2011 College Football Preview: Big East

As usual, my 2011 College Football Preview includes information compiled from a variety of sources, most notably the work of Phil Steele. Check out his preview publications and material on his website. I also scour local newspapers and school websites for updated information, but it should be noted that all information contained in team and conference previews is only current up to the date of that post's publication.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Pittsburgh
2. Cincinnati
3. South Florida
4. Rutgers
5. Connecticut
6. West Virginia
7. Syracuse
8. Louisville

Top Storylines in the Big East

Odd offseason for coaches. Two league schools had rather unorthodox coaching changes during the offseason. At Pittsburgh, Dave Wannstedt was jettisoned after 26 wins over three years, the most for the school in nearly 30 years. They tried to hire Mike Haywood after a magical season at Miami University, but Haywood's legal issues gave Pitt no choice but to pull the plug on that idea. They then turned to former Tulsa coach Todd Graham, who brings a wide-open offensive attack to Pittsburgh. The Panthers' main rival, West Virginia, had an even more interesting spring. After they announced new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen and named him the head coach in waiting, reports surfaced that current head coach Bill Stewart -- set to coach in 2011 for one more year before Holgorsen took over -- was trying to undermine his successor. Once that all got out, WVU forced Stewart out immediately, with Holgorsen taking over. It was all very juicy, but does it make the Mountaineers better? This was a upper-tier team before the upheaval, and now they have to maintain it after all the distractions. Missing seven starters on defense won't help. Meanwhile, Graham's quarterback-friendly offense should leave incumbent starter Tino Sunseri very happy. The junior is poised to put up huge numbers for the Panthers.

Rutgers rebound? Greg Schiano's Scarlet Knights went 4-8 last season. They took significant steps back both on defense and offense, where their production dropped by more than a touchdown per game while the run game suffered greatly, averaging just 2.7 yards per attempt. Top recruit Savon Huggins is expected to make an impact, and leading rushers Jordan Thomas and Jeremy Deering return. Huggins averaged over ten yards per carry and is the first consensus No. 1 player from New Jersey to commit to Rutgers. Sophomore quarterback Chas Dodd returns after putting up decent numbers last year, and leading receivers Mark Harrison and Mohamed Sanu are both back. Harrison should become a star as Dodd develops. Only a junior, he tallied nine touchdowns and averaged nearly 19 yards per catch last year. Michigan transfer Anthony La Lota, an athletic tackle, keys the Knights' defense.

Can South Florida make The Leap? The 2009 preseason was full of high hopes for South Florida. Matt Grothe was carrying the offense into the season, but the quarterback tore his ACL less than a third of the way into the season, and while freshman B.J. Daniels performed admirably, he couldn't get the Bulls to the top of the Big East. Now, Daniels is a junior, and the Bulls might be ready to make another run. USF needs to get more out of an offense that averaged just 309 yards per game last season, but their defense should be quite strong. Look out for linebackers Sam Barrington and DeDe Lattimore, and defensive end Ryne Giddins could be special rushing the passer. On the offensive side, it will help that the team has a full year of Skip Holtz' system in, but the key is Daniels, who must become more consistent as a thrower.

The Rest of the Story

I like Cincinnati this season for more reasons than just Zack Collaros, though that's a good place to start. The senior quarterback waited his turn to become the full-time starter, and he did pretty well last year, with turnovers and some bad luck conspiring to help the Bearcats limp home 4-8. Mix in an experienced and talented defense with improvement from Collaros, and the Bearcats could be a threat ... Connecticut will miss Randy Edsall's leadership, and former Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni has some big shoes to fill there. It will be interesting to see if D.J. Shoemate can emerge as a top runner, because the Huskies have quietly done a fine job of developing running backs lately, with Donald Brown and Jordan Todman both starring at UConn before going to the NFL. ... While I don't expect much of a dropoff with Syracuse this season, I do think they will struggle a bit, off their first bowl trip (a win at Yankee Stadium) since 2004. Delone Carter was too big a part of the offense not to be sorely missed. It puts a lot of pressure on quarterback Ryan Nassib, who was hot and cold much of last season. If he develops more consistency, the Orange could be a surprise team. ... Charlie Strong did a great job in his first year at Louisville, leading the Cardinals to the Beef O'Brady's Bowl, where they beat Southern Miss. A big reason why was the play of their top quarterbacks, as Adam Froman and Justin Burke were both efficient and took good care of the ball. Inexperienced Will Stein is expected to start this season, and the Cardinals lose seven other offensive starters, so Year 2 could be a bit tougher for Strong.

