By
J.P. Girouard
To say it's been an ugly two weeks for the Big East would be a gross understatement. Teams are a woeful 3-7 against fellow FBS schools. West Virginia was blown out by East Carolina, Cincinnati was run off the field by Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh laid an egg against Bowling Green.
Now here's the bad news. Starting Thursday, the Big East plays eight games in nine days against fellow BCS conference programs. Several of these contests are on national television, which means that the impact of a bad loss gets magnified. It also happens to be the good news - these are eight opportunities for the floundering conference to restore its reputation and get some redemption:
Thursday, Sept. 11 - North Carolina at Rutgers. As bad as the Scarlet Knights looked in the second half against Fresno State, it seems unlikely they would've had to go deep into the second half to put away McNeese State the way UNC did. Chances of redemption: 60%
Friday, Sept. 12 - Kansas at South Florida. It's hard to get too worked up about USF going to overtime with Central Florida - it was a rivalry game on the road. But the big problem the Bulls have here is that their corners are relatively inexperienced and the Jayhawks have really, really good receivers. Chances of redemption: 40%
Saturday, Sept. 13 - Penn State at Syracuse. The only chances the Orange have are: A) hope that Joe Paterno suspends the entire first team offense or B) suit up Donovan McNabb and Dwight Freeney. Eh, even then it probably wouldn't matter. Chances of redemption: 0%
Saturday, Sept. 13 - Virginia at Connecticut. The UConn offense has struggled with the exception of running back Donald Brown. Fortunately for the Huskies, the Cavalier offense has struggled in every conceivable way. Chances of redemption: 70%
Wednesday, Sept. 17 - Kansas State at Louisville. Is the real Louisville offense the one that hung 51 on Tennessee Tech, or the one that was shut down by Kentucky? The way Kansas State is rolling so far this season, it may not matter. Chances of redemption: 40%
Thursday, Sept. 18 - West Virginia at Colorado. What was worse - the Mountaineers getting shut down by East Carolina, or Colorado needing a furious rally to get by Eastern Washington? Seems like a wash when you think about it. Chances of redemption: 50%
Friday, Sept. 19 - Bayor at Connecticut. The Bears may come into this game off a two-game winning streak. Somehow it seems unlikely they'll leave with a three-game streak. Chances of redemption: 75%
Saturday, Sept. 20 - Iowa at Pittsburgh. Uh, oh. Iowa has looked really good so far, even if you concede that blowing out Maine and FIU doesn't mean much. Let's put it another way - Iowa isn't losing to Bowling Green and struggling against Buffalo. Chances of redemption: 30%
J.P. Girouard writes/blogs/whines incessantly about the Big East for CollegeFootballNews.com
Archives:
Nine Pivotal Days For The Big East
The Big East Expectations Game
Is This Going To Be Ben Mauk's Legacy?
WVU Runs Away In Big East Media Poll
Rutgers' Strange Stadium Bargain
The Coach Who Stayed
The Big East Manifesto