Big East Football Week #11 Preview

For the first time all year, it appears as though the Big East title picture is starting to take shape.

Last weekend seven teams were in action, and three had convincing wins that separated themselves from the pack.

It all started on Thursday night, when the Cincinnati Bearcats shook off a disappointing Week 9 loss at UConn, by defeating the South Florida Bulls 24-10. Tony Pike started his second straight game at quarterback, and was impressive- throwing for 281 yards in the win. The loss all but eliminated South Florida from the Big East title picture, as the Bulls fell to 1-3 in the conference.

On Saturday, West Virginia improved to 3-0 in the Big East by winning at UConn 35-13. The Mountaineers stand as the only undefeated team in the conference, after dominating the second half, outscoring the Huskies 28-0 after intermission.

Although Pittsburgh didn’t play a conference game, they had one of the best wins of any Big East team this season when they won at Notre Dame in four overtimes. It doesn’t count toward the conference standings, but the win was exactly the medicine the Panthers needed after an embarrassing loss to Rutgers just a week earlier.

And finally, the conference shocker of the week came from the Carrier Dome, where Syracuse beat Louisville for the second time in two years, the final score 28-21. The loss put the Cardinals in a very difficult position to win the conference as they are 1-2 in league play. The Orange - who are simply playing for pride at this point - are 1-3 in the Big East.

Onto Week 11.

With the conference title picture starting to clear, the Big East has three inter-conference match-ups this week. And remember, while some teams may have played themselves out of the conference title race, winning is still important as teams now have to impress bowl committees.

(Last week my picks stood at 3-1, with only Louisville losing. For the season my record is 41-14).

Louisville Cardinals (5-3, 1-2 Big East) @ Pittsburgh Panthers (6-2, 2-1 Big East)

Saturday, November 8- 12:00 p.m. ESPN Gameplan

Pittsburgh has yet to defeat Louisville since the Cardinals joined the Big East in 2005. If the Panthers want to win their first Big East championship in five years, they’ll need to do so on Saturday.

There is no team in America which suffered a more crippling loss than Louisville did last Saturday.

Coming off a win against South Florida at home two weeks ago, the Cardinals were flying high into the Carrier Dome, looking to prove last year’s 38-35 loss to the Orange was a fluke. After another shocking loss to the Big East’s worst team, Louisville is reeling, and needs a win at Pittsburgh Saturday if they want any chance to stay in the Big East title race, and possibly just to stay bowl eligible.

While Louisville struggled last week, the Panthers had one of the best wins of Dave Wannstedt’s coaching era. Pittsburgh, coming off its own embarrassing loss a week prior, traveled to Notre Dame, and won as an underdog, in four overtimes. Running back LeSean McCoy topped the 100 yard mark for the fifth straight game, as he continues to make his case for Big East offensive player of the year.

Now these two teams - which in one week have gone in completely separate directions - meet at Heinz Field Saturday afternoon.

It is no secret that both coaches want to run the ball. McCoy is the most dynamic back in the conference and after a slow start has ripped off close to 800 yards and 10 touchdowns in his last five games. As good as he was last week (169 yards), McCoy may be even better against Louisville, as the Panthers welcome back starting quarterback Bill Stull. The junior- who missed last week with a concussion- isn’t a superstar, but is a more poised pocket passer than either Pat Bostick (three interceptions a week ago) or Kevan Smith, both of whom saw time against Notre Dame. His presence should take some pressure off of McCoy, as the Panthers are a much more dangerous passing team with Stull under center.

As for Louisville, it is no secret that the Cardinals plan on running the ball as well. While the Cardinals lack a back as complete as McCoy, the combination of Victor Anderson, Brock Bolen and Bilal Powell has proved to be tough for the opposition to handle. Anderson was the featured back against Syracuse, rushing for 113 yards on 23 carries.

If the Cardinals really expect to win however, they’ll need better production out of fifth-year senior quarterback Hunter Cantwell.

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I’m not quite sure why, but Cantwell seems to have gotten a pass from too many media types all season. Maybe it’s because he has the make-up to someday play on Sundays. It might be because he filled in so admirably three years ago when Louisville’s starter at the time, Brian Brohm went down with injury. Either way, Cantwell has been entirely too inconsistent for someone with the experience that he has.