College Football 2010: Big East

Yes, we're doing a College Football Preview again. Yes, you know I love Phil Steele's work. Order from his plethora of preview options here. I'm also armed with The Sporting News College Football 2010, and I picked up the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook this year, too. I've also done research through local newspapers and school websites to try to get the most up-to-date information on the teams.

Big East Conference

1. Pittsburgh
2. West Virginia
3. South Florida
4. Connecticut
5. Cincinnati
6. Rutgers
7. Syracuse
8. Louisville

Stories to Watch in the Big East

Moving on from Brian Kelly. Butch Jones is no slouch. He won 27 of 40 games in three years at Central Michigan, leading the Chippewas to two MAC titles. He did great work with record-setting quarterback Dan LeFevour. Don't count him out at Cincinnati, even if the odds are against him a bit. The Bearcats are missing six starters off a subpar defense that gave up 194 points over their last five games. Cornerback Dominique Battle leads what should be an improved secondary, but the Bearcats have to improve up front. Zach Collaros will start at quarterback with Tony Pike gone, and running back Isaiah Reed returns. Collaros started a couple games in 2009 when Pike was hurt, so this isn't going to be a new dance for him. He hit 75 percent of his throws while filling in, so it's expected that he will play well. Mardy Gilyard is gone, but senior Armon Binns should be able to step in to the No. 1 receiver role nicely. Jones will have a good team, but defensive losses and a tough schedule will cause problems in his first year.

Moving on from controversy. All the years that Jim Leavitt put in at South Florida, and one locker-room incident blew the whole thing up. Allegations that Leavitt struck a player during halftime of a game last season led to his dismissal as USF coach. The school did well, though, as they plucked Skip Holtz from East Carolina to take Leavitt's place. While Leavitt sues the school and tries to get his contract paid off, Holtz will work with a very strong returning group. Last year's knee injury to longtime starting quarterback Matt Grothe might have been temporarily crippling, but it was also eye-opening, because it gave talented B.J. Daniels a chance to shine as the starter before he was expected to. Grothe is gone now, and Daniels is the unquestioned starter. He has to improve as a passer, and leading receiver Carlton Mitchell's departure won't help there. But what USF really needs is a running back to step up. Daniels ended up being the Bulls' leading rusher last year, and that can't happen again. Moise Plancher and Demetris Murray seem the best candidates to run the ball regularly. Holtz also has to replace six starters on defense, including the top four tacklers and leading sacker Jason Pierre-Paul. Look for a big year out of redshirt freshman end Ryne Giddins.

Pitt continues to rise. It's been pretty steady improvement since Dave Wannstedt took over as the head coach at Pittsburgh. The Panthers have won 19 games the last two years, posted double-digit wins in 2009 for the first time in nearly 20 years, and look to be a real favorite in the Big East this fall. Wannstedt is still looking to find a consistent passing game, but he has a real star in the making in sophomore running back Dion Lewis. The short, stocky Lewis ran for nearly 1,800 yards as a freshman, chipped in 25 receptions, and scored 18 touchdowns (17 rushing). Not bad for a true freshman. New starting quarterback Tino Sunseri will try to pick up where Bill Stull left off. The departed Stull greatly improved his completion percentage as a senior, and he threw 21 touchdowns. Leading receiver Jon Baldwin, a big dude who is good in traffic, returns. The defense lost a few pieces, but should still be strong thanks to middle linebacker Dan Mason and safety Jarred Holley. The recent suspension of starting end Jabaal Sheard will hurt, but the Panthers are deep along the defensive line. Non-conference dates with Utah (road) and Miami (home) are daunting, but the Panthers could still hit double digits in wins.

Connecticut looks for a breakthrough. UConn battled through the murder of cornerback Jasper Howard last year, rallying late in the year to make a bowl game after a three-game losing streak that came right after the murder. This UConn team should be even better. 16 starters are back, including emerging star running back Jordan Todman and former Notre Dame quarterback Zach Frazer, who got better as last year wore on and will continue to improve as a senior. On defense, weakside linebacker Lawrence Wilson had 140 tackles and five sacks last year, and the All-Big East player is the leader of this unit. If Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Dwayne Gratz play well at cornerback, the Huskies could be quite formidable on this side of the ball. Their performance in the bowl win over South Carolina last year should be quite encouraging. Top dogs West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati all visit Storrs, and the only daunting non-conference roadie is a date at Michigan to open the season. This could be the year UConn surges in the polls and stays there.

