Spring
Preview
2009
Big East Spring Game Reviews
Spring Game Reviews
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WAC
The Spring Games So Far ...
Cincinnati
April 25 - The Red team (offense) got the best of
the White team (defense), 69-37, in the annual Bearcat Bowl. The offense
was paced by Tony Pike and the four quarterbacks, who combined to go
44-of-63 for 460 yards and four touchdowns, one from each hurler. WR
Armon Binns and TE Ben Guidugli had seven receptions apiece and a
touchdown catch. The defense was kept in the game by players, like
defensive lineman Ricardo Matthews, who had three tackles, a pair of
sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
Connecticut
April 18 - Either Connecticut has finally found a big-play receiver or
the secondary is going to be vulnerable for the first time in years.
Marcus Easley sliced through the defense for 10 catches for 169 yards
and two touchdowns helping lead the Blue team (offense) to an 83-57 win
over the White team (defense). The Huskies showcased numerous options at
running back, as they look to replace Donald Brown. Jordan Todman
impressed with 65 yards on nine carries. Meme Wylie had 64 yards and a
touchdown on 18 carries. Andre Dixon added 42 yards on the ground.
Standing out on defense was LB Sio Moore, who had 16 tackles and three
tackles for loss.
Louisville
April 18 - The White team (defense) defeated the Red
team (offense) in the annual spring game. Leading the charge on defense
were S Richard Raglin and LB Jon Dempsey, who had 10 tackles and nine
stops, respectively. In the hotly-contested four-man battle at
quarterback, no one seemed to build much distance on this day. Zack
Stoudt had the best numbers, going 5-of-7 for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Tyler Wolfe threw the other touchdown, but was only 4-of-11 for 52
yards. Justin Burke was 6-of-10 for 69 yards. JUCO transfer Adam Froman
completed 3-of-6 for 58 yards.
Rutgers
April 18 - Domenic
Natale capped a solid spring by leading the Scarlet team to a 31-3 win
over the White team. Making a stand for the vacancy at quarterback, the
senior completed 11-of-19 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown to
Mohamed Sanu. He got plenty of help from beefy RB Joe Martinek, who
plowed his way to 79 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Tim Brown
appears ready to seize the opportunity left by the graduations of Kenny
Britt and Tiquan Underwood, leading all receivers with five receptions
for 116 yards.
Pitt
If the spring game is any barometer,
the Pittsburgh defense remains way ahead of the Pittsburgh offense. The
Blue (defense) dominated the Gold (offense), 54-23, raising more
concerns in a post-LeSean McCoy world. While true freshman Dion Lewis
led all rushers with 34 yards on 12 carries, his main competition for
the job, redshirt freshman Chris Burns, only mustered 13 yards on 11
attempts. QB Bill Stull finished 12-of-17 for 132 yards, including a
54-yard touchdown to Jonathan Baldwin. On defense, Steve Dell, Scott
McKillop’s successor at middle linebacker, had six tackles, and DE
Brandon Lindsey chipped in a pair of sacks.
South Florida
With starting QB Matt Grothe only playing in two series, his backups,
B.J. Daniels and Evan Landi, put on quite a show in the race for the No.
2 job. Landi threw a touchdown pass as time expired, but a two-point
attempt for the win failed, giving the Green a thrilling 21-20 victory
over the White. Daniels impressed throughout the game, finishing
11-of-19 for 181 yards, two touchdowns and one pick, adding 33 yards and
a score on the ground. On defense, no one was able to block veteran DT
Aaron Harris, who broke through for four tackles for loss and three
sacks.
Syracuse
April 18 - Using
a unique scoring system, the Syracuse offense defeated the defense,
134-95, in the coming-out party for new head coach Doug Marrone. It also
marked the first good chance for Orange fans to watch redshirt freshman
QB Ryan Nassib, who was named the starting quarterback a few weeks
earlier. He responded by completing 17-of-25 passes for 176 yards and a
couple of touchdowns. His preferred target was Marcus Sales, who hauled
in a game-high 10 passes for 100 yards. On the ground, veteran Delone
Carter led the way with 53 yards and a coup0le of touchdowns on 14
carries.
West Virginia
April 18 - The Gold routed the Blue, 35-7, behind a huge day from QB
Jarrett Brown. In his first official assignment as Pat White’s
successor, he connected on 21-of-28 passes for 273 yards and four
touchdown passes. Although he spread the ball around, he had a
particularly good connection with Wes Lyons, who caught two of his
scoring passes. While Mark Rodgers got the most work among the running
backs, Noel Devine provided the fireworks with a 74-yard sprint to the
end zone. The one sour note coming out of the game was a leg injury to
offensive lineman Donny Barclay, which resulted in him being carted off
the field.
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