2009 Midseason Report & Picks - Big East

The best Big East players, coaches, surprises of the midseason and more. Scroll down for predictions for every team and every game.

2009 CFN Big East Midseason Look

- CFN Midseason All-America Teams 2008 | 2007 | 2006
 
Cincinnati | Connecticut | Louisville | Pittsburgh | Rutgers
South Florida | Syracuse | West Virginia

2009 CFN Midseason Reports  
- ACC | Big East | Big Ten | C-USA | Pac 10 | SEC 

Coming Friday: Midseason All-America Team, MAC, M-West, Sun Belt, WAC

Offensive Player of the Midseason
Tony Pike, QB Cincinnati

Defensive Player of the Midseason
Mick Williams, DT Pittsburgh

Ten best Big East players of the first half
1. Tony Pike, QB Cincinnati
2. Dion Lewis, RB Pittsburgh
3. Mick Williams, DT Pittsburgh
4. Noel Devine, RB West Virginia
5. Mardy Gilyard, WR Cincinnati
6. Lindsey Witten, DE Connecticut
7. Lawrence Wilson, LB Connecticut
8. Bill Stull, QB Pittsburgh
9. Greg Romeus, DE Pittsburgh
10. Andre Dixon, RB Connecticut

Biggest Surprise – Cincinnati
Before the season began, where were the Bearcats predicted to finish in the Big East, fifth place? It didn’t take very long for that to look silly. Cincinnati jumped all over Rutgers on Labor Day, and hasn’t stopped impressing ever since. Now 6-0 and carrying the conference banner into the top 10, it’s actually being mentioned as a darkhorse candidate for a spot in the national championship game. Not too shabby for a program that began the season with modest expectations and 10 new starters on the defensive side of the ball.

Biggest Disappointment – Rutgers
Before the year began, there were whispers that this might be the year Rutgers was going to break through and win the Big East. By halftime of the opener with Cincinnati, everyone needed erasers for their preseason predictions. Not only did the Scarlet Knights get exposed as a lightweight by the Bearcats, but they haven’t been especially consistent on either side of the ball and are 0-2 in league play. In retrospect, it’s a good thing the program cobbled together one of the most embarrassing non-conference schedules in America, or else bowl eligibility would be in serious jeopardy.

The Big East Champion will be ... Cincinnati
Yeah, losing Tony Pike to an injured forearm is a wicked curve ball, but he’ll be back if surgery isn’t required. Plus, if Thursday night in Tampa is any indication, Zach Collaros looks capable of keeping the offense from veering off the tracks. The defense has come together beyond anyone’s wildest expectations and the second-half schedule breaks in the Bearcats’ favor. Four of the final six games are in the Queen City, and the only tough road game won’t come until the Dec. 5 trip to Pittsburgh.

Best Game of the First Half  

at Syracuse 37 … Northwestern 34, Sept. 19
Freshman Ryan Lichtenstein connected on 41-yard field goal as time ran out to give head coach Doug Marrone his first win. Northwestern was driving looking for a chance for a game-winning score of its own, but Max Suter picked off a Mike Kafka pass to set up the final SU drive. The Orange held an early 17-0 lead helped by a 10-yard Greg Paulus run and a 66-yard pass to Mike Williams, but Northwestern roared back in the second quarter with two Mike Kafka touchdown passes and a three-yard run. Kafka also caught a touchdown pass on a trick play, but SU finished with the final ten points of the game helped by a second Williams score coming from 13 yards out. The two teams combined to throw for 760 yards.

Worst Game of the First Half  

at South Florida 59 … Charleston Southern 0, Sept. 19
South Florida won the battle but might have lost the war. The offense rolled up 547 yards with Matt Grothe throwing two touchdown passes including a 50-yarder to Carlton Mitchell, and Nate Allen returned a blocked kick for a touchdown for a 21-0 first quarter lead. But Grothe was lost with a knee injury. B.J. Daniels stepped in and produced with two third quarter rushing scores and a 50-yard touchdown pass to Dontavia Bogan. Charleston Southern managed just 188 yards of total offense.

Coach of the Midseason – Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly
This was either going to be Kelly or South Florida’s Jim Leavitt, pending the outcome of last week’s game at Raymond James Stadium. The Bearcats won 34-17 without QB Tony Pike over the final two quarters, making this an elementary selection. Kelly has Cincinnati breathing rarified air, as it begins the second half of the season 6-0 and inching closer to the top of the polls. Kelly has shown a penchant throughout his career for overcoming adversity and coaching up the players he inherits, especially at quarterback. No one in the league has been able to catch up to his offense.