Best of the Rest
Senior running back Noel Devine gets one more shot at a BCS bowl with West Virginia. Devine has been very good, but he needs more out of the Mountaineers' passing attack to give the offense balance. Either that, or he needs Pat White back. WVU's defense could be best in the Big East, and they're a sleeper for the league title. ... Tom Savage was a great find for Rutgers at quarterback. With Joe Martinek and Mohamed Sanu both back, the Scarlet Knights should improve on that side of the ball. The question is whether a defense that lost its top four tacklers, leading sack man, and best defensive back can keep up. ... I expect Syracuse to climb out of the Big East cellar this fall, and it will be much to the credit of new coach Doug Marrone, who won't accept the kind of mediocrity that had settled in under Greg Robinson. Stopgap quarterback Greg Paulus and star wide receiver Mike Williams depart, but sophomore Ryan Nassib looks like a good option at quarterback, where it's not like Paulus was anything special. Delone Carter will easily top the 1,021 yard total from a year ago, as Syracuse runs the ball better. ... Good thing Charlie Strong's background is on defense, because Louisville's new head coach has some serious rebuilding to do there. The Cardinals were a disaster last year, failing to score consistently or stop people. The defense wasn't good and lost its top four tacklers. If he can get them going on that side of the ball, the Cardinals should at least be competitive, but it's hard to see them qualifying for a bowl game.

Preseason Big East Superlatives
Best QB: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati
Best RB: Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh
Best WR: Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh
Best offense: Cincinnati
Best defense: Pittsburgh
Best coach: Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh
Coach in the most trouble: N/A
Best non-conference game: Miami at Pittsburgh, Sept. 23
Worst non-conference game: Indiana State at Cincinnati, Sept. 11

College Football 2009: Big East

This year's College Football Preview uses information gathered from many sources. As usual, my full endorsement goes to Phil Steele and his College Football Preview, which is the most comprehensive publication of its kind available. I also used The Sporting News College Football Preview, along with school websites and local newspapers, in my research for these preview posts. Please contact me ASAP if you have updated information that can be used to make this work more accurate.

1. Pittsburgh
2. Rutgers
3. South Florida
4. West Virginia
5. Cincinnati
6. Louisville
7. Connecticut
8. Syracuse

Fab Four: Top storylines in the Big East

Is this the year? The world has had its fair share of fun with Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt. Some of it has been deserved, as Wannstedt had "abject failure" written all over him after three years as the head coach at Pittsburgh. The Panthers had gone just 16-19 in those three seasons, failing to attain a bowl bid, losing countless close games, and teasing fans with some stirring performances. None of this was more true than the 2007 season, when Pitt beat Cincinnati and West Virginia but lost at home to Navy and Connecticut on the way to a 5-7 finish.

2008 was a more balanced season, as Pittsburgh shook off an season-opening loss to Bowling Green to go 9-2 over their last 11 games. Wannstedt's team finished 9-4, beat West Virginia again, and appears positioned for a title run this season.

Wannstedt has a potential problem on his hands with quarterback Bill Stull (pictured), who was generally awful a year ago (57 percent, nine TDs, ten picks). Will he pull the trigger on junior Pat Bostick? A quarterback controversy could sink this team, and it's worth watching in summer camp.

The Panthers have the makings of elite offensive and defensive lines, should be improved in the passing game, and they have an experienced and talented secondary. This could be Wannstedt's best chance to make believers out of the more skeptical Pitt supporters.

Senior quarterbacks all over. If Stull holds on to the Pittsburgh gig, it makes five of eight teams in the league who will likely employ a senior starting quarterback in 2009. That level of experience at the most important position on the field should only boost the conference's overall level of play.

Besides Stull, South Florida's Matt Grothe and Tony Pike of Cincinnati return with starting experience. A fourth senior quarterback, Cameron Dantley of Syracuse, has experience, but has been demoted in favor of freshman Ryan Nassib.

Two teams -- West Virginia and Rutgers -- expect to start seniors with no previous starting experience under center.

It's not surprising that the five teams with senior quarterbacks are expected to be in postseason contention at the end of the season. That kind of thing is hardly mandatory, but you can't put a price on a player like Grothe or Pike leading your team's offense.

Trouble for Kragthorpe? Louisville has been an amazing disappointment since Steve Kragthorpe came aboard as head coach in 2007. The Cardinals are just 11-13, have slipped noticeably on offense, and have suddenly stopped playing defense.

