Click
on each team for game recaps, thoughts,
schedules and more and scroll down for
the games, results, players of the week
and the conference roundup.
Cincinnati
|
Connecticut
|
Louisville
|
Pittsburgh
|
Rutgers
South
Florida |
Syracuse
|
West Virginia
-
Week 1
Big East
Game of the Week
South Florida 31 ... UCF
24 OT
In overtime, South Florida got a 25-yard touchdown catch from Taurus Johnson on
the second play. UCF had a fourth and short, but an illegal procedure penalty
moved the ball back, and it proved costly as Michael Greco came up inches short
of a first down and USF held for the win. Cedric Hill caught two third quarter
touchdown passes to give the Bulls a 24-10 lead, but UCF came back on two
Michael Greco touchdown passes in the final 2:46 with a 31-yard Rocky Ross catch
tying up the game with 1:40 to play. South Florida outgained UCF 504 yards to
226.
Big East
Player of the Week
South Florida QB Matt Grothe, completed 23-of-40
passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions, and led the
team with 54 yards on 20 carries in the win over UCF.
| |
Conference |
Overall |
|
|
W-L |
PF |
PA |
W-L |
PF |
PA |
STK |
|
Connecticut |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
2-0 |
47 |
12 |
W2 |
|
South Florida |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
2-0 |
87 |
31 |
W2 |
|
Louisville |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1-1 |
53 |
37 |
W1 |
|
Pittsburgh |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1-1 |
44 |
43 |
W1 |
|
West
Virginia |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1-1 |
51 |
45 |
L1 |
|
Cincinnati |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1-1 |
66 |
59 |
L1 |
|
Rutgers |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0-1 |
7 |
24 |
L1 |
|
Syracuse |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0-2 |
38 |
72 |
L2 |
|
|
Saturday, September 6 |
| 12:00 |
Connecticut 12 ... at Temple
9 OT
CFN Prediction: Conn. 27-16 Conn. -7 |
| 3:30 |
at Oklahoma 52 ... Cincinnati
26
CFN Prediction: OU 38-20 OU -21 |
| 3:30 |
at Louisville
51 ... Tennessee Tech 10
CFN Prediction: UL 54-13 |
| 3:30 |
Akron
42 ... at
Syracuse 28
CFN Prediction: SU 23-13 SU -5 |
| 4:30 |
at East Carolina
24 ... West Virginia 3
CFN Prediction: WVU 34-20 WVU -8.5 |
| 6:00 |
at Pitt
27 ... Buffalo 16
CFN Prediction: Pitt 34-16 Pitt -13 |
| 7:00 |
South
Florida 31 ... at UCF 24 OT
CFN Prediction: USF 34-13 USF -14.5 |
|
Games of the
Week
Aug. 30 - BGSU 27
- Pitt 17
Sep. 6 - USF 34 ... UCF 24 OT |
Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - Pat White, WVU
Sep. 6 - Matt Grothe, USF |
Conference
Roundup
Cincinnati … Cincinnati
played well enough to hang around with
Oklahoma for almost three quarters, and
then the Sooner offensive machine got
rolling and the Bearcat attack couldn't
keep up. Worst of all, QB Dustin Grutza
got knocked out with a broken leg and
will be gone for the next several weeks
meaning the running game will have to
start doing more after rushing for just
87 yards. Backup QB Tony Pike only
completed 3-of-11 passes for 21 yards
and an interception ... uh oh.
Connecticut … Yeah, the weather
was bad, and Temple's defense is decent,
but if Connecticut really wants to be a
Big East champion, it needs more from
the passing game. The 293 rushing yards
were nice, but the offense converted
just three of 13 third down tries and
completed just 10-of-22 passes. Again,
the weather was lousy, but the running
game couldn't finish off drives. Even
so, it was a win when things weren't
going right. Good teams find a way to
pull out the tough ones.
Louisville … The defense has
played well enough to be 2-0. The
Kentucky loss will sting for a while,
and beating Tennessee Tech is no big
deal, but considering the nightmare of a
time last year’s defense had, the early
showing is an important one. The
Cardinals forced four Tech turnovers and
allowed just 33 rushing yards and 176
overall.
Pitt … Pitt might have survived
against Buffalo, but it was hardly a
confidence-inspiring performance. LeSean
McCoy had problems shaking loose for big
runs, but he was effective, while Bill
Stull had a nice game once he got into a
groove. Even so, there has to be a major
concern that the team still isn’t
playing up to its talent level. Is it
mental or is the team just not that
good? It’s almost like the Panthers need
one breakout performance to get its
confidence level up.
Rutgers
… Didn’t Play This Week
South Florida … The offense
hummed for 504 yards against UCF, but it
was closer than expected thanks to two
fumbles and a kickoff return allowed for
a score. The offense couldn't close up
15 points with under three minutes to
play, and that has to be a concern
against a loaded Kansas team that can
crank out points in bunches. Matt Grothe
was tremendous, but more is needed from
the running backs. Grothe had 20 carries
and no back had more than nine. That has
to change to keep the star upright late
in the season.
Syracuse … Where’s the tackling?
Syracuse had a nightmare of a time in
the second half against Northwestern,
and it couldn’t wrap up against a
mediocre Akron running game. While
losing to the Zips is a disaster, SU
might have found something in Cameron
Dantley at quarterback. He didn’t push
the ball deep, but he made some decent
plays to balance out the running of
Curtis Brinkley.
West Virginia… With a week off to
sit and stew about the disastrous
performance against East Carolina, the
Mountaineers have to focus on improving
to win the very mediocre Big East title.
The national title might be gone, but if
the running game can get back going, and
that means Pat White will need to get
more help, the Mountaineers should be
able to win the next four games (at
Colorado, Marshall, Rutgers, Syracuse)
without a problem before facing Auburn.
However, the lines have to be far
better. East Carolina dominated up front
on both sides.