Big East:Week Five Overview

Week four saw one of the Big East elite, Louisville, take it on the chin from Syracuse. A pretty bad loss for the perception of the conference, as Syracuse had taken some beatings against other BCS conference teams prior to their matchup with Louisville. The other interesting game last week was UConn's dominating victory over Pittsburgh. Pitt suddenly looks like a team that could finish in the bottom quarter of the conference, while UConn moved to 4-0 on the season and, coming off a pretty terrible '06 season, suddenly looks poised to make a bowl run. WVU, USF, and Cincy all looked good, dominating their foes. This week is headlined by a big conference matchup between two of the Big East's four ranked teams and an opportunity for the conference to pick up two wins against ACC teams: West Virginia at South Florida (Fri. 8:00 PM EST -- ESPN 2) -- While I am not a fan of college football on Friday nights, this game does present a good opportunity for two of the Big East's finest to put on a show for a national audience. USF came into Morgantown last season and knocked WVU out by taking advantage of the Mountaineers' mistakes and playing a great defensive game. This game will be the biggest game in the short history of USF football and their first opportunity to play a ranked team while they are, themselves, ranked. Look for WVU to really spread the game out with the pass and keep an eye out for #22 Brandon Hogan for the Mountaineers--he is a true freshman wide receiver that will be a factor in this game. USF has a very good and very fast defense, but I feel like their strengths will not be a great help in this game, as their outstanding passrusher, George Selvie, will not have a lot of opportunities to get after Pat White, because WVU passes infrequently and, when they do, about 65% are short, bubble screen passes. I also suspect that their speed could cause them to get out of position, which will play to WVU's big play ability. West Virginia 44, USF 24 Akron at Connecticut (Sat. 12:00 PM EST -- ESPN Gameplan) -- This matchup will be a good test for the Huskies. Akron is a team that is 2-2, but both losses have come to Big 10 teams, so they are somewhat of an unknown quantity through four games. UConn should win, but this is the type of ballgame that mid-level BCS conference teams sometimes overlook and lose. UConn needs to get this fifth victory, because they have a tough schedule that includes UVA, WVU, Louisville, Cincy, USF, and Rutgers in the second half of the season. It is pretty much a must-win, if they want to put themselves into bowl consideration. Connecticut 27, Akron 20 Syracuse at Miami (OH) (Sat. 3:00 PM EST -- ESPN Gameplan) -- This is, perhaps, the first time that Syracuse faithful have been optimistic for a ballgame in quite some time. Miami is not a great team, so this is a very winnable game for the Orange. If Andrew Robinson continues to progress, from week-to-week, Syracuse may actually begin to see some of the fruits of its labor over the past 2+ seasons. I suspect this game will bring us a bit of a mixed bag, but I think Syracuse should be able to pull it out. Syracuse 28, Miami (OH) 17 Louisville at North Carolina State (Sat. 3:30 PM EST -- ESPNU) -- Not too much to say about this one. This is a protypical gut-check game for Louisville. The national title hopes are long gone, as are the prospects of Brian Brohm, although he has been outstanding, winning the Heisman Trophy. The Cardinals need to get back into gear, reset their goals to winning the Big East (which is still quite possible), and get their defensive problems solved before they enter the heart of conference play. NC State has, flat out, not played well this season, with their only win coming against Wofford. They do not have a very cohesive offense at this point, so I think Louisville, despite their terrible defensive performances to this point, will be able to overwhelm and outscore the Pack. Louisville 46, North Carolina State 28 Maryland at Rutgers (Sat. 3:30 PM EST -- ABC) -- Finally, Rutgers ends their preseason tour and plays a real football game against real competition. I actually think this could be one of the better games of the week, as Maryland and Rutgers have similar schemes and styles and Maryland is far more battle-tested to this point, following recent games against WVU and Wake Forest. I think we could see Rutgers come out a little bit sluggish and they will need to be mindful about turnovers. Still, with the game being played at East Piscataway, I like the Scarlet Knights' chances, but I think it will be closer than expected. A Rutgers' loss here would be devastating for teh Big East. Rutgers 31, Maryland 24 Pittsburgh at Virginia (Sat. 7:00 PM EST -- ESPNU) -- Pitt was awful last week and it is inexcusable that a big-time program does not have better depth at the quarterback position. Quite frankly, the Panthers are a mess right now and it is difficult to see many positives in the early going this season. LeSean McCoy, the true freshman running back, has been a lone bright spot, but the Pittsburgh staff seems to be married to the idea of giving undersized, but experienced, LaRod Stephens-Howling the majority of the teams' carries. UVA, is 3-1, but have actually been outscored (77-79) on the season, while Pitt is 2-2 but has a pretty solid point differential (88-64). Neither of these teams are very good right now, but I'll give the advantage in this one to the Cavs, as they are playing at home and Pittsburgh's quarterback play has been wretched to this point. Virginia 20, Pittsburgh 13 Cincinnati at San Diego State (Sat. 10:06 PM EST) -- The Bearcats are starting to get a little bit of buzz, after opening the season in dominating fashion, with wins of 56-, 31-, 37-, and 26-points. They also find themselves ranked for the first time since joining the Big East. I'm not exactly sure what, exactly, they are doing playing at San Diego State, but I do not think the road game will affect their average margin of victory a whole lot. Look for the 'Cats to move to 5-0 and set up, what should be, a great matchup at Rutgers next weekend. Cincinnati 41, San Diego State 10 Last Week Record (3-2); Season Record (24-4)