2009 could be another rough season. The Cardinals lose quarterback Hunter Cantwell, three starters on the defensive line, and have non-conference road dates with Kentucky and Utah.

If new starting quarterback Justin Burke can use his experienced skill-position talent, and improve on Cantwell's rather scattershot accuracy, the offense should get better. Then it's up to the defense to keep taking the kind of baby steps they took a year ago, when they improved off an embarrassing 2007 season and just weren't good enough to carry the Cardinals.

Louisville is at the crossroads here. One year from now, they'll either be talking about building off a minor bowl appearance, or they'll be breaking in a new coach.

Syracuse starts over ... again. When they hired Greg Robinson, there was talk of modernizing the offense. Apparently, Paul Pasqualoni's option-based, run-first attack was boring everyone to tears with winning seasons and bowl bids. Failure followed, even though the Orange did manage to beat Notre Dame in South Bend last year. Now, Robinson is gone, taking his 10-37 record and moving on with his life.

The new coach is Doug Marrone, who played at Syracuse and understands that there was some tradition with this program before Robinson came in and tried to change everything.

Well-traveled offensive coordinator Rob Spence was hired to bring life to an attack that hasn't averaged 20 points a game since Pasqualoni was still employed there. In fact, last year's 18.1 points per game was the highest a Robinson-run Syracuse team attained. Ouch.

As for the defense, after two years of respectable play, the last two years under Robinson were cover-your-eyes bad. Syracuse needs to find a way to slow opponents down a bit, because giving up around 200 yards rushing per game is not a key to success. There are 45 returning letterwinners to help Marrone lead this program back in the right direction in 2009, but there's just too much ground to make up on a league that has dominated the Orange for the better part of four straight years.

Best of the rest

Jabu Lovelace takes over as the quarterback at Rutgers, unless fellow senior Domenic Natale beats him out. The Scarlet Knights lost top receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood, but do return senior speedster Tim Brown and should have a much-improved running game led by Kordell Young. ... Grothe's (pictured) presence should solidify the South Florida offense. But what about a defense that lost leading tackler Tyrone McKenzie? Senior defensive end George Selvie could solve much of that, if the Bulls can get some help for him along that line. Selvie was worn down a year ago by double teams, and the Bulls really couldn't do anything to help him. ... No more Pat White at West Virginia, as Jarrett Brown takes over at quarterback. Luckily, he'll have Noel Devine to hand off to, and he'll still have Jock Sanders available to catch passes. ... Cincinnati won the Big East last year, but they lost some huge pieces of the defense, as ten starters depart. The Bearcats have quarterback Tony Pike back, and Brian Kelly's spread offense has to step up this year to support the young defense. ... There may not have been a more valuable player in the Big East last year than Connecticut running back Donald Brown, who topped 2,000 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. It makes sense that it would take a couple players to replace Brown, and that may happen at UConn, as senior Andre Dixon and sophomore Jordan Todman battle for playing time.

Big East Preseason Honors and Notables
Offensive Player of the Year: Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year: George Selvie, DE, South Florida
Coach of the Year: Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh
Coach on the Hot Seat: Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville
Best Non-Conference Game: Pittsburgh at North Carolina State, September 26
Worst Non-Conference Game: Southeast Missouri State at Cincinnati, September 12

COLLEGE FOOTBALL '08: BIG EAST

Welcome to The Ciskie Blog's 2008 College Football Preview. As usual, you can expect a rundown of every Division I-A (or "Football Bowl Subdivision", if you prefer) conference, as well as a brief look at the independents. Some of the information used to compile these previews came from various football preview publications that I took the time to review this summer. I give a full endorsement to Phil Steele's College Football Preview (the national edition, as well as his various regional magazines). I also have looked at Sporting News, Athlon Sports, and Blue Ribbon (via ESPN Insider). Information was also gathered from local newspapers and school websites. Please use the comments section or e-mail for feedback, questions, and any corrections you feel need to be noted.

1. West Virginia
2. South Florida
3. Pittsburgh
4. Rutgers
5. Cincinnati
6. Louisville
7. Connecticut
8. Syracuse

TOP FIVE STORYLINES IN BIG EAST
The Hot Seat in Syracuse. Any coach who goes 7-28 in three years is going to find himself in some trouble. When that coach follows a guy who took the Orange to nine bowl games had just one losing season in 14 years, it spells nothing but trouble. At Syracuse, patience must be a virtue, because Greg Robinson got a fourth year. Despite the improbable upset of Louisville, the Orange weren't exactly improved in 2007. Their win total was sliced in half (from four to two), they were worse running the ball, they scored fewer points, and their defense was the worst it's been under Robinson. Considering Syracuse lost almost half their letterwinners (28 out of 65), Robinson better hope his recruits are good. They dominate the roster now, and they're going to be responsible for securing Robinson a fifth season.

