Big Plans For BE...Both Now and Later- article
Compliments of Orangeeyes from the SU Scout board.
BIG PLANS IN BIG EAST ... BOTH NOW AND LATER
By LENN ROBBINS
July 16, 2007 -- NEWPORT, R.I. - These are heady times for the recently declared ‘DOA’ Big East Football Conference.
You know the patient’s history. Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech bolt to the ACC. Television revenue takes a hit. There are questions about the Big East retaining its BCS spot.
What was the Big East’s blood type, anyway?
No worries. The Big East was the only conference to go undefeated (5-0) in bowl play last season. It recently signed a long-term deal with ESPN.
We haven’t seen this great a recovery since Meredith Grey recovered after nearly drowning on Grey’s Anatomy.
“Talk of our demise was premature,” Nick Carparelli, the Big East associate commissioner for football operations, said. “And talk about us being a dominant conference would also be premature. We’re building and we have to keep building.”
Nothing like an IV of truth fluids to keep the patient stabilized. Louisville, Rutgers and West Virginia have the potential to go undefeated, but only the Mountaineers are championship-game worthy.
The Scarlet Knights have talent and one of the nation’s easiest schedules but it’s that Charmin-soft lineup (Buffalo, Navy, Norfolk State and Maryland) that would prevent the Scarlet Knights from getting to the BCS title game.
The Cardinals and Mountaineers have issues of their own.
Louisville is making the coaching transition from Bobby Petrino (to the Atlanta Falcons) to Steve Kragthorpe (from Tulsa). Kragthorpe already has one win to his credit. He convinced top recruit Matt Simms (yes, son of Phil and younger brother of Chris) to honor his commitment to Louisville. The Cardinals have a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Brian Brohm.
West Virginia has gotten more scorn for the off-field behavior of former players - defensive back Pacman Jones and wide receiver Chris Henry - than praise for the talent of current ones - running back Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White.
With 19 starters returning, and a schedule (Western Michigan, at Marshall, at Maryland, East Carolina) that should be just tough enough to sway voters if the Mountaineers go undefeated, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez can talk BCS title game.
But the Big East remains a long way from being mistaken for the Big Ten or any of the other BCS conferences. When the voters and computers sent Florida to last year’s title game (and then the Gators crushed undefeated Ohio State), it reaffirmed the belief that tough schedules count.
South Florida is the only Big East team that plays a non-conference game against a perennial Top 10 team - Auburn.
USC’s non-conference schedule boasts road games against Nebraska and Notre Dame. LSU hosts Virginia Tech. Michigan gets Oregon and Notre Dame. Louisville’s toughest non-conference game is Kentucky.
As the league builds, though, Big East teams are poised to play much more formidable opponents including Florida, FSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC and Virginia Tech.
The league experienced a remarkable renaissance last season. Louisville, Rutgers and West Virginia deserve to be consensus preseason Top 25 teams.
But a Big East team other than West Virginia playing for the national championship? Is there a psych resident on call?
lenn.robbins@nypost.com
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