We gave him a pass against Kentucky, because the Cardinals fell so far behind that he needed to throw the ball every play. He got one against UConn because he gritted out the fourth quarter while clearly injured. But against Syracuse- the softest secondary in the entire Big East- Cantwell needed to be better. If there is ever a game for him to step up, it’d be against the Panthers, which gave up six touchdown passes to the embattled Mike Teel just two weeks ago, and 271 yards and three touchdowns to Jimmy Clausen last Saturday.

Although the match-ups will play a role, I like Pittsburgh.

There just seems to be something about this specific group of Panthers that make it different from teams of years past. A sense of maturity and responsibility, coupled with a confidence that they can beat anyone.

I know the loss to Rutgers two weeks ago was ugly, but coming off a defeat like that, Pittsburgh teams of years past would have laid down on the road at Notre Dame. But to come back, in one of the toughest road venues in college football, without your starting quarterback really spoke volumes to how much this Pittsburgh team has grown over the course of this year.

As for Louisville, I don’t know what to think.

I’ve said all year that they can beat anyone in this conference, so I wouldn’t truly be shocked if they pulled out the win in Pittsburgh. But my question is to how this team responds to adversity. It really seemed like this was finally Steve Kragthorpe’s team, after struggling so mightily in his first year. Just when the players and fan base finally got behind the second-year coach, the Cardinals again suffered an in-excusable loss to Syracuse. With the schedule as tough as it is, this may be a loss that Louisville never recovers from, and leaves them out of the bowl picture for the second straight year.

Again, maybe I’m wrong. We’ve seen before, that just when we’re all ready to rally around the Panthers, they self-implode. And right when it’s time to give up on Louisville, they pull out a win that no one expects.

I just don’t think that the Cardinals can recover from the emotional sting of last week’s loss.

McCoy goes over 100 yards again (against the best run defense he’s faced all year), as the Panthers continue toward their march at a Big East championship.

Pittsburgh 31 - Louisville 17

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Syracuse Orange (2-6, 1-3 Big East) @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-5, 2-2 Big East)

Saturday, November 8- 12:00 p.m. ESPNU

Two teams whose seasons have had a complete turnaround in the past few weeks, meet in New Brunswick, N.J., as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights host the Syracuse Orange.

It’s finally time to give the Orange credit.

After starting the year 1-4 out of conference (with the only win coming against FCS Northeastern), Syracuse has shown some fight in the Big East. In its first three conference contests, the Orange battled tough before ultimately losing to Pittsburgh, West Virginia and South Florida. They finally pulled out the conference victory that we knew they’d eventually get, as they shocked Louisville for the second straight year. Curtis Brinkley became the first running back in the history of Syracuse football to rush for over 100 yards in five straight games, and quarterback Cam Dantley appears to have finally taken the quarterback position all for himself. With the win, the Orange now have an even bigger task ahead of them, as they try for their first conference winning streak of the Greg Robinson era.

If there is one player in the Big East that knows what kind of adversity Syracuse has gone through, it’s Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel. The fifth-year senior and New Jersey native, has won a lot of games in his Rutgers career, but it meant nothing this season, as the Scarlet Knights started off 1-5, and the quarterback received more criticism and boos than any player in recent Big East memory. Teel finally got some vindication of his own, as Rutgers has won its past two games- including a 54-34 win at Pitt, in which the quarterback threw for six touchdowns. Teel and the Scarlet Knights will look to make it three wins in a row Saturday.

With Rutgers coming off a bye week, look for the Scarlet Knights to have the advantage early. Expect them to try and establish their running game, but will ultimately win or lose with Teel’s passing. Teel was woeful in some early season games, and never seemed to be on the same page as Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt. That clearly changed on October 25 th, when the senior connected with Britt on three touchdown passes, and for the first time all season looked comfortable in the pocket. While a performance like the one against Pittsburgh can’t be expected every week, look for the quarterback to continue on his improved play, and make just enough throws to keep the chains moving and Syracuse’s offense off the field.

When the Orange have the ball, they will try to pound it with Brinkley. The Philadelphia native may not have a lot of wins to show for his senior year, but is playing his way into the NFL Draft. While the Syracuse passing game is still a work in progress, Dantley was under control and didn’t force anything against the Cardinals. He finished with a pedestrian 178 yards, but didn’t turn the ball over, and made just enough plays to keep Louisville’s defense from loading the box to stop the run.