Player who'll step up in the second half – Pittsburgh DE Jabaal Sheard
Mick Williams is commanding double-teams on the inside. Greg Romeus requires more than one blocker on the outside. It’s about time for Sheard to rise up and start taking advantage of facing the other team’s weaker tackle. He’s been a little lighter on the sacks than a year ago, but has the strength and pass rushing skills to finish with a flurry. If he starts playing up to his full potential, there isn’t an offensive line in the Big East capable of containing this deep and talented defensive front.

Best performance so far – South Florida shocking Florida State in Tallahassee on Sept. 26. If you don’t get the magnitude of this upset, you probably haven’t followed football in the Sunshine State for a while. Yeah, the ‘Noles are awful this season, but they were winning championships when the Bulls were still in the womb. Oh yeah, USF pulled this off a week after losing QB Matt Grothe, the leader of the program, to a season-ending injury and replacing him with redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels. It was the kind of win that could have a far-reaching impact for Jim Leavitt and the school.

Top Freshman – Pittsburgh RB Dion Lewis
Just seven games into his first season on campus, Lewis is already among the nation’s leading rushers and on the brink of 1,000 yards. An unmitigated revelation for a program that was looking to replace all-star LeSean McCoy, he secured the starting job before the season began and has just kept getting better. While not an imposing figure coming out of the backfield, he has the change-of-direction and stop-and-start moves to make defenders look silly in open space.

Coach who needs to have a big second half – Louisville Steve Kragthorpe
Short of winning the final six regular season games, it might not matter how Kragthorpe finishes the 2009 campaign, but no one else in the league is even close to being on the hot seat. His Cardinals are miserable for a second consecutive year, carrying a seven-game Big East losing streak into the second half. Peel the onion on the 2-4 start, and you’ll notice a sloppy, poorly-coached team that has few of the characteristics of a winner. If Kragthorpe makes it back in 2010, it’ll qualify as a major upset.

Player who needs to have a big second half – Connecticut QB Cody Endres
It’s been the age-old riddle around Storrs since Dan Orlovsky graduated; find a steady quarterback and a Big East title could follow. Endres is the latest candidate thrust into the role for Randy Edsall. The running game is outstanding. The defense is vastly underrated as usual. It’s the passing game that continues to stick out as the one missing link for the 4-2 Huskies. If Endres can continue to build on his recent play, Connecticut has the supporting cast to be a very dangerous team in the final month.

Best remaining conference game – West Virginia at Cincinnati, Nov. 13
The road to a Big East championship and a BCS bowl bid now goes through Southern Ohio. West Virginia will be looking to put up a blue and gold roadblock when the two meet next month. The last two champs and arguably the teams with the best shot at winning this year’s crown, neither the Bearcats nor the Mountaineers have lost a league game this fall. Cincinnati delivered the upset last November, which helped propel it to an Orange Bowl meeting with Virginia Tech.

Team Mid-Season MVPs & Predictions

Cincinnati - Midseason MVP: QB Tony Pike, Sr.
predicted wins: Louisville, at Syracuse, Connecticut, West Virginia, Illinois
predicted losses: at Pitt
predicted record: 11-1

Connecticut - Midseason MVP: LB Lawrence Wilson, Jr.
predicted wins: Rutgers, Syracuse, South Florida
predicted losses: at West Virginia, at Cincinnati, at Notre Dame
predicted record: 7-5

Louisville - Midseason MVP: LB Jon Dempsey, Sr.
predicted wins: Arkansas State, Syracuse
predicted losses: at Cincinnati, at West Virginia, at South Florida, Rutgers
predicted record: 4-8

Pittsburgh - Midseason MVP: RB Dion Lewis, Fr.
predicted wins: South Florida, Syracuse, Cincinnati
predicted losses: Notre Dame, at West Virginia
predicted record: 9-3

Rutgers - Midseason MVP: DE Jonathan Freeny, Jr.
predicted wins: at Army, South Florida, at Syracuse, at Louisville
predicted losses: at Connecticut, West Virginia
predicted record: 8-4

South Florida - Midseason MVP: QB B.J. Daniels, Fr.
predicted wins: West Virginia, Louisville
predicted losses: at Pitt, at Rutgers, Miami, at Connecticut
predicted record: 7-5

Syracuse - Midseason MVP: WR Mike Williams, Sr.
predicted wins: Akron
predicted losses: Cincinnati, at Pit, at Louisville, Rutgers, at Connecticut
predicted record: 3-9

West Virginia - Midseason MVP: RB Noel Devine, Jr.
predicted wins: Connecticut, Louisville, Pitt, at Rutgers
predicted losses: at South Florida, at Cincinnati
predicted record: 9-3