Big East: Week Two Overview

It was a bittersweet week one for the Big East. The good news was that the Big East went 7-1 in eight out of conference games, with the three ranked teams looking impressive in (expected) blowouts, and Cincinnati playing very well, on both sides of the ball, in Coach Brian Kelly's first game with the Bearcats. The bad news is that Syracuse played like a sacrificial lamb against the only (potentially?) legitimate team that anyone in the conference played last week, losing at home to Washington, 42-12. South Florida had a workman-like victory over Elon, but looked less than stellar, as well. This week, all eight conference members play again, with several good measuring-stick games against other teams from BCS conferences: Middle Tennessee at Louisville (Thurs. Night, 7:00 PM EST - ESPN 2/ESPN360.com) -- Brian Brohm and Harry Douglas were both amazingly productive in Louisville's dismantling of Murray State last week. Middle Tennessee will be considerably better than Murray State, particularly in their speed on defense, but they will still have a tough time keeping up with the Cardinals' offense. Based on their game last season, I think this one could be close for about a quarter-and-a-half, and then Louisville's depth and high powered offense will break it open. Louisville 52, Middle Tennessee 13 Oregon State at Cincinnati (Thurs. Night, 7:30 PM EST - ESPN/ESPN360.com) -- Oregon State had a pretty solid win last week over Utah, 24-7, and they are expecting star wide receiver Sammie Stroughter to return to action this week. Cincy played very well, albeit against SE Missouri State, last week. I'm going to go ahead and jump on the Brian Kelly for Big East Coach of the Year Award right now. I think Kelly inherited a good defensive team and he is a very good offensive coach, so I am expecting the Bearcats to have a really good season in '07. This is a big test for both the conference and the team and I think playing at home will be very helpful. Cincinnati 34, Oregon State 24 Navy at Rutgers (Fri. Night, 7:00 PM EST - ESPN/ESPN360.com -- This should be another good measuring stick for the conference. This is a game that Rutgers should win and they will be favored, however Navy will not be a pushover. This is the type of game that Rutgers needs to consistently go out and take care of business in, so that they can prove that they are a legitimate top 20 program, rather than a one-hit wonder. I think they win, but it is closer than they would like. Rutgers 33, Navy 27 West Virgina at Marshall (Sat. 11:10 AM EST - ESPN2) -- To West Virginia, this is a no-win situation. Marshall is like the little brother that always wants attention and to hang out with their big brother, but really they are just a pain in the rear. If WVU wins, as expected, they have proven little for the second week in a row, as a big win over a Conference USA team after beating a MAC team does little to justify their top-5 ranking. However, a (gasp!) loss, would put a Michigan-style damper on the Mountaineers season. I expect Coach Rodriguez to get a big lead quickly and then pull Patrick White and Steve Slaton, as WVU has a short week before their next game at Maryland on Thursday Night. West Virginia 42, Marshall 17 Grambling State at Pittsburgh (Sat. 12:00 PM EST - ESPN360.com) -- Not much to see here. We obviously will not learn a whole lot about the Panthers through their first two games with the competition being so poor. The only reasons to watch this game are to catch a glimpse of the Grambling band and to see who replaces injured Pittsburgh quarterback Billy Stull. If those are the types of questions that you need answered, tune in to ESPN.360.com at noon! Pittsburgh 27, Grambling State 6 Maine at Connecticut (Sat. 7:00 PM EST - ESPN Gameplan/Regional) -- See the Pitt game, without the interesting quarterback controversy and amazing marching band performance. UConn played well in beating a miserable Duke team last week and will likely look good again this week. We'll get a better idea of where they stand next week, when they play...uhm...Temple. I guess you can say that UConn's AD is taking good care of Coach Randy Edsall by setting him up with three surefire wins to start the season. UConn 37, Maine 3 Syracuse at Iowa (Sat. 8:05 PM EST - Big Ten Network) -- This is this week's only Big East game that will not be available to a national audience (thank you, Big Ten Network!). I would feel a lot better about this game if Syracuse had looked like a reasonably decent ballclub last week, but no such luck. New Orange quarterback Andrew Robinson held onto the ball way too long last week and, with a subpar offensive line protecting him, was sacked seven times. After watching Greg Robinson coach this team for three years, I feel pretty confident saying that he is not head coach material. He was a fine coordinator, but the team just does not look like it is improving, at all. I think Kirk Ferentz will, particularly on defense, make things rough on Andrew Robinson and the Orange offense. Iowa 31, Syracuse 10 South Florida at Auburn (Sat. 9:00 PM EST - ESPN2/ESPN360.com) -- We talked about this game a bit on our Week Two Podcast and it is one of our Games of the Week here at In the Bleachers. As discussed, I think this game will be an opportunity for the Bulls to pull off a program-defining win. Beating an SEC power like Auburn, on the road would be a monumental achievement for the South Florida program and would be a substantial notch in the Big East's belt. Auburn, like South Florida, won ugly at home against a team they were expected to club last week, beating Kansas State, 23-13. I think South Florida may have been playing things pretty vanilla last week, so I like their chances to open things up a bit and pull off the surprise this week. South Florida 24, Auburn 20 Last Week Record (7-1); Season Record (7-1)