MOST
ASKED QUESTIONS
Is
the Big East going to be as strong as it was in 2006?
Absolutely,
maybe even more! The Big Three in this conference
are still Louisville, Rutgers and WVU. But you can
throw Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and South Florida in
the ring since we see each beating one of these predicted
top finishers, and they will. Sounds just like 2006
all over again for this competitive conference that
will keep improving its national reputation.
Is
there a national championship contender?
Not
only is there a contender, but this NationalChamps.net
writer – the owner - is picking WVU to run the
table and earn a birth in the BCS title game against
USC. If Brian Brohm is still healthy, most believe
his final senior season at Louisville will be HUGE…ergo,
the Redbirds also have a great shot at getting in
the picture. That makes the Thursday night revenge
game in Morgantown on November 10 one of the biggest
ESPN weekday games of the season and a possible ‘semi-final’
for determining one of the title game’s contenders.
Could
a player from the Big East win the Heisman?
The
answer is again yes. Four of our top 10 preseason
Heisman candidates hale from the Big East. Brian Brohm,
Steve Slaton and Ray Rice are all legitimate in terms
of what goes into winning a Heisman...ostensibly,
their teams have to win and they have to put up strong
statistics. Do not be surprised if Pat White makes
a big-time run at this prestigious honor. At the collegiate
level, as opposed to the NFL, a quality running QB
means everything. White is the best running QB in
college football, bar none, so he just has to make
better use of his arm. We feel he will post his best
passing numbers in his three years as a starter.
How
good is the Big East in comparison to the other BCS
conferences?
Remember,
there are only eight teams in the Big East. Six of
them are likely to go bowling at season's end. The
problem with comparing the Big East to others stems
from the fact that most of the Big East teams just
do not have challenging non-conference schedules.
Front offices cannot be blamed, for the league was
left scrambling for opponents when Boston College,
Miami and Virginia Tech split for the ACC, and since
scheduling happens many years in advance, you see
why Big East teams were left with few (if any) quality
foes to refill these vacancies. Each team plays five
non-conference opponents, which equals 40 games. Out
of these 40 games, only one opponent is ranked in
the preseason Top 25 (South Florida at Auburn –
Sept. 8). In short, if any of these teams played in
either the SEC or Big Ten, for example, none would
have a shot at the national title. So, yes, our favorite
(WVU) is blessed with a very weak non-con schedule,
per their usual. They just don't have that really
tough game week-in and week-out as do other schools
in more complete conferences. In defense of the Big
East, they did go 5-0 in the postseason, although
the only opponent remotely resembling a quality ranked
team was newcomer Wake Forest. |
COACH
ON THE HOT SEAT
Greg
Robinson - Syracuse
In all honesty, no coach in the Big East - with the
conference's great emergence onto the national scene
in 2006 - is on the hot seat, per say. Stating that
third year coach Greg Robinson may be that guy is
a stretch, but is also feasible. Face it - though
he left Texas after a year, he helped put the Longhorns
on the national championship map as a defensive coordinator.
He has a resume that even includes Super Bowl rings.
And though this is his first head coaching assignment,
if Robinson cannot get the Orange back to winning
football games, who can? The fact is that the program
had been stale for a long time before he got here.
They have only four starters back on the defensive
side of the ball. Another one or two win season, like
it or not, will be cause for concern in terms of the
program's future. Barring a complete meltdown, this
job seems safe for now.
|
SURPRISE
TEAM
South
Florida
The Bulls are capable of beating any team in the Big
East on any given day, just as they showed last year
by traveling to Morgantown and knocking off WVU late
in the season. USF enters the 2007 season as the NationalChamps.net
No. 25 team, so this should not be a huge surprise.
Dangerous dual-threat QB Matt Grothe is one of the
conference's best-kept secrets, and their (25th ranked
total) defense is quick and aggressive. This team
will knock off one of the league’s ‘Big
Three’ (Louisville, Rutgers, WVU) but will again
have to guard against getting beat by teams they have
no business losing to (in ’06, it was Kansas).
This can be difficult in the recently restructured
and resurgent Big East. The Bulls are better than
an invite to the PapaJohns.com Bowl. |
BIGGEST
GAMES (NationalChamps.net Score Pick)
September
8
Navy at Rutgers - Friday (Rutgers favored by 8 points)
South Florida at Auburn (Auburn favored by 11 points)
September
15
West Virginia at Maryland - Thursday (West Virginia
favored by 15 points)
Pittsburgh at Michigan State (Michigan State favored
by 2 points)
Louisville at Kentucky (Louisville favored by 8 points)
September
29
West Virginia at South Florida - Friday (West Virginia
favored by 7 points)
Maryland at Rutgers (Rutgers favored by 6 points)
Louisville at North Carolina State (Louisville favored
by 13 points)
Pittsburgh at Virginia (Virginia favored by 3 points)
October
6
Utah at Louisville (Louisville favored by 13 points)
Cincinnati at Rutgers (Rutgers favored by 6 points)
October
13
Navy at Pittsburgh - Wednesday (Pittsburgh favored
by 2 points)
Louisville at Cincinnati (Louisville favored by 11
points)
October
20
South Florida at Rutgers - Thursday (Rutgers favored
by 2 points)
October
27
Pittsburgh at Louisville (Louisville favored by 9
points)
West Virginia at Rutgers (West Virginia favored by
4 points)
November
3
Cincinnati at South Florida (South Florida favored
by 3 points)
November
10
Louisville at West Virginia - Thursday (West Virginia
favored by 2 points)
November
17
Louisville at South Florida (Louisville favored by
4 points)
Pittsburgh at Rutgers (Rutgers favored by 6 points)
November
24
South Florida at Pittsburgh (South Florida favored
by 1 point)
December
1
Rutgers at Louisville - Thursday (Louisville favored
by 5 points)
Pittsburgh at West Virginia (West Virginia favored
by 13 points)
|
