College Football 2011: 20 Teams That Could Walk Right In and Win the Big East
The Big East conference is as stacked as it’s ever been. Night-in and night-out the Big East is littered with quality matchups between ranked teams. They may get an unprecedented amount of teams into the postseason.
Oh wait…that’s basketball.
No conference in the country has a bigger disparity in competitiveness than the Big East: by far the best basketball conference, by far the worst football conference (of the big six).
The mighty 8-5 UCONN Huskies captured the division title in 2010 with their “amazing” 5-2 record in conference.
You know something is wrong when your conference champion sports losses against Rutgers, Louisville and Temple.
The Big East is an awful football conference and I’m here to prove it. Here are 20 teams that could enter the Big East next season and automatically be the favorite to win it all.
20. Arizona St. Sun Devils
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Their offense was 15th in the nation in passing in 2010, so defense was the downfall in a 6-6 season. Yet, they were two total points away from winning at Wisconsin and at USC—so they were better than their record would suggest.
Top-recruit Gionni Paul is a linebacker who can help strengthen their suspect run defense.
No team in the Big East could hang with their explosive offense.
19. Florida Gators
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The Gators have a new coach in Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to replace Urban Meyer.
Another big move was the hiring of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis away from the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. With big names on both sides of the ball, the Gators look like they are going to be back in the Top 25 in no time.
Janoris Jenkins, a sure-fire top 15 pick at CB, decided to stay in school another year. This is going to be a huge boost to the Gators secondary.
They may not win a championship—but they sure could win the Big East.
18. Wisconsin Badgers
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The Badgers are going to have one of the top running games in the nation with RBs Montee Ball and James White retuning.
QB Scott Tolzien will be back for his senior season as well. The Badgers are much too experienced to lose to a Big East team with their power running attack.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
17. Mississippi St Bulldogs
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Dan Mullen was a hot coaching candidate this winter as his name was brought up for both the Miami Hurricane and Florida Gators job. His Bulldogs finished an 8-4 season strong with a 52-14 shellacking of Michigan in the Gator Bowl.
The Bulldogs are going to be one of the better SEC teams in 2011, which certainly qualifies for a Big East championship.
16. Virginia Tech Hokies
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Every year, analysts wonder how V-Tech is going to sustain their dominant run against the rest of the ACC—and every year, the Hokies find a way to stay on top.
This year they have to deal with losing QB Tyrod Taylor and RBs Darren Evans and Ryan Williams.
Enter Logan Thomas.
The 6’6", 242-pound incumbent at QB is going to have a smooth transition to the position behind a veteran offensive line.
The ACC is improving, but once again the Hokies will be at the top of the preseason rankings.
15. Arkansas Razorbacks
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QB Ryan Mallett is gone but it looks like it will be an easy transition into the Tyler Wilson era.
In a relief appearance last season when Mallett went down, Wilson threw for 332 yards and four TDs against the eventual National Champion Auburn Tigers.
It looks like the offense is going to be juuuust fine.
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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The Irish should be in terrific shape with a healthy Dayne Crist at QB. Brian Kelly went a respectable 8-5 in his first year at the helm and his team picked up a victory in the Sun Bowl.
Kelly has already proven his dominance in the Big East, going undefeated in his final season at Cincinnati.
13. Michigan St. Spartans
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The offense is going to be in great hands with the return of QB Kirk Cousins and RB Edwin Baker—who ran for 1,201 yards in 2010.
They had a rough ending to the season with the 49-7 beat down at the hands of Alabama, but coach Mark Dantonio is proving to be one of the best recruiters in the conference as the Spartans will welcome another solid class to East Lansing.
A tough defense and veteran offense?
They wouldn't have any issues steamrolling through the likes of Cincinnati and Louisville.
12. TCU Horned Frogs
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TCU has an impressive run of five seasons with 11-plus wins in the last six years, culminating in a historic Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin this past season.
The Horned Frogs are losing a large chunk of their success with the departures of QB Andy Dalton and their top receivers and O-lineman as well.
But head coach Gary Patterson is onto something special as he is bringing in yet another impressive recruiting class.
The Horned Frogs could easily win the Big East a year before they actually join the league.
