The much-maligned Big East gets two big chances to turn around its awful season as Rutgers plays North Carolina tonight and Matt Grothe's South Florida takes on Kansas on Friday. Check out all the Previews and Predictions for the Week 3 Big East Games
Big
East
Cincinnati
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Connecticut
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Louisville
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Pittsburgh
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Rutgers
South
Florida | Syracuse
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West Virginia
Big East Fearless Predictions
Aug. 30 |
Sept. 6
How are the picks so far? SU:
11-4 ... ATS: 4-6
Big East Game of
the Week
Kansas (2-0) at South Florida (2-0),
8:00 EST ESPN2 Friday,
September 12
Why to watch: ESPN2? ESPN2?!
This is a BCS-caliber showdown
worthy of an Orange Bowl, but it’s an
afterthought on a huge weekend of games.
This will be one of the big bragging
right games for two conferences and two
teams looking to prove that last year
wasn’t a fluke. The Big East desperately
needs something positive to go its way
after a nightmare of a start to the 2008
season, and a win over Kansas in a
super-charged atmosphere would do it.
USF wasn’t sharp and almost lost to a
vastly inferior UCF team in overtime
last week, but came through with a
touchdown pass to take the lead and a
hold to end the fun. Next week the Bulls
go back into cupcake-land with a date
with FIU, who lost to KU to start the
season, 40-10. Kansas came up with a
good win over Virginia Tech in the
Orange Bowl, but there’s still a sense
of skepticism around Mark Mangino’s
club. It had one other big test last
year, Missouri, and lost. However, if
the Jayhawks go into Tampa and come out
alive, they should end up going 6-0
before a road trip to Oklahoma.
Why Kansas might win: This is a
brutally efficient team leads the nation
in pass efficiency defense and has
allowed just 406 total yards of offense
and no touchdowns. The one touchdown
given up came on a punt return against
FIU. Meanwhile, the offense has gone
back to last year as Todd Reesing has
been ultra-efficient. South Florida has
an aggressive, tough defense, but it
hasn’t shown it yet this year when it
comes to getting into the backfield.
Why South Florida might win: The
USF run defense has been a brick wall so
far, and KU is still trying to figure
out its running back situation. The
Bulls would’ve beaten UCF with ease last
week if they were focused and didn’t
turn the ball over twice. Matt Grothe
has the offense humming with a nice
balance; the team isn’t just about
defense like it was at times last year.
Who to watch: This game is on the
two star quarterbacks. Grothe was
brilliant against UCF, outside of the
two interceptions. The junior threw for
346 yards and three touchdowns and ran
for 54 yards, and threw a nice ball on
the game-winning score. Meanwhile,
Reesing has thrown for 668 yards and six
touchdowns with an interception in his
first two games. He’s a steady junior
leader who can’t get rattled when the
Bull defense starts swarming.
What will happen: South Florida
will have the emotion and the fire, but
Kansas will have the execution. It’ll be
a hard-hitting battle with several big
plays and lots of points, but KU will
win the battle of the two star
quarterbacks.
CFN Prediction: Kansas 27 … South
Florida 24 ... Line: USF -3.5
Must See Rating: (5 Hole in
the Wall - 1 First Blood) …
5
-
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Thursday, September
11 |
North Carolina (1-0) at Rutgers
(0-1),
7:30 EST, ESPN
Why to watch: Neither
North Carolina nor Rutgers
played particularly well in the
opener. The difference was a
matter of scheduling, with the
Heels escaping McNeese State and
the Knights getting dumped by
Fresno State. Now, both schools
have something to prove in front
of a national TV audience.
Carolina is eyeing the ACC
Coastal Division, especially
after incumbent Virginia Tech
lost its first game to East
Carolina. To reach that goal,
however, head coach Butch Davis
knows his kids have to make a
quantum leap from a week ago.
While the Heels were bad, the
Knights were worse, nearly
getting blanked in front of a
disgusted home crowd. Just 5-6
over the last 11 games, the
program is in danger of
squandering some of the goodwill
it accumulated in 2005 and 2006.
If the Fresno State game was any
indication, life after RB Ray
Rice is going to include plenty
of stalled drives.
Why North Carolina might win:
Davis’ wish to get Greg Little
on track and establish the
running game will come to
fruition at Rutgers’ expense.
The Knights remain weak in the
middle of the defense, yielding
206 yards to Ryan Matthews and
the rest of the Fresno State
running game. On the flip side,
the Heels are stout on the
interior, led by budding
superstar Marvin Austin. The new
Rutgers backfield of Kordell
Young and Mason Robinson won’t
have much luck improving on the
three yards a carry it produced
two weeks ago.
Why Rutgers might win:
The Scarlet Knights have the
parts to abuse North Carolina’s
sore spot, its pass defense.
Yes, QB Mike Teel has plenty to
prove, but as long as receivers
Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood
are running routes, Rutgers will
have the ability to make plays
downfield. If Teel can step up
his game, an absolute must going
forward, he’ll get multiple
opportunities to burn that Tar
Heel defensive backfield. It’ll
take just one or two connections
for things to loosen up for the
Knight running game.
Who to watch: If not for
do-everything Tar Heel Brandon
Tate, Carolina would have joined
Rutgers in the winless column.
The senior bailed his teammates
out against McNeese State,
accounting for a school-record
397 yards and scoring twice. If
Rutgers doesn’t know where No.
87 is at all times, he’ll
single-handedly send it to 0-2.
What will happen: After
just one game, Greg Schiano is
staring at a must-win against
Davis, his mentor when the two
were at Miami. He’ll lean on the
right arm of Teel, who’ll come
through with 250 yards and a
couple of touchdown passes in a
nip-and-tuck thriller between
two evenly-matched programs.
