How are the picks so far? SU:
48-15 ... ATS: 31-28
Big East Game of
the Week
Connecticut (9-2) at West Virginia (9-1)
3:30 EST, ABC Why to watch: There are nine BCS
bowl slots that remain open. One will
be filled in Morgantown Saturday
evening. West Virginia hosts
Connecticut for the Big East title and a
trip to one of college football’s five
premier bowl games in January. For the
home team, the stakes will be even
higher. Losses by Oregon and Oklahoma
popped the Mountaineers up to No. 3 in
the latest BCS rankings, meaning two
more wins and some help from the South
winner in the Big 12 title game could
propel the ‘eers into the National
Championship game. Having already far
exceeded expectations in 2007,
Connecticut has a chance to torch them
with an upset win on Saturday. For a
Husky team that’s been to exactly one
bowl game—the 2004 Motor City Bowl—in
its brief history in the FBS, this game
represents a massive opportunity to put
the program’s blueprint for national
notoriety into hyperdrive. Why Connecticut might win: The
Husky defense has been a rock all year,
holding opponents to just 14 points a
game, while consistently winning the
turnover margin. Although the unit is
short on star power, it’s fundamentally
sound and prone to preventing the types
of big plays that have become such a
staple in the West Virginia attack.
Connecticut will rely on a small-ball
formula that’s worked all season, solid
defense, a relentless running game, and
ball protection. Why West Virginia might win: When
you face the Mountaineers, specifically
QB Pat White, all of the defensive
statistics go out the window. Yeah, the
Connecticut defense has been
surprisingly feisty, but the West
Virginia speed and complexity present a
challenge that the Huskies haven’t seen
in 2007. Once the Mounties start
rolling in front of an electrified home
crowd, UConn won’t have the weapons on
offense to mount a comeback. The
Huskies sport one of the conference’s
worst offenses, a one-dimensional group
that won’t move the sticks on the
nation’s No. 4 defense. Who to watch: What’s been up with
Steve Slaton this season? A Heisman
contender entering the year, the junior
has yet to reach 1,000 yards rushing or
deliver one of those monster games that
were so commonplace in 2005 and 2006.
Although the blame can be spread out in
a number of areas, notably the line,
there’s no doubt that West Virginia
needs more than the 80 yards a game he’s
been averaging in the second half of the
year. If Slaton can loosen up the
Connecticut defense with a couple of
long sprints, it’ll open up the running
lanes for White to bolt for daylight. What will happen: Connecticut has
been a great story, but the clock is
about to strike 12 on the Huskies.
There’s no way this upstart program is
leaving Milan Puskar Stadium with the
Big East title that West Virginia feels
belongs to them. The Mountaineers will
shut down the Husky attack, while
getting another MVP-type performance on
offense from White. CFN Prediction:
West Virginia
34 … Connecticut 13
... Line:
West Virginia -17.5 Must See Rating: (5 The
inside of your eyelids after eating two
pounds of turkey
- 1 The
inside of a gym with every 120 calories
equaling a mile on the treadmill) ...4
Big East Saturday, November 24th
South Florida (8-3) at Pittsburgh (4-6)
12:00 EST, ESPN GamePlan Why to watch: South Florida is
officially out of its mid-season
slumber, courtesy of lopsided wins over
Syracuse and Louisville in consecutive
weeks. Saturday’s 55-17 demolition of
the Cardinals was far more reminiscent
of the team that had climbed to No. 2 in
the polls in mid-October than the one
that recently snapped a three-game
losing streak. The Bulls have lost
their two outdoor games up North this
season, so they’ll be looking to buck
the trend on this week’s trip to
Pennsylvania, while improving their
postseason outlook. Pittsburgh’s
already longshot hopes of playing a 13th
game became even more remote following
last weekend’s loss at Rutgers, another
blown opportunity in a close game. At
best, the Panthers can upset South
Florida and West Virginia to get to
.500, but even that’s unlikely to bring
a bowl invitation. While this season
will be remembered as the debut of RB
LeSean McCoy, to reach a higher level in
2008, the program needs more consistency
at quarterback, either from injured
junior Bill Stull or freshman Pat
Bostick. Why South Florida might win:
Without balance, you’re simply not going
to have much success against this Bull
defense. The unit is too fast and
opportunistic, particularly in pass
defense, to get beaten when it knows
who’ll be touching the ball on most
downs. With Bostick still learning on
the job, the Pitt passing game has been
abysmal, ranking 105th
nationally, which will allow South
Florida safeties Nate Allen and Carlton
Williams to press up to stop McCoy. The
Panthers are averaging just 18 points in
Big East games, a number they’ll labor
to reach Saturday afternoon. Why Pittsburgh might win: The
South Florida offense has been anything
but consistent this fall, often relying
too heavily on one player, QB Matt
Grothe. The Panthers’ strength all year
has been the play of the defense, which
ranks No. 9 nationally, while giving up
only 23 points a game. With LB Scott
McKillop tackling everything in sight,
and the secondary allowing just one
touchdown pass per game, Pittsburgh will
put a stop to the Bulls’ recent success
on offense. Don’t underestimate South
Florida’s problems playing in cold
weather, which has been an issue since
it joined the league. Who to watch: South Florida is a
completely different team when it
provides support to Grothe on offense.
