I hate to start the column off with a cliché, but the Big East is at, yes, a crossroads. This marks the first year of a sort of amputated Big East, with another appendage, Boston College, setting itself free after this season. What's left of the leprosy should make for a tight but uninspiring race.
Teams that one might expect to rise to the top have big questions to answer, and several of the bottom-feeders return a lot of talent. It's not difficult to imagine many Big East teams sort of staggering through the year, cursing the ACC for emasculating their conference, but one team won't have any reason to feel that way at all, and while other teams are looking at the sunset of respectability, one team is entering their dawn: Connecticut.
T1. Connecticut (Predicted Finish: 5-1 Conf., 9-2 Overall)
Anyone remember when Marshall joined the ranks of Division 1A by tearing the MAC apart in their debut season? Coming off nine wins and entering a moribund conference, complete with a favorable schedule, there's reason to believe UConn will do the same ... and the rewards for doing so will be to go from 1-AA to a BCS bowl in just three years. Take that, Middle Tennessee State!
The Huskies may be able to pull off a first-place finish without him, but they can turn it into a slam dunk if running back Terry Caulley is able to return from a devastating knee injury. For now, the starting tailback is Chris Bellamy, who managed 5.4 yards per carry last year in his own right. He'll be taking the ball from Dan Orlovski, who is the preseason Big East first team quarterback in most publications. He threw for 3,485 yards and 33 touchdowns a year ago.
Defensively, the Huskies return seven starters, including linebacker Maurice Lloyd, the team's leading tackler each of the last two seasons. Cornerback Justin Perkins and defensive end Tyler King will also receive all-Big East consideration.
T1. Pittsburgh (5-1, 8-3)
This is the end of the road for Pitt. No way do they have any shot at competing after losing a star quarterback and a superstar wide receiver.
Yep, that's what the pundits said about Pittsburgh when they lost quarterback David Priestley and wide receiver Antonio Bryant a couple of years ago.
Turns out, head coach Walt Harris was a more talented coach and recruiter than he was given credit for. Yet the consensus on the Panthers is that with Rod Rutherford and Larry Fitzgerald gone, Pitt will plunge to mediocrity, or worse. I don't buy it, not only because of their coach, but they have yet another prince of a receiver.
Well, not a prince, but a Princell. Princell Brockenbrough was still able to make a name for himself, despite being in Fitzgerald's shadow (616 receiving yards, despite missing time with a foot injury). He's can stretch the field, and so can Greg Lee, who figures to start opposite Brockenbrough.
If All-American tackle Rob Petitti can rub off a bit on the rest of the offensive line, which is deep, but unproven, it shouldn't matter much that Pittsburgh is starting the year with a new quarterback, either Luke Getsy or Tyler Palko.
The front four of the defense may be the best in the Big East, but the back seven return only two starters, and must step up if Pittsburgh's streak of surprising recoveries from devastating personnel losses continue. The schedule is favorable, with Boston College, Rutgers and West Virginia all at home.
3. West Virginia (4-2, 7-4)
If Miami and Virginia Tech had left for the ACC in 2002 instead of now, then West Virginia would be coming off of back-to-back undefeated conference seasons. Instead, the Mountaineers are coming off of a pair of bridesmaid's seasons and, with only nine starters returning and Pittsburgh, UConn, and an improved Rutgers squad all on the road, it looks like it's taffeta again for WVU.
Like their archrivals, Pittsburgh, West Virginia has a well-earned reputation for taking lemons and making lemonade. Rasheed Marshall is the best returning quarterback in the Big East, and he has weapons in Chris Henry, who is coming off a 1,000-yard receiving year, and Miquelle Henderson, a veteran due for a big year of his own.
Seven starters return on the defense, but to be blunt, they need to get better. The Mountaineers gave up 28, 31, 23, 28, and 41 points in their last five games a year ago.
