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CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
Will West Virginia and Louisville be worthy of
national title talk? Talent-wise, these two will be among the 15
best teams in the country, but they’ll be under the microscope
all season long with a weak league schedule to deal with,
compared to the other BCS conferences, and only one decent
non-conference game each (Miami for Louisville and Maryland for
West Virginia). Big East apologists should get some more ammo
for their arguments with Pitt, Connecticut, Cincinnati and
Syracuse all better than last season, and South Florida and
Rutgers to be almost as good as their 2005 bowl-bound teams.
Even though the league could use an overall boost in production,
it’ll make the most noise if the Cardinals and Mountaineers can
stay unbeaten until their November 2nd showdown.
Needing more chances to prove itself, the Big East needs its
superpowers in the BCS.
1. Linebackers. You don’t normally think of
big-time defenders when you think of the Big East, but it has
some of the nation’s best linebackers in Pitt’s H.B. Blades and
Clint Session, South Florida’s Stephen Nicholas and Ben Moffitt,
West Virginia’s Kevin McLee, Syracuse’s Kelvin Smith, and
Louisville’s Nate Harris.
2. South Florida will be 5-0 in Big East play,
and then the roof will cave in with road games at Louisville and
West Virginia.
3. Pitt will take another step back to take a huge leap forward
with several true freshman seeing major playing time. It might
pay off late in the year when the more athletic team will upset
either West Virginia or Louisville.
Nov. 2 West Virginia at Louisville. Could this be a battle of
two unbeaten teams? The Miami game might set the tone for the
Cardinals, but they can't win the Big East title if they don't
beat the Mountaineers. West Virginia will be the favorite in
every other game.
Predicted record:
11-1
Conf. record: 7-0
Best Player:
QB Brian
Brohm, Jr.
Offense
- Rev up the engine again as the nation's No. 9 offense and No. 3
scoring attack should be just as good again as long as star quarterback
Brian Brohm is fully healthy after tearing his ACL late last year.
Considering his mobility could be a problem early on, it's not a
positive that the Cards have to break in two new tackles. Even so, the
line should be fine with several good options and two great returning
starters to work around in guard Kurt Quarterman and center Eric Wood.
The backfield is one of the best in the nation going three deep with
pounder Michael Bush coming back for his senior year and speedsters
Kolby Smith and George Stripling as good as any backups in the country.
Mario Urrutia leads a big, fast, and very talented receiving corps.
Defense - The offense gets so much attention that few pay
attention to how good the Cardinal defense is. It finished a
more-than-respectable 23rd in the nation last year and 21st in run
defense, and now the expectations should be for even more production
with nine starters returning and a slew of depth all over the place.
There aren't any obvious all-stars, but there's no weakness to worry
about. The secondary is solid, but it needs to make more big plays and
force more mistakes. The linebacking corps will be a strength if it's
consistent, and the front line, despite the loss of all-stars Elvis
Dumervil and Montavious Stanley, should be one of the best in the Big
East if the good young ends come through as expected.
This season will be a success if …
Louisville wins the Big East title and goes 11-1.
Getting to the BCS is a positive no matter what. Yeah, there might be
national title talk early in the season, but that requires as much luck
as anything else. Take care of the conference title first, and then hope
everything else falls into place.
Predicted record:
10-2
Conf. record: 5-2
Best Player:
RB Steve
Slaton, Soph.
Offense
-
Outside of an injury to quarterback Pat White, there's no reason the
offense should produce any fewer than the 389 yards and 32 points per
game it came up with last season. The attack got better as the year went
on, and now it should hum on all cylinders with White a better passer
and an experienced receiving corps to work with, one of the nation's
best groups of running backs, and a line that'll be more than fine even
with the loss of both starting tackles. Getting more out of the passing
game will be the top priority after finishing 117th in the nation last
year. This offense isn't going to turn it over and should be
ultra-efficient.
