By J.P. Girouard
Welcome to the third edition of Best Big East Week Ever. Sorry about the week off, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?
The Biggest Thought: Our Midseason Year In Review … The envelope, please:
Player Of The Midseason: Matt Grothe, South Florida. Grothe is the best player on the most talented team in the conference. Donald Brown has piled up huge rushing numbers for UConn, but it’s not as if he single-handedly saved a game for them. LeSean McCoy has been hot the last three games, but his slow start keeps him from getting the nod. Without the dual-threat talents of the Grohawk, USF would not be sniffing the top-25. Period.
Coach Of The Midseason: Brian Kelly, Cincinnati. I said it a couple of weeks ago – Kelly is a crazy hot mess of a football coach. For him to keep the Bearcats in the mix despite losing his top fifteen quarterbacks is an amazing, amazing thing. Yeah, the win over Rutgers set football back 20 years, but Cincinnati is 5-1 with a legitimate sniff at the Big East title in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year.
Surprising Thing Of The Midseason: Louisville. After the embarrassing season-opener against Kentucky, the Cardinals are 4-1. The defense has clearly improved under Ron English, and the offense has reinvented itself as a dynamic run-oriented attack behind future All-World running back Vic Anderson. The second half of the schedule is going to be a bear, but with all of the turmoil surrounding the program this offseason, I’m sure most Louisville fans would take 7-5.
Disappointing Thing Of The Midseason: The West Virginia offense. It was the defense – minus seven starters – that was supposed to be the weak link. The offense was supposed to be its typically crazy, arcade-like self. Syracuse isn’t supposed to outgain West Virginia by nearly 100 yards in this or any other parallel universe. East Carolina isn’t supposed to hold the Mountaineers to three points. West Virginia still has a shot at winning the Big East title – hell, everyone short of Rutgers and Syracuse does – but it won’t be as much fun this time around.
Crazy Prediction For The Rest Of The Season: Pittsburgh won’t fold. Everyone is waiting for it. I’ve even suggested numerous times that you can count on three things – death, taxes, and Pitt to fade in the second half of the season. Not this time. The Panthers have that same look that Rutgers had in 2006, with much the same formula – a very good defense and a terrific running back. And Bill Stull is a much better quarterback than Mike Teel was two years ago. Pitt might not win the Big East – I still think USF is the best team in the conference – but they’re going to be right in the mix until the end.
Big East Game Of The Week: South Florida at Louisville, Saturday 3:30 pm … Both teams have a loss in conference, so this sets up as a de facto elimination game. This is the kind of the game that’s tripped up USF in the past, but unlike last year there’s a talent gap that may be too much for the Cardinals to overcome. South Florida 31, Louisville 24
Big East Game Of The Weak: Rutgers at Pittsburgh, Saturday 3:30 pm … Pitt has lost three in a row to the Scarlet Knights, including last year’s controversial 21-16 setback in Piscataway. Expect the Panthers to take out some of their frustrations here. Pittsburgh 27, Rutgers 10
Underrated Storyline Of The Week: A Fresh Start? … When the season began, folks circled Auburn/West Virginia as a prime intersectional game. Many thought it was reasonable to believe both teams would be undefeated coming in. Instead, it’s a battle between two middling teams with anemic offenses. The Mountaineers’ three-game winning streak has come against less than awe-inspiring competition, so a victory over a name-brand Auburn team might serve notice that West Virginia is legitimately back in the Big East hunt.
J.P. Girouard blogs about the Big East for CollegeFootballNews.com. You can email him here.
Best Big East Week Ever Archives:
Best Big East Week Ever – 10/8/08
Best Big East Week Ever – 10/1/08
Other Articles By J.P. Girouard:
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