In the wins over Syracuse and
Louisville, freshman RB Mike Ford ran
for 274 yards and four touchdowns, and,
not coincidentally, the Bulls rang up 96
points. If USF is going to reach 10
wins, it must continue getting help from
Ford in order to relieve some pressure
from Grothe. What will happen: Although the
Pittsburgh defense will keep things from
getting out of control, Bostick or Kevan
Smith versus that air tight South
Florida secondary is a recipe for
Panther turnovers. The Bulls will brave
the elements behind Ford and the
defense, remaining in the hunt for a
berth in the Gator Bowl. CFN Prediction: South Florida 27
… Pitt 16...
Line: Pitt -11 Must See Rating: (5 The
inside of your eyelids after eating two
pounds of turkey
- 1 The
inside of a gym with every 120 calories
equaling a mile on the treadmill) ...2.5
Cincinnati (8-3) at Syracuse (2-9)
7:15, ESPNU Why to watch: From the crowd at
Nippert Stadium to the stakes,
everything for Cincinnati was huge in
last weekend’s 28-23 loss to West
Virginia. Good luck getting up for a
trip to frigid Upstate New York to face
2-9 Syracuse. While the Bearcats fell
short in their bid to stay afloat in the
Big East race, they still have a chance
to win nine games for the first time
since 1976, and remain in the hunt for
the next best thing to a BCS bowl game,
a Gator Bowl invitation. For the Orange
and its fans, the offseason cannot come
soon enough. The program has had one
shining moment, a Sept. 22 upset of
Louisville, and even that’s been
marginalized by the Cardinals’
season-long collapse. Once this
weekend’s game is completed, all eyes
will turn to head coach Greg Robinson,
who’s trying to survive a 7-27 record
and only faint progress since he
replaced Paul Pasqualoni following the
2004 season. Why Cincinnati might win: The
Orange has gone two months without
scoring more than 20 points in a game, a
trend that’ll continue against a Bearcat
D that defends the run as well as any
Big East team, and is No. 3 nationally
in turnover margin. On offense, Cincy’s
mix of Ben Mauk’s passing and a deep
stable of runners will more than a beat
up Syracuse defense can handle. The
Orange is near the bottom of the league
in almost every defensive category,
allowing 28 rushing touchdowns and
getting worse as the season winds down. Why Syracuse might win: If the
Orange has a prayer of taking some
momentum into the offseason, it’ll need
to take shots downfield on a Cincinnati
secondary that yields 250 yards a game,
and has been vulnerable to the big
play. Whether it’s Andrew Robinson or
Cameron Dantley calling signals, he’ll
need to locate WR Mike Williams, who has
caught a touchdown pass in a
school-record eight games. Coming off
what was billed as the biggest game in
school history, the Bearcats will be
prone to a serious letdown playing in
the sleepy Carrier Dome against a
lackluster opponent. Who to watch: Entering the
season, first-year Cincinnati head coach
Brian Kelly wondered aloud if he had
enough quality receivers to successfully
run the spread offense. With one game
left in the regular season, he’s found
his building blocks of the future led by
freshman long ball hitter Marcus
Barnett. Barnett leads the Bearcats
with 11 touchdowns, coming off a
breakout 10-catch, 210-yard effort in
the loss to West Virginia. What will happen: If Cincinnati
is sluggish Saturday night, Kelly won’t
let it last for long. By the second
quarter, Mauk and the offense will be
gutting the Syracuse defense, while the
Bearcats capitalize on the mistake-prone
Orange attack. CFN Prediction:
Cincinnati
38 … Syracuse 14
... Line:
Cincinnati -20 Must See Rating: (5 The
inside of your eyelids after eating two
pounds of turkey
- 1 The
inside of a gym with every 120 calories
equaling a mile on the treadmill) ...1.5