Defense - The defense didn't get nearly the credit the offense
received last season, but it was the better of the two finishing 15th in
the nation in total D (as opposed to the offense, which finished 50th),
and 13th in scoring defense. The only worry is in the secondary where
almost everyone needs to be replaced. Eric Wicks is a strong safety to
build around, but it's asking a lot to replace last year's all-star
group. The front six in the 3-3-5 alignment should be tremendous with
one of the Big East's best linebacking corps and enough depth to make
wholesale changes.
This season will be a success if …
the
Mountaineers play for the national title. They’ll be favored in every
game but one: at Louisville. Good teams dream about having a schedule
like the one they have this season.
T2. South Florida
Predicted record:
8-4
Conf. record: 5-2
Best Player:
LB Stephen
Nicholas, Sr.
Offense
- The
offense has athletes and has experience at key positions, but will it go
anywhere without all-star back Andre Hall to carry the attack? The
receiving corps has the potential to be the second best in the league
behind Louisville's fantastic group, but someone has to get them the
ball. Pat Julmiste is a long-time starter who can't throw with any
consistency, while Carlton Hill has the talent to grow into the star of
the team if the coaching staff can live through a season of mistakes to
go along with the big plays. This is a spread attack that likes to use
four wide receivers, but it was a running team last year. Backs Ricky
Ponton and Moise Plancher will combine to try to replace Hall.
Defense - The USF D will be the best in the Big East if the line
is merely adequate. This is a fast, fast, fast defense with just enough
size to hold up against the stronger power offenses. Stephen Nicholas,
Ben Moffitt, and Pat St. Louis form one of the nation's best linebacking
corps, while the return of safety Danny Verpaele from a foot injury
gives a big boost to an already strong secondary. If Mike Jenkins and
Trae Williams don’t form the best corner tandem in the Big East, they're
a very close number two.
This season will be a success if …
the Bulls
win nine games. There will be a few disappointments along the way before
playing the Mountaineers and Cardinals, but going to back-to-back bowl
games is nothing to sneeze at considering the program didn't exist not
that long ago.
Predicted record:
8-4
Conf. record: 4-3
Best Player:
LB H.B.
Blades, Sr.
Offense
-
Running game, running game, running game. Head coach Dave Wannstedt
wants to move the ball on the ground more, but he might not have the
horses to do it effectively at a high level. The line has the experience
with four returning starters, and now it has to push someone around.
LaRod Stephens-Howling is a small, quick back who'll need help to stay
fresh and healthy. The receiving corps loses top target Greg Lee and now
needs Derek Kinder to grow into a number one star and several true
freshmen to play like seasoned veterans. QB Tyler Palko has to be a
consistent leader who takes the next step up in his production and
becomes the type of player who makes everyone around him better.
Defense - The secondary should be among the Big East's most
productive thanks to the return of All-America caliber corner Darrelle
Revis and Mike Phillips is coming back from an ankle injury. A second
corner is needed along with far more production from the front seven
against the run. The linebacking corps should do its part with H.B.
Blades sure to be one of the nation's top tacklers in the middle and
Clint Session and Brian Bennett returning healthy to the outside spots.
The line isn't all that big and could be a big problem early on until
several sophomores start to play like veterans. More of a pass rush is
needed from ends Chris McKillop and Charles Sallet.
This season will be a success if …
Pitt wins the Big
East title. Crank the expectations up a notch. The team should be an
experienced, hardened squad by mid-November. It's not often you get ten
games to prepare for your two biggest home games.
Predicted record:
6-6
Conf. record: 3-4
Best Player:
FB Brian
Leonard, Sr.
Offense -
The
Rutgers attack turned perfectly balanced last season and should be so
again with a great backfield led by fullback Brian Leonard and speedy
Ray Rice to go along with the potential for a good passing game thanks
to the return of tight end Clark Harris. There are question marks from
the depth on the offensive line to the lack of a proven number one wide
receiver to the need of Mike Teel and/or Jabu Lovelace to emerge at
quarterback, but this should still be one of the Big East's most
productive attacks.
