2009 Big East Discussion

[BB73]

This link has a full Big East schedule.

Big East

Top Ten Big East Games

1. [FONT=verdana,geneva]West Virginia at Cincinnati, Nov. 13
2. [FONT=verdana,geneva]West Virginia at USF, Oct. 30
3. Pitt at West Virginia, Nov. 27[/FONT]
4. Cincinnati at Pitt, Dec. 5
5. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Connecticut at West Virginia, Oct. 24
6. USF at Pitt, Oct. 24[/FONT]
7. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Cincinnati at USF , Oct. 15[/FONT]
8. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Connecticut at Pitt, Oct. 10[/FONT]
9. Cincinnati at Rutgers, Sept. 5
10. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Conn. at West Virginia, Oct. 24[/FONT][/FONT]

Top Ten Non-Conference Games

1. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Miami at USF, Nov. 28
2. West Virginia at Auburn, Sept. 19
3. [FONT=verdana,geneva]USF at Florida State, Sept. 26
4. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Colorado at West Virginia, Oct. 1
5. North Carolina at Connecticut, Sept. 12[/FONT]
6. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Illinois at Cincinnati, Nov. 28[/FONT]
7. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Notre Dame at Pitt, Nov. 14[/FONT]
8. [FONT=verdana,geneva]Pitt at NC State, Sept. 26
9. Louisville at Kentucky, Sept. 19
10. Cincinnati at Oregon State, Sept. 19[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

 

[BB73]

A breakdown of expectations, based on each team's schedule.

CFN Big East Capsules

The Big East teams have interesting schedules with more room for non-conference games and unbalanced slates. Some teams get four road games in league play, some get three. Which teams have the easiest and the hardest slates? Check out the breakdowns and analysis of each Big East team's 2009 schedule.

Cont'd ...

 

[BB73]

5 Questions and Answers from Andy Staples.

SI.com

Can anyone run away with this league, or will the teams continue to cannibalize one another?

Will South Florida ever take advantage of its talent edge?

Will the 3-4 keep Cincinnati atop the conference? (one of the LBs could be former ND QB Demetrius Jones)

Will this be Steve Kragthorpe's final year at Louisville?

Can Doug Marrone resuscitate Syracuse?

Cont'd ...

 

[Gatorubet]

Go USF - beat the Noles!

 

[Flocka]

I hope USF gets their shit kicked in against FSU and Miami.

 

[Flocka]

Go USF - beat the Noles!

I hope USF gets their shit kicked in against FSU and Miami.

I hate you.

 

[Gatorubet]

Like I don't get 30 or 40 of those in pms every day..

 

[Flocka]

Like I don't get 30 or 40 of those in pms every day..

I guess I can be a bit excessive.

It sucks living down here having to deal with USF fans for the first third or half of the season when they think they are BCS bound every year. They make Gator fans seem like they have a sense of history.

 

[BB73]

CFN

The 5 Biggest Big East Spring Storylines

1. Can Jarrett Brown be a star? He has always been a top shelf talent, but it?s asking a lot for him to do for West Virginia what Pat White did.

2. The Cincinnati defense ? who?s starting? The defending conference champion has to undergo a wholesale personnel change on D.

3. Will the UConn offense work? The Huskies will start to speed things up with a no-huddle attack to try to get things moving.

4. Can Doug Marrone revive Syracuse? The slate is being wiped clean with a new coaching staff, a new style and a new way of doing things.

5. The South Florida running game ? do the Bulls have anyone to provide a steady complement to QB Matt Grothe?

The Spring Big East Team Rankings

1. Pitt
2. West Virginia
3. Cincinnati
4. Rutgers
5. South Florida
6. Connecticut
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse

The Pre-Spring Call For Player Of The Year

1. Jarrett Brown, QB West Virginia
2. Matt Grothe, QB South Florida
3. Mardy Gilyard, WR Cincinnati
4. George Selvie, DE South Florida
5. Noel Devine, RB Pitt

cont'd ...

 

[BB73]

A brief look at each team in the spring.