11. Florida St. Seminoles
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QB Christian Ponder is gone but the E.J. Manuel era brings a ton of excitement. He has Chris Thompson (699 yards rushing, five touchdowns) and Bert Reed (614 yards receiving) as his top weapons.
CB Xavier Rhodes and LB Christian Jones will be big-time contributors on the Seminoles defense.
The No. 1 recruiting class in the nation is going to Tallahassee and Jimbo Fisher looks poised to have an incredible second year as head honcho.
The dominance of Virginia Tech in the ACC is over.
10. Oklahoma St. Sooners
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Two names for you: QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon.
Both of them decided to stick around Stillwater for another season and both are projected to have enormous seasons in 2011. Can they top the third-ranked scoring offense of a season ago?
No way a Big East defense could stop this high-powered offense.
9. Bosie St. Broncos
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2010 Heisman-finalist QB Kellen Moore is back, as is a defense that ranked second in the country in points allowed.
RB Doug Martin is returning to a team that has finished the season with either zero or one loss in seven of the previous nine seasons.
That’s consistency, my friends.
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
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The Huskers were a few plays away from winning the Big 12 in 2010. Now QB Taylor Martinez is a sophomore and is expected to show much more maturity in his second season as the starter.
The defense had a few key losses but the Huskers have always be known for their defense and it shouldn’t miss a beat with LB Lavonte David leading the way.
It’s the inaugural season for the Cornhuskers in the Big 10—and you better believe they want to make a good first impression.
7. South Carolina Gamecocks
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A trendy pick to win the SEC, the Gamecocks are going to be an extremely dangerous team with the returns of QB Stephen Garcia, RB Marcus Lattimore and WR Alshon Jeffery.
It’s going to be tough to run the SEC East slate…but they would easily dispatch the entire Big East.
In his sixth season in charge, coach Steve Spurrier's system is now in full swing and the Gamecocks are going to be here for a while now.
6. Ohio St. Buckeyes
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QB Terrelle Pryor and the “Tattooed Five” are going to be on the shelf for the first five games of the season and have to watch their team play at Miami and against Michigan St.
But when the entire team is intact—look out.
DE Cameron Heyward is the only significant loss to a team that won the Sugar Bowl in January.
If the Buckeyes can weather the storm of the first five games…they will be the favorites to win the BCS National Championship.
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
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They are losing a bevy of players to the NFL but the ‘Tide don’t rebuild—they reload.
RB Mark Ingram, WR Julio Jones and DE Marcell Dareus are all going to be first-round picks in the 2011 draft. But RB Trent Richardson is going to be one of the top backs in the nation and will be the next great back found by coach Nick Saban.
In Saban we trust.
4. Stanford Cardinal
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The best player in the nation is back in QB Andrew Luck. He could be making some major moves on Sundays, but wanted to get his college degree instead.
He returns to a team that blew out Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl but will have to deal with the losses of coach Jim Harbaugh and three of his O-lineman.
The whole country already has their matchup against Oregon circled on the calender, as a BCS Championship berth may be on the line.
How could a shaky West Virginia defense even dream of stopping Luck?
3. LSU Tigers
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The Tigers are returning 10 starters on offense and another seven on defense to a team that throttled Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.
The biggest question mark surrounds their incredibly difficult schedule. They have to play Oregon at Cowboys Stadium in addition to the incredibly difficult SEC West slate.
The Tigers could only dream of playing the likes of Rutgers and South Florida on a regular basis.
2. Oregon Ducks
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RB LaMichael James and QB Darron Thomas will be retuning to a team that had the most explosive offense in the nation.
The incoming recruiting class is loaded with speed and the Ducks shouldn’t miss a beat in 2011. They are on the short list of potential champions—a season after coming a field goal short of winning the big game.
The Ducks would run all over teams like UCONN or Pittsburgh.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
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QB Landry Jones and WR Ryan Broyles are going to be one of the most dangerous combinations in the nation in 2011.
The Big 12 champs are returning the vast majority of their defense and have one of the best active coaches in Bob Stoops.
The Sooners have won at least 11 games in every season but two since 2000; expect more of the same for the preseason No. 1 team.
The Big East doesn't stand a chance.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