Defense - Getting in the backfield hasn't been a problem in the
Greg Schiano era, and the run defense made great strides last season,
but the overall production needs to be better with a big emphasis on
improving the pass defense. The line has to replace pass rushing terrors
Ryan Neill and Val Barnaby, but Jamal Westerman from the outside and
Ramel Meekins on the inside will do fine. The coaching staff isn't
afraid to play young players in important spots, and this year won't be
any different needing true freshmen to form the bulk of the depth at
linebacker. The secondary is experienced and now has to pick off more
passes.
This season will be a success if …
Rutgers
goes back to a bowl game. The program has gone to back-to-back bowls ...
never. Considering there have been two bowl appearances in over 130
years of Rutgers football, two straight would be a really big deal.
Predicted record:
6-6
Conf. record: 2-5
Best Player:
RB Terry
Caulley, Sr.
Offense
- It's
all about the line. Injuries, inexperience, and general problems up
front proved to be too much for the rest of the offense to overcome. The
starting five should be better this year, but the lack of depth could
mean another nightmare if injuries strike again. The receiving corps is
fast, Terry Caulley should be a 1,000-yard back with his knee finally
back to normal and bruising fullback Deon Anderson back on the team
after leaving last year, and the quarterback situation will eventually
sort itself out with four decent prospects to choose from.
Defense - The whole is better than the sum of the parts. This
isn't an ultra-talented group, but seven starters return to the nation's
number seven overall defense led by a deep and productive secondary that
finished fourth in the country. 248-pound Danny Lansanah is an emerging
star at weakside linebacker with a battle to go on all off-season for
the other two spots. The line will be the concern early on without a
sure-thing pass rusher and counting on 319-pound career backup Ray
Blagman to play a big role, literally, at tackle.
This season will be a success if …
the Huskies win eight games. The expectations for
the defense have to be sky high after last year, while the offense will
have more of a passing game and an even more explosive ground attack.
The schedule is average enough where anything less than a winning season
will be a big disappointment.
Predicted record:
4-8
Conf. record: 1-6
Best Player:
TE Brent
Celek, Sr.
Offense -
The
Bearcat offense was extremely raw last year, and it showed. This year's
offense is still raw and still needs a little more time before it starts
to produce. The line is the biggest problem with several backups needing
to turn into consistent starters in a big hurry, but the skill players
are in place with several good receivers for second-year quarterback
Dustin Grutza to work with. There will be a decent rotation of running
backs, but they'll need holes to run through.
Defense - Did anyone end up starting more freshmen last season?
The D didn't do a horrible job considering it got no consistent support
from the offense and there was too much inexperience to do any one thing
well. The potential is there for a big improvement with a veteran
linebacking corps that should make plays all over the field, a decent
line with some good building blocks, and a big-hitting secondary with a
rising star in corner Mike Mickens.
This season will be a success if …
Cincinnati wins seven games. There are mile-wide
holes and several major problems to overcome, but the schedule isn’t all
that bad. UC had to build from the bottom up. The patience will pay off
by the end of this year and into 2007.
Predicted record:
3-9
Conf. record: 1-6
Best Player:
LB Kelvin
Smith, Sr.
Offense
- The
West Coast attack did absolutely nothing last season finishing 117th in
the nation in total offense and 116th in scoring averaging 257 yards and
13.8 points per game. Worse yet, things got worse as the season went on.
There's hope for immediate improvement with talented sophomores at
running back and the line to build around and good young receivers to
push starters Tim Lane and Rice Moss. Can one of the quarterbacks get
things moving? Perry Patterson is the main man, but he'll be pushed hard
by Joe Fields, Cameron Dantley and Matt Hale.
Defense - A defensive coach by nature, head man Greg Robinson
improved things last year. Considering there was no help from the
offense, the Orange defense did a great job. Now it has to overcome the
loss of several top performers like linemen James Wyche and Ryan LaCasse
along with defensive backs Anthony Smith and Steve Gregory, but there
are some good players to build around. Linebacker Kelvin Smith is one of
the best in the nation, and Tanard Jackson is a lock-down corner ready
to start receiving national recognition.
This season will be a success if …
Syracuse
wins six games. It would be a huge turnaround considering how bad the
team was last year.
There have to be some
signs of
life. Head coach Greg Robinson's future might depend on it.
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