As nice as Syracuse’s win was last week- don’t be fooled. Pick Rutgers. Simply put, the Scarlet Knights have better athletes all over the field. There isn’t a defensive back on Syracuse’s roster that can cover Britt man-to-man. And if Teel can get speedster Tim Brown in the mix the way he did against Pittsburgh, (4 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns), the offense will feature a player who’s a threat to score on every play he’s in.

For Syracuse the win was nice, but fleeting. Robinson does get some vindication for all the stress he’s been put through this year, but it isn’t enough for him to keep his job.

Rutgers might be the hottest team in the Big East and continues to fight back toward bowl eligibility.

Rutgers 33 - Syracuse 16

Cincinnati Bearcats (6-2, 2-1 Big East) @ West Virginia Mountaineers (6-2, 3-0 Big East)

Saturday, November 8 - 7:00 p.m. ESPNU

There are three teams left in the Big East which control their own destiny in the race for the conference championship. Two of them play Saturday at Milan-Puskar Stadium on the campus of West Virginia University.

It doesn’t seem to matter who is under center, or how many players are out with injuries- the Cincinnati Bearcats continue to win football games. With Tony Pike back at quarterback in Week 10, the Bearcats had arguably their most impressive victory of the season- a 24-10 defeat of South Florida at home. It was a complete team effort, as Pike threw for 281 yards, and the defense made several late game stops in the win. As they travel to West Virginia this week, the Bearcats will face a team coming off a victory just as satisfying.

It’s hard to believe that it was just one month ago that West Virginia was 2-2, and an afterthought in the Big East title race.

My how things have changed.

Since losing at Colorado in mid-September, the Mountaineers have ripped off five straight wins, none more impressive than last week at UConn. After trailing 13-7 at halftime, West Virginia scored 28 unanswered points, to seal the victory 35-13 (a week before they outscored Auburn 31-0 in the second half). West Virginia’s defense- which is always being overshadowed by the high-powered offense- was again stout, forcing four second half turnovers in the victory.

When these two teams meet on the field, all the talk will be on the offenses, but it will which defense plays best.

We know that when Cincinnati has the ball they will look to throw it all over the field, as they have one of the most efficient pass offenses in the country. Against South Florida, the Bearcats looked like a completely different team with Pike under center- as he continually hit his receivers in stride, throwing several balls that only his man could get to

Across the field on Saturday, Pike will face the best pass defense he’s seen since getting mop-up work against Oklahoma in Week 2. Statistically, the Mountaineers have the tenth best scoring defense in the country, only yielding 14.8 yards per game. But beyond the numbers, was how well this group played against UConn a week ago. I know the Huskies were starting a red-shirt freshman at quarterback, but the Mountaineers still played their most complete game as a defense against UConn- forcing five turnovers, including three second half interceptions.

As much as Cincinnati wants to throw the ball, West Virginia wants to run it just the same.

We know that Pat White is a threat to score on every play, and that Noel Devine is one of the most shifty players in college football- but it was actually Jock Sanders who was the star of West Virginia’s running game against UConn. Although Sanders is listed as a wide receiver on the West Virginia depth chart, he was called on twice in short yardage situations against the Huskies, and responded by rushing for two touchdowns (while also catching another). With Sanders in the backfield, there is yet another threat to score on any given play, on an offense that is loaded with them.

It will be a close game, but look for West Virginia to prevail.

I don’t think the game will be decided on anything that Cincinnati does wrong as much as the fact that they are just catching the Mountaineers at the wrong time. West Virginia has played its best football in their past two games, and will be returning to a raucous home crowd, in a stadium which is always more electric at night. The homestretch of the Pat White era is upon us, and a very senior-laden group wants to leave its legacy as one of the best classes to ever play in the Big East (remember they’ve already won three New Years Day bowl games).

It will be close until the final minutes in Morgantown, but White- who his coach said was “one of the greatest winners in college football history,” finds a way to do it again. Remember the Mountaineers have outscored their last two opponents 59-0 in the second half, so don’t expect an early deficit to phase the home team.

After Saturday the Mountaineers will be 4-0 and in the drivers seat of the Big East title race.

West Virginia 31 - Cincinnati 27

By Aaron Torres
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer