Big East Football Week #3 Preview

Week 3 may be the most significant of the year for the Big East. The conference has stumbled out of the gate, and many nationally are questioning the leagues credibility.

As a whole, the members of the conference stand at 8-7, but that record is a little misleading, since five of those wins are against I-AA teams. The other three are overtime victories by UConn against Temple and South Florida against Central Florida, as well as a Pittsburgh win at home against Buffalo. Only UConn and South Florida remain undefeated in the Big East football standings.

Only four Big East teams are in action in Week 3, but all four must perform well for the conference to re-gain some integrity with college football fans and pundits.

(** For the record last week’s predictions were 6-1. Much like West Virginia fans, Big East Fans was expecting to sing “Country Roads,” at the end of Saturday evening, only to be stood up at the alter by a disappointing Mountaineer defense and stagnant offense. This year’s prediction record stands at 12-3. If only the Big East’s out of conference record was the same.

North Carolina Tar Heels 1-0 (0-0 ACC) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights 0-1 (0-0 Big East)

Thursday, September 11- 7:30 ESPN

North Carolina comes to Rutgers Stadium Thursday night after one of the most disappointing opening performances of any BCS conference school. In a game that was suspended for close to two hours by rain, the Tar Heels barely hung on against I-AA McNeese State. Brandon Tate was phenomenal for the Tar Heels (and quite honestly the lone bright spot), accounting for 397 all purpose yards, including an 82 yard punt return, and a late game touchdown reception that sealed the victory.

For Rutgers, the first game was even more of a let down, as the Knights had opportunities early and late against the Fresno State Bulldogs, but never seemed to make the big play when needed, losing 24-7.

If Rutgers expects to win this game, it must stop Tate. The senior not only had several big punt and kickoff returns, but also had four catches for 93 yards. In its game against Fresno State, the Scarlet Knights secondary played poorly, giving up big plays to the Bulldogs combination of Tom Brandstater and Seyi Ajirotutu. Coming off a bye week, the Knights must improve their play in the defensive backfield against a strong Tar Heels passing attack.

Offensively, the Scarlet Knights need improved play from quarterback Mike Teel. All we heard all off-season was how much Teel had improved after playing most of 2007 with an injured throwing hand. Finally healthy in Week 1, Teel played well, but never seemed quite in rhythm with wide receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood. As for the Rutgers running game, Kordell Young did a commendable job replacing Scarlet Knights great Ray Rice. The sophomore carried 26 times for 94 yards, and would have had more if his teammates up front had been able to more consistently open holes.

We got a lot more questions than answers from both these teams in Week 1, but the choice here is Rutgers.

While North Carolina never really impressed in their opener, the Scarlet Knights were able to move the ball consistently against Fresno State- just never able to capitalize when it mattered (remember two short field goals were missed and Rutgers was unable to convert a 4 th and 1 deep in Fresno State territory).

Teel needs to improve, but with a game under his belt should be more comfortable in the pocket. Defensively the front seven for Rutgers will likely limit North Carolina’s running game, forcing the Tar Heels to throw. That is where the experience of the Scarlet Knights secondary will show. They know how poorly they played against Fresno State and won’t let it happen again.

This game will be back and forth, but with the support of the home crowd, the more experienced team will win a tight one. Remember Rutgers track record playing big Thursday night games.

Rutgers 24 - North Carolina 20

Kansas Jayhawks 2-0 (0-0 Big XII) at South Florida Bulls 2-0 (0-0 Big East)

Friday, September 12- 8 pm ESPN

With West Virginia’s shocking 24-3 loss against East Carolina last week, it looks as though the South Florida Bulls have become the Big East’s flag-bearer. With Kansas coming to Tampa in Week 3, we will find out if a team with a history of wilting when the expectations are the highest can carry an entire conference.

What can we make of the Kansas Jayhawks? This is a team which has won its first two games by a combined score of 69-10 and is racking up 465.5 yards per game. The Jayhawks of course haven’t exactly beaten the cream of college football’s crop- winning against lowly Florida International and Louisiana Tech. Both games were at home.

The Jayhawks are led by quarterback Todd Reesing, who burst onto the college football scene in 2007. The junior, who primarily operates out of the shotgun has already thrown for 668 yards and six touchdowns. Reesing’s got an array of targets including Dezmon Briscoe, Daymond Patterson and Kerry Meier.

As good as Kansas’s pass offense has been, the running game has struggled mightily. Jake Sharp came into the season as the primary running threat, but has been so poor that Kansas coach Mark Mangino recently stated that he will be no longer be the primary option. The Jayhawks have split the remainder of their carries with Jocques Crawford and Angus Quigley. Expect all three to get touches for the Bulls.

For South Florida, the results have been mixed. But the Bulls are right where they want to be- 2-0 heading into this game.

After a convincing Week 1 victory over Tennessee-Martin, the Bulls needed overtime to defeat Central Florida on the road. Junior quarterback Matt Grothe carried South Florida, throwing for three touchdowns including the game winner in overtime to Taurus Johnson.

The Bulls running game comes into this week’s showdown with some big questions as both Mike Ford and Benjamin Williams are injured but expected to play.

Both teams have so many questions heading into this game it is hard to choose a winner. The South Florida defensive line will be hands down the best that the Jayhawks have faced all year. So how will a Kansas running game that has been abysmal against lesser competition gain yardage? How will Todd Reesing respond? Will he have even time to throw the ball?

And for South Florida, we know they have two excellent players at the safety position, but they are also breaking in two new cornerbacks. How do they respond to a pass happy, spread offense? If Central Florida quarterback Matt Greco was able to move the ball against the Bulls defense, what can Reesing do? And what about Ford and Williams in the backfield? Moise Plancher did well stepping in at times last week, but the Bulls need Ford and Williams in this game.

In another tight game, I give a razor-thin edge to the home team. Grothe and the Bulls showed a lot in that gritty road win at Central Florida. With a comfortable lead and only a few minutes to go, Central Florida stormed back and forced overtime. South Florida could have quit, but picked themselves up off the mat, and made enough plays to win.

No matter who wins, we will learn a lot about both teams.

South Florida 28 - Kansas 24

Penn State Nittany Lions 2-0 (0-0 Big 10) at Syracuse Orangemen 0-2 (0-0 Big East)

Saturday, September 13- 3:30 pm ABC

It will be an emotional weekend in Syracuse, as the Orange will pay tribute to former Syracuse great Ernie Davis. Legends Jim Brown and Floyd Little will be in attendance.

The Nittany Lions care little about Syracuse’s tradition, as they look to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Penn State is coming off an impressive 45-14 victory over Oregon State, where for one day (and maybe one day only) they looked like they could compete with Ohio State in the Big 10. They did everything right offensively, tallying 454 total yards, while limiting the high flying Oregon State attack to just two touchdowns- despite missing two starters on the defensive line because of suspension. Evan Royster rushed for 141 yards and Daryll Clark threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The Nittany Lions put up 28 points before the Beavers got on the scoreboard.

For a Syracuse team that has experienced nothing but lows since Greg Robinson became head coach, last Saturday may have been rock bottom.

Facing Akron (not exactly the elite of college football) the Orange allowed 260 yards passing to Zips quarterback Chris Jacquemain, as Syracuse lost 42-28 at home. Trailing the entire game, the Orange showed heart battling back to tie the score up at 28 early in the fourth quarter, only to give up the game winning touchdown just five plays later.

Curtis Brinkley was the lone bright spot for Syracuse rushing for 143 yards.

All signs point to this being a huge let down game for Penn State, while Syracuse rides the wave of emotion from the home crowd. It may be close up until the half, but there is too much talent on one side and not nearly enough on the other.

Penn State wins big.

Penn State 41- Syracuse 14

> Gear up for the 2008 college football season with Big East merchandise & gear and buy Big East tickets online through Big East Fans!

Virginia Cavaliers 1-1 (0-0 ACC) at Connecticut Huskies 2-0 (0-0) Big East

Saturday, September 13- 7:30 pm ESPN U

The UConn Huskies weren’t impressive in Week 2. But they made big plays on defense when needed them and had just enough Donald Brown to win a rain-soaked game at Temple 12-9.

Brown, a junior from New Jersey was phenomenal, rushing for a career high 214 yards and scoring the game’s only touchdown in the win. This week the Huskies welcome the Virginia Cavaliers, who have a very deceptive 1-1 record.

To their credit, the Cavaliers truly challenged themselves in Week 1. While many others (including UConn) were feasting on weaker competition in their openers, Virginia welcomed the USC Trojans to Charlottesville to start the season.

It wasn’t pretty.

USC controlled the game offensively, defensively and on special teams. They accounted for a staggering 558 yards of total offense, while holding Virginia to only 187.

The final score was 51-7, and that was only because USC played its reserves for virtually the entire fourth quarter. On the bright side, USC All-American linebacker Rey Maualuga, the most feared man in college football, didn’t put any Cavaliers in the hospital.

In Week 2, the Cavaliers were even less impressive, this time in victory. Against I-AA Richmond, Virginia accounted for just 295 yards at home, and needed a fourth quarter interception return for a touchdown to seal the win. Quarterback Peter Lalich was good but not great completing 21 passes for 204 yards. He was intercepted twice.

Much like the games these two played last week, this might not be pretty. The Cavaliers have yet to establish a running game in either of their contests, and will rely heavily on Lalich. His best target is Kevin Ogletree who had eight catches for 103 yards a week ago.

On the other hand, UConn has yet to establish a passing game and has relied heavily on Brown. It will be interesting to see if the Cavaliers can stop the UConn ground game. Their defensive line won’t be intimidated after facing USC, but UConn was also able to continuously move the ball on the ground against Temple, even when their opponent loaded the box.

The Huskies should win this game. The field conditions will be much more suitable to pass, so if Tyler Lorenzen has another tough game, UConn may need to start looking at other options at quarterback.

UConn wants revenge after losing by one point at Virginia last year. Randy Edsall coached teams usually win the games they’re supposed to, and this is one of them.

UConn 22 - Virginia 16

By Aaron Torres
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer

More of Aaron's writing at BigEast-fans.com:

• Big East Football 2008: Week #2 recap
• Big East Football 2008: Week #2 preview
• Big East Football 2008: Week #1 recap
• Big East Football 2008: Week #1 preview