Big D in Tampa. This is not to besmirch the South Florida offense, which should be improved thanks to QB Matt Grothe, a good running game led by Mike Ford, the return of seven of USF's top eight receivers, and an almost intact offensive line. But this might be the best defense in the Big East. All-American DE George Selvie is back, as are solid OLBs Brouce Mompremier and Tyrone McKenzie. Ben Moffitt is gone from the middle, but coach Jim Leavitt brought in a potential replacement in JUCO Kion Wilson. Senior S Carlton Williams leads the secondary. With a more balanced offense that probably won't make as many mistakes, the Bulls look to the defense for even slight improvement this year. If that happens, a run at the Big East title is far from being out of the question.

Life without Ray Rice. It may not be as hard at Rutgers as many anticipate. Sure, it's going to suck not having Rice, a 2000-yard rusher, around. But the Scarlet Knights have the makings of a potent offense in 2008. Triggerman Mike Teel has accomplished receivers in Tiquan Underwood (right) and Kenny Britt, who combined for 127 catches, over 2,300 yards, and 17 scores a year ago. If you want to blame their success on Rice's ability to keep defenses honest at the line of scrimmage, then you may want to know who will run the ball for Rutgers. The answer is uncertain. Sophomores Mason Robinson and Kordell Young appear to be the favorites. That said, Teel's experience and the super receivers he has to throw to should combine for a fine season in Piscataway.

Dave Wannstedt in a pivotal season. The seat might not be as hot as Robinson's, but it's getting there. Wannstedt has disappointed in his first two seasons at Pittsburgh, seasons that came after Pitt ran Walt Harris out of town for having the audacity to take the Panthers to the Fiesta Bowl. That loss to Utah is still the last bowl game this program has seen. Wannstedt is an incredibly average 16-19 in three seasons. The good news for him is that he has continued to recruit well, and this is probably the season he starts to reap the benefits of that recruiting. The Panthers lost just 13 letterwinners, and they return all their skill-position starters on offense. I really like sophomore RB LeSean McCoy, and his numbers should only increase this year as junior QB Bill Stull becomes more and more comfortable with the players around him. Wannstedt has a natural leader and incredible talent in senior MLB Scott McKillop, who had 91 more tackles (151) than any other Panther a year ago. With a relatively easy schedule to start the season, the Panthers should get off to a good start, something that may be enough to propel them to a bowl appearance.

Rich Rodriguez out, Bill Stewart in. After West Virginia's unreal performance in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma, the administration didn't waste any time getting Stewart set up as the new head coach to replace Rodriguez. And why not? The players lobbied hard for Stewart publicly, and their performance in that game validated their lobbying. The offense isn't going to change a ton, continuing to emphasize the run. Pat White (right) will continue to star at QB, and Noel Devine will take over as the feature back for early NFL departure Steve Slaton. If Stewart can find a way to replace seven lost defensive starters, WVU won't miss a beat. The Mountaineers have the offensive tools and defensive talent to win this league again.

BEST OF THE REST
Look for Louisville to rebound from an awful season and at least get back in a bowl game. Steve Kragthorpe isn't incompetent, or he wouldn't have engineered the turnaround he did at Tulsa. QB Hunter Cantwell will make Cardinal fans move on from the Brian Brohm era quickly. Cincinnati's a prime contender to surprise in this league. Brian Kelly's offense is exceptionally tough to defend, and it may actually improve on the 36 points per game it scored a year ago. Connecticut surprised many last year with nine wins, and even though they have a ton of starters back, you can expect a bit of a fall. The Huskies were fortunate to win many of their games last year, and a schedule that includes road trips to Temple, Louisville, North Carolina, Rutgers, and South Florida doesn't look too forgiving.

PRESEASON AWARDS AND NOTABLES
Offensive Player of the Year: Pat White, QB, West Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year: George Selvie, DE, South Florida
Coach of the Year: Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh
Coach on the Hot Seat: Greg Robinson, Syracuse
Best Non-Conference Game: Kansas at South Florida, September 13
Worst Non-Conference Game: Tennessee Tech at Louisville, September 6