4. Rutgers (3-3, 6-5)
Look who's not a doormat anymore! Rutgers had a 2003 campaign with some surprising numbers: a touchdown pass in every game. An 100-yard rusher in 10 of 12 games. Twenty-two points or more in 10 of 12 games. Quite an offensive turnaround for the Scarlet Knights, and eight of those offensive starters return.
The workhorses of the offense are veteran quarterback Ryan Hart and fullback Brian Leonard. Leonard is sort of a Mike Alstott with hands. He led the Knights in both rushing and receiving last year, and should have a bright future as a pro. Safety Jarvis Johnson is a stud, but he's the only returning defensive back. The schedule is favorable, with Michigan State the only non-conference toughie.
5. Boston College (6-5, 2-4)
Boston College has sure played some great ball when it doesn't really matter lately. They're good for pulling off a great non-conference upset, winning their minor bowl game (they are the only Division 1A team to win a bowl game each year since 2000) and choking when they have the chance to do something really great.
Last year, for example, the Eagles had a chance to avenge the previous year's nail-biting loss in Coral Gables to Miami, and to do it on a chilly autumn New England evening perfectly suited for them. We learned later how vulnerable Miami was, but not on this night, as the Hurricanes throttled Boston College 33-14.
Besides that, you may have the program playing with one eye looking ahead to 2005, when they join the ACC. Besides that, they will be playing with a big target on their backs, as this will most Big East teams' last chance to swipe at one of those scoundrel conference-hopping squads. It all adds up to a disappointing year for the Eagles.
They do return 16 starters, but no one except for tackle Jeremy Trueblood jumps out at you on offense, and depth figures to be a problem on defense, with 10 sophomores and freshman making up the two-deep depth chart. Defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka and linebacker Ray Henderson are all-conference caliber.
T6. Syracuse (1-5, 2-9)
I keep waiting to hear about Syracuse football on VH1's "I Love the '90s." Remember when Syracuse was good? Remember names like Rob Konrad, Adrian McPherson and, of course, Donovan McNabb?
Seems like 100 years ago. You have to wonder how long Paul Pasqualoni, now in his 14th year as top dog in the Carrier Dome, will last. With just 10 starters returning and a cover-your-eyes monstrous non-conference schedule which includes Purdue, Virginia, and Florida State, this may be the year Pasqualoni turns in his keys to the city.
One bright spot for the Orangemen is Heisman hopeful Walter Reyes, who may well be the best Syracuse running back since Larry Csonka. The line protecting him this time around needs to stay strong, with just two starters returning.
A word about the projected quarterback. Say you want to name your child Xavier, and your spouse prefers the more obscure, but more phonetically-friendly spelling of Zavier. What do you do? Compromise! That's the only explanation I can think of for signal caller Xzavier Gaines' name.
T6. Temple (1-5, 2-9)
The Temple Owls have become the Montreal Expos of college football ... banished long ago, but still not quite gone, and still without a new home (or in this case, conference) to be decided.
After several stays of execution, this really, really, is Temple's last year in the Big East, if we can really, really believe Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese. Expect the Owls to also resemble the Expos in terms of on-the-field incompetence, as well.
I haven't watched wrestling since I was a kid, but I do remember when a superstar was wrestling a nobody, the nobody would actually look sort of impressive in the first 20 seconds before getting creamed.
Yet another metaphor befitting Temple. Walter Washington is one of the best two or three quarterbacks in the Big East, and certainly the best runner.
Double-threat that Washington is, expect Temple to drive for a few first downs and even get the early field goal or touchdown, driving the dozens of diehards at Lincoln Financial Field (where the Philadelphia Eagles play; capacity 68,000) into a frenzy. That's before a turnover and a porous defense turn the 3-0 lead into a 21-3 deficit. But, seven starters do return on that side of the ball, led by linebacker Rian Wallace, and Temple may be motivated after getting kicked out of the Big East. But I wouldn't count on it.
Stay tuned for previews of other major conferences!
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