand Canyon.

The USF defense will need an outstanding effort to keep the game close.

Edge:  Bearcats

Game on ESPN2, 8 p.m.

Saturday:

Syracuse (4-2, 1-1) at West Virginia (5-1, 1-0):

You'd think after getting blown out by Pittsburgh, the Orange would be nothing but an appetizer for West Virginia. The Mountaineers struggled a bit with the South Florida defense last Thursday night, and if Syracuse can summon a great effort, perhaps this can end up a closer game than most would anticipate. That being said, it also has all the makings of a three-touchdown win for West Virginia. Noel Devine has to come out of hiding sooner or later, doesn't he?

Big Edge:  West Virginia

Game on ESPN2, 12 noon.

Connecticut (3-3, 0-1) at Louisville (3-3, 0-1):

Shocking news out of UConn this week with the suspension of starting quarterback Cody Endres for the remainder of the season. Will Randy Edsall go back to Zach Frazer?  Could it be freshman Michael Box? The Huskies will need a huge day from Jordan Toddman, regardless.

Louisville's Bilal Powell is showing that he's a special player and will have plenty of opportunities to wow the crowd at Papa Johns. This new and improved Cardinal squad could surprise UConn.

Edge:   Louisville

Game on ESPNU, 12 noon.

Rutgers (4-2, 1-0) at Pittsburgh (3-3, 1-0):

Pittsburgh needs another big game on Saturday. Tough to gauge the mood at Rutgers. Everyone's heart and mind is with Eric LeGrand, even outside the school. There's been a rush of prayers and concern for his future. No real updates, but they will soon know how much damage there is to the spinal cord. Hard to get a handle on this one. Pitt has superior talent, but the Scarlet Knights will summon up something from within and raise their play to a different level as their fallen teammate would wish.

Edge:  Pittsburgh

Game on ESPN3, 12 noon.

There you have it, some really interesting match-ups and more answers to the questions that are floating out there regarding the contenders. West Virginia is the team to beat, there are no secrets about that. See you next Monday for the grades.