CFN Prediction: Rutgers
28 … North Carolina 20 ... Line:
Rutgers -4.5
Must See Rating: (5
Hole in the Wall - 1
First Blood) … 3
-
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Saturday, September
13 |
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Penn State (2-0) at Syracuse
(0-2),
3:30 EST,
ABC
Why to watch: Penn State
and Syracuse renew an old
Eastern rivalry that’s been
dormant for almost two decades.
Unfortunately, only one of the
participants is playing as if
belongs in the FBS, let alone
this game. As much of the Big
Ten shows warts, the Nittany
Lions have raised their profile,
mauling Oregon State a week
after disposing of Coastal
Carolina. There’s genuine
excitement surrounding the new
spread offense, which is getting
maximum production from QB
Darryl Clark and the running
tandem of Evan Royster and
Stephon Green. Every time it
looks like Syracuse has reached
a new level ineptitude, it takes
out a shovel and digs a little
deeper. Now 0-2 after getting
roughed up by Akron, the Orange
is struggling for something
positive to rally around. Alas,
lowly Northeastern visits the
Carrier Dome in a week.
Why Penn State might win:
As good as the Nittany Lion
skill position players have
been, it’s the offensive line
that’s really made the offense
hum over the first two weeks.
Gerald Cadogan, A.Q. Shipley,
and the rest of front wall have
dominated, failing to yield a
sack and paving the way for the
Big Ten’s top offense. The unit
will toy with a Syracuse defense
that’s been manhandled in both
of its games. Penn State will
continue to mix things up on
offense, getting little
resistance from the Orange.
Why Syracuse might win:
With Cameron Dantley at the
controls, the Orange offense
showed a pulse in the loss to
Akron, scoring four touchdowns
and displaying rare balance.
Dantley accounted for three of
those scores, getting a helping
hand from the running game.
Curtis Brinkley and Delone
Carter were solid, combining for
220, and will have continued
success against a Penn State
defensive line that’s the
program’s weakest link. Brinkley
and Carter will need to control
the clock to keep the Lion
offense on the sidelines.
Who to watch: Clark was a
serious question mark heading
into the season, but he’s
already earned the confidence of
the staff and the fans. A
strong, stocky player, he’s
beginning to look like Michael
Robinson with better passing
skills. If he continues to
develop within this offense,
Penn State will be a tough out.
What will happen: On
Friday night, the premiere of
“The Express”, a movie about
Ernie Davis, will take place at
Syracuse’s historic Landmark
Theatre. It’ll be all downhill
after that for the Orange who’ll
have no answers for a Penn State
offense that’s just beginning to
hit its stride.
CFN Prediction: Penn
State 41 … Syracuse 14 ... Line:
Penn State -27.5
Must See Rating: (5
Hole in the Wall - 1
First Blood) … 2
-
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Virginia (1-1) at Connecticut
(2-0),
7:30 EST, ESPNU
Why to watch: Connecticut
added another chapter to its
book on Winning Ugly for
Dummies, outlasting Temple
in overtime, 12-9. Randy
Edsall’s time-tested formula of
a stout defense and a relentless
running game was enough for the
Huskies, who are 2-0 for the
fifth time in the last six
years. They have a ton of work
to do, primarily in the passing
game, and just a couple of weeks
before the start of the Big East
portion of the schedule. If
Connecticut’s win on Saturday
was ugly, Virginia’s was
downright hideous. The Cavs
narrowly escaped Richmond, 16-0,
managing just a field goal in
the first 53 minutes. While no
one is surprised that Virginia
is rebuilding, the first two
games have shown that its
timetable for success will be
longer than originally expected.
Why Virginia might win:
If Connecticut can’t produce
more points on offense, it’s
going to play tight games all
season long. Although the
running game has been fine, the
passing attack has been awful,
producing no touchdown passes in
two games. The Cavaliers have
enough talent in the front
seven, namely linebackers
Antonio Appleby, Clint Sintim,
and Jon Copper, to stack the
line of scrimmage and force
Husky Tyler Lorenzen to beat
them.
Why Connecticut might win:
Virginia had trouble moving the
ball on Richmond. How will it
navigate a nasty UConn defense
that’s yet to allow a touchdown
in eight quarters? The Huskies
boast a terrific D that swarms
to the ball, creates takeaways,
and doesn’t give up many yards
after the catch. They’ll clamp
down on a Cavalier offense
that’s not blocking well for the
running backs and is suffering
through growing pains at
quarterback. This is a terrible
match up for the Cavalier
offense.
Who to watch: For the
second straight week, Husky RB
Donald Brown has been the savior
for Randy Edsall’s program.
Second nationally in rushing, he
ripped through a good Temple
defense for a career-high 214
yards and the game-winning
score. For Virginia, the big
problem is at quarterback where
Peter Lalich didn’t make the
trip thanks to legal problems
stemming from an underage
drinking charge. It’ll be up to
sophomore Mark Verica to take
over and come through in his
first start.
What will happen: If
you’re looking for fireworks and
offensive execution, locate the
nearest remote control. This
will not be a pretty game
between two schools that are
really struggling on offense.
Brown will keep the chains
moving with his third straight
100-yard day, but LB Scott
Lutrus, DE Cody Brown, and the
rest of the defense will
preserve another close win for
Connecticut.
CFN Prediction:
Connecticut 23 … Virginia 16 ...
Line: Connecticut -11
Must See Rating: (5
Hole in the Wall - 1
First Blood) … 2
-
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