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2009 CFN Big East Week 1 Roundup & More
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CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Sep 8, 2009
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Big East 2009 Week One
Game of the Week, Player of the Week, Roundup & Standings
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2009 Big East ... Week 1
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Cincinnati
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Connecticut
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Louisville
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Pittsburgh
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Rutgers
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South
Florida |
Syracuse
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West
Virginia
Conference Pages, Picks, Standings & More
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ACC |
Big East
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Big Ten
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Big 12
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C-USA
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Ind & ND
- MAC |
Mountain West |
Pac 10
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SEC
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Sun Belt |
WAC
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Free Expert Football Predictions
GAME OF THE WEEK
Minnesota 23 … at Syracuse 20 OT
Minnesota PK Eric Ellestad sent the game into overtime with a 26-yard field goal with less than a minute to play, and then he won it on a 35-yarder in the extra time. Syracuse had a golden opportunity in its chance, but a scrambling Greg Paulus threw an interception opening the door for the Gophers. Adam Weber threw a seven yard touchdown pass to Troy Stoudermire and Duane Bennett ran for a 16-yard score, but Syracuse rallied in the first half with a 29-yard Mike Williams touchdown catch and a one-yard Delone Carter scoring dash. The Orange failed to get on the board in the second half.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cincinnati QB Tony Pike completed 27-of-34 passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns with an interception in the win over Rutgers.
CONFERENCE ROUNDUP
Cincinnati
… Cincinnati 47 ... at Rutgers 16 ... Never doubt what Brian Kelly can do to get a team prepared. This was, and is, supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Bearcats, but the offense put on the most impressive display in a game of this magnitude in the opening weekend. Tony Pike threw one interception, but he connected on everything else as he was given time to work, he carved up the Rutgers D, and he led the way to an easy win. This was a big first step considering the battles with South Florida and Pitt are on the road, but if UC plays like this, it'll be the favorite to win the Big East title again.
Connecticut … Connecticut 23 ... at Ohio 16 ... New year, same problems. Connecticut's running game ripped up Ohio with Jordan Todman running for 157 yards and tearing off yards in chunks, and Andre Davis serving as a fantastic running mate, but like last year, the passing game was a disaster. Zach Frazer only completed 11-of-24 passes and threw three interceptions, but the running game saved the offense controlling the game until late in the fourth quarter. There will need to be far more of a balance against North Carolina next week.
Louisville … at Louisville 30 ...Indiana State 10 ...Louisville won easily, but there's major cause for concern. The offense struggled a bit too much with Justin Burke having a hard time on third downs and not consistently making plays, while 176 rushing yards are way too few in a game like this. Indiana State is among the worst teams in the FCS, and if the Cardinals couldn't produce big against this team, it's going to have problems against Kentucky. Moving the chains will be a must, while the defense has to maintain the same intensity and do even more to make big plays to overcome the offenses' issues.
Pitt … at Pitt 38 ... Youngstown State 3 ... The Panthers, after losing last year's opener to Bowling Green, appeared to take this game very, very seriously and played a tight game with a nice day from Bill Stull and the passing game and a great day from the defense. Dion Lewis might not be LeSean McCoy, but he played like he's ready to be a major focal point of the offense. With Buffalo and Navy coming up before going to NC State, the Panthers have a shot at a hot start if they play like this and can be as consistent and as focused.
Rutgers …
Cincinnati 47 ... at Rutgers 15 ... All the game plans went right out the window once the Cincinnati offense started rolling. The power running, the introduction of the Wildcat, and the hope to rotate the quarterbacks all of a sudden was lost in the shuffle as Tony Pike and the Bearcats ripped apart the Scarlet Knight defense. Three interceptions thrown by Dominic Natale didn't help, but that wasn't the problem. This was all on the Rutgers defense that has to use the next two tune-ups against Howard and FIU to figure out how to get ready for Maryland.
South Florida … at South Florida 40 ... Wofford 7 ...Matt Grothe was razor sharp, but he didn't push the ball deep keeping everything short and underneath. It's not like the Bulls took a slew of big chances, they didn't need to against Wofford, but they were able to execute efficiently while also getting the reserves plenty of work. It's not like there's anything to play for over the next two weeks against Western Kentucky and Charleston Southern, so this is the time to experiment. This is the time to see more of backup QB B.J. Daniels, and this is the time to be rock-solid with the execution before the showdown at Florida State.
Syracuse … Minnesota 23 ... at Syracuse 20 OT ... Much will be made about how Greg Paulus didn’t look all that bad, and while he had some moments that showed he could grow into a good playmaker for the attack, he also played like a quarterback who had been playing basketball for Duke. His biggest problem was an inability to keep the chains moving. SU converted just one of 12 third down opportunities, and while the running game wasn’t awful, it didn’t do enough to help Paulus out.
West Virginia… at West Virginia 33 ... Liberty 20 ...The drives have to start going for touchdowns instead of field goals. West Virginia moved the ball without a problem against Liberty, rolling for 438 yards, but there were four Tyler Bitancurt field goals that allowed the game to stay close. The defense didn’t stuff the Liberty passing game, allowing 210 yards of production, and there weren’t enough big plays in the backfield, but there was a good job done o third downs and the offense was efficient, at least until it got into the red zone. Liberty held on to the ball for 12:08 of the fourth. That has to be where WVU dominates the time of possession.
Saturday, September 12
SE
Missouri State at Cincinnati
North Carolina at
Connecticut
Pitt at Buffalo
Howard at Rutgers
USF at
Western Kentucky
Syracuse at Penn State
East Carolina at West
Virginia
Saturday, September 19
Cincinnati at Oregon State
Connecticut at Baylor
Louisville at
Kentucky
Navy at Pitt
FIU at Rutgers
Charleston Southern at USF
Northwestern at Syracuse
West Virginia at Auburn
Saturday, September 26
Fresno
State at Cincinnati
Rhode Island at Connecticut
Louisville at Utah
Pitt at North Carolina State
Rutgers at Maryland
USF at Florida State
Maine at Syracuse
Thursday, October 1
Colorado at West Virginia (ESPN)
Friday, October 2
Pitt at
Louisville
Saturday, October 3
Cincinnati
at Miami Univ.
USF at Syracuse
Saturday, October 10
Connecticut at Pitt
West Virginia at
Syracuse
Southern Miss at Louisville
Thursday, October 15
Cincinnati at USF
Friday, October 16
Pitt at
Rutgers
Saturday, October 17
Louisville
at Connecticut
Marshall at West Virginia
Friday,
October 23
Rutgers at Army
Saturday, October 24
Louisville
at Cincinnati
Connecticut at West Virginia
USF at Pitt
Akron at Syracuse
Friday, October 30
West Virginia at USF
Saturday, October 31
Cincinnati
at Syracuse
Rutgers at Connecticut
Arkansas State at Louisville
Saturday, November 7
Connecticut at Cincinnati
Louisville at
West Virginia
Syracuse at Pitt
Thursday, November 12
USF at
Rutgers
Friday, November 13
West Virginia at Cincinnati (ESPN2)
Saturday, November 14
Syracuse
at Louisville
Notre Dame at Pitt
Saturday, November 21
Louisville
at USF
Rutgers at Syracuse
Connecticut at
Notre Dame (NBC)
Friday, November 27
Pitt at West Virginia
Saturday, November 28
Syracuse
at Connecticut
Rutgers at Louisville
Illinois at Cincinnati
Miami at USF
Saturday, December 5
Cincinnati at Pitt
USF at Connecticut
West Virginia at Rutgers
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