CFN Big East

 

[billmac91]

in the even match-ups, the thing that has my attention in regards to the Big East, is the slowed down game. The Big East has gone from a physical conference, to an up-tempo, NBA style conference. That isn't to say they aren't physical, because they are, but they also run A LOT and work for quick shots.

I think the Big East is going to struggle in slowed down games where they have to slug out a game in the 50's.

Should be interesting.

 

[BB73]

in the even match-ups, the thing that has my attention in regards to the Big East, is the slowed down game. The Big East has gone from a physical conference, to an up-tempo, NBA style conference. That isn't to say they aren't physical, because they are, but they also run A LOT and work for quick shots.

I think the Big East is going to struggle in slowed down games where they have to slug out a game in the 50's.

Should be interesting.

Good observation. But it might make more sense in the basketball forum.

 

[BB73]

A brief look at each team's spring game.

CFN

Cincinnati
April 25 - The Red team (offense) got the best of the White team (defense), 69-37, in the annual Bearcat Bowl. The offense was paced by Tony Pike and the four quarterbacks, who combined to go 44-of-63 for 460 yards and four touchdowns, one from each hurler. WR Armon Binns and TE Ben Guidugli had seven receptions apiece and a touchdown catch. The defense was kept in the game by players, like defensive lineman Ricardo Matthews, who had three tackles, a pair of sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Pitt
If the spring game is any barometer, the Pittsburgh defense remains way ahead of the Pittsburgh offense. The Blue (defense) dominated the Gold (offense), 54-23, raising more concerns in a post-LeSean McCoy world. While true freshman Dion Lewis led all rushers with 34 yards on 12 carries, his main competition for the job, redshirt freshman Chris Burns, only mustered 13 yards on 11 attempts. QB Bill Stull finished 12-of-17 for 132 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown to Jonathan Baldwin. On defense, Steve Dell, Scott McKillop?s successor at middle linebacker, had six tackles, and DE Brandon Lindsey chipped in a pair of sacks.

West Virginia
April 18 - The Gold routed the Blue, 35-7, behind a huge day from QB Jarrett Brown. In his first official assignment as Pat White?s successor, he connected on 21-of-28 passes for 273 yards and four touchdown passes. Although he spread the ball around, he had a particularly good connection with Wes Lyons, who caught two of his scoring passes. While Mark Rodgers got the most work among the running backs, Noel Devine provided the fireworks with a 74-yard sprint to the end zone. The one sour note coming out of the game was a leg injury to offensive lineman Donny Barclay, which resulted in him being carted off the field.</SPAN></SPAN>

 

[BB73]

SI.com

Now, new challenge awaits Cincy: proving 2008 wasn't a fluke

CINCINNATI -- A few minutes after Cincinnati's April 25 spring game, coach Brian Kelly stood with a recruit in an end zone at Nippert Stadium. As Kelly spoke, the recruit's eyes kept drifting to Kelly's hand, where a massive ring gleamed under the stadium lights. Kelly noticed that the recruit noticed, and that made him smile.

"Tangible evidence," Kelly said later, when asked whether his recently acquired 2008 Big East championship ring draws that kind of attention from every recruit.

In the battle for the hearts, minds and signatures of the best players in one of America's premier football hotbeds, tangible evidence is a requirement. Dozens of athletic, well coached high school studs surround Cincinnati's campus, but for the longest time, those players barely knew the Bearcats existed. If Ohio State didn't want them, they would scatter throughout the Big Ten, Big East and SEC. But Kelly and previous coach Mark Dantonio worked hard to make Cincinnati a viable option, and Kelly took the biggest stride last season when he led Cincinnati to a Big East title and an Orange Bowl berth in his second season. "We're in play," Kelly said. "We have relevance now. We weren't relevant the last couple of years in terms of getting a BCS player to stay here."

Cont'd ...

 

[BB73]

CFN.Pitt.Preview

CFN.Pitt.Offense

CFN.Pitt.Defense

CFN.Pitt.Depth.Chart