http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbur...40681.html

Quote:Starkey: Big East needs a boost
Buzz up!By Joe Starkey, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, August 30, 2009
About the writer
Joe Starkey can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7810.


No getting around it: Big East football took a major hit last season.


When your league champion (Cincinnati) plays in what amounts to a real nice high school stadium, drops a 52-26 squeaker at Oklahoma and loses to UConn and its third-string quarterback, 40-16, well, let's just say your Q rating drops a few points.


The Big East's top two finishers — Cincinnati and Pitt — combined to score a grand total of seven points in their bowl games.


No Big East team finished in the Top 15 in the final polls.


So, yeah, it wasn't real pretty.


However, the bitter critters who want to see the Big East immediately stripped of its automatic Bowl Championship Series bid need to lighten up. That is a myopic view, to say the least, and one that blatantly disregards reality.


Reality being this: The Big East's automatic bid is guaranteed through the 2013 season and probably much longer.


Why guaranteed through 2013?


Because the Big East, like the five other BCS conferences, met all the required standards in a four-year review period from 2004-07.


Why probably much longer?


Because the system is set up so that one of those conferences would have to perform worse than Terrell Owens in a reality show to lose its bid.


Fair or not, that's the deal.


Nobody wants to admit it, but the reformed Big East surpassed all reasonable expectations during the review period of 2004-07, overcoming a rough start to make some serious national noise.


More than one pundit predicted the conference would die an ugly death without Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College. It thrived, instead, thanks largely to West Virginia and Louisville.


The second four-year review period began last season. Conferences that meet the minimum standards from 2008 through 2011 will extend their automatic BCS bowl bids through 2017.


Even though the Big East had a rotten 2008, it still achieved key standards such as having its top team (Cincinnati) in the top 12 of the final regular-season BCS Standings. Other standards include where all conference teams finish in the computer rankings and how many teams finish in the BCS Top 25.


Many expect the Big East to be even worse this season. Most of the Top 25 rankings you see, including the Coaches' Poll, do not include a Big East team. But even a horrific season, one in which no team finishes ranked — and that would be hard to do — probably couldn't do permanent damage to the league's preferred status.


"That wouldn't be a good thing, to have zero teams in the Top 25," says Big East spokesman Chuck Sullivan. "But, on its own, I don't think it would be enough to knock you out (of automatic-bid status down the road)."


The automatic bid, then, is not an issue. But national perception sure is. What's at stake for the Big East this season is its very reputation.


If the conference lives down to expectations, look out. The critics will go nuts. The headline "Big Least" will be used approximately 47,000 times.


Some things need to happen to avoid such a fate:


1. The Big East needs a torch bearer, a program to vault into the Top 10 and maybe make its way into the national championship discussion. West Virginia and Louisville both did that in 2006, WVU again in 2007. Both programs have since taken a step backward — a large step, in Louisville's case — after coaching changes saw Bobby Petrino and Rich Rodriguez replaced by Steve Kragthorpe and Bill Stewart.


2. The league needs some significant, non-conference wins to create a positive vibe. Opportunities are limited, as only a handful of matchups include ranked opponents. But victories for Cincinnati against Oregon State (Sept. 19), or Louisville against Utah (Sept. 26), or USF against Florida State (Sept. 26) — among others — would do wonders.


3. The conference must avoid embarrassing upsets, like, say, somebody losing at home to a MAC school.


Speaking of Pitt, it is an original Big East member that has mostly been a drag on the reformed conference. It's about time the Panthers did some heavy lifting.


The Big East needs them.

Question is when will Pitt ever live up to the hype?

(08-30-2009 03:43 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Question is when will Pitt ever live up to the hype?

When did Pitt have any hype. Last season we was ranked 22 to start the season and finished in 2nd place with a 9-3 record. And this season we aren't even ranked. Not sure where any hype is. And if i'm not mistaken Pitt pounded UConn in UConn last season. So i'm really not sure where you are coming from.

Syracuse getting back to respectability would help greatly. Having the Orange compete for the BE title year in and year out is vital for the long-term success of the league.

I expect the conference top to bottom to be just as good if not better than last season.

(08-30-2009 03:48 PM)animus Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 03:43 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Question is when will Pitt ever live up to the hype?

When did Pitt have any hype. Last season we was ranked 22 to start the season and finished in 2nd place with a 9-3 record. And this season we aren't even ranked. Not sure where any hype is. And if i'm not mistaken Pitt pounded UConn in UConn last season. So i'm really not sure where you are coming from.

Pitt is picked to win the BE at the media day. UCONN pounded Pitt the year before so we are even.

The hype is PITT had top BE recruiting classes for years but failed to deliver year after year.

(08-30-2009 03:57 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 03:48 PM)animus Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 03:43 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Question is when will Pitt ever live up to the hype?

When did Pitt have any hype. Last season we was ranked 22 to start the season and finished in 2nd place with a 9-3 record. And this season we aren't even ranked. Not sure where any hype is. And if i'm not mistaken Pitt pounded UConn in UConn last season. So i'm really not sure where you are coming from.

Pitt is picked to win the BE at the media day. UCONN pounded Pitt the year before so we are even.

The hype is PITT had top BE recruiting classes for years but failed to deliver year after year.

Last season Wanny's first top recruiting class was Juniors and the team finished 9-3. This season that Class is Seniors so we should see continued success.

Wanny's first year Pitt goes 6-6 the 2nd year Pitt goes 5-7, then 5-7 then 9-3. If you don't see improvement then you my friend just wants to bash Wanny. Go ahead and bash him all you want. But if you don't see a program built from the bottom then to the top then your not paying attention. Top recruiting class's don't equal instant field success. Look at Miami(Fl) and North Carolina as your examples. Hell Pete Carroll didn't have instant success at USC despite having top recruiting class's. And no i'm not saying Pitt is USC.

Pitt had no offensive or defensive lines when Wanny got here in 2005. He has rebuilt those and not surprisingly, success has followed. Each year he has worked to get a phase of the game improved. This is Tony Wise's second year as the OL coach. We have a new OC in Cignetti, who should be an improvement over Cavanaugh. The defense is vastly improved over the years. The offense should be improved this year. An early indicator will be @ NC State. If we roll there, look for a very strong showing from Pitt this year. Wanny's recruiting has built depth where we were paper thin when he arrived. In his second year we started out 5-1, but the lack of depth caused us to fall apart and go 1-5 in the last 6. This year if we lose players, there are others ready to fill in. Unless we have injuries to both of our starting OTs we should be fine.

(08-30-2009 03:48 PM)animus Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 03:43 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Question is when will Pitt ever live up to the hype?

When did Pitt have any hype

Pitt's had the top rated recruiting class for The BEast since Wannstedt's hiring every season except for last season, and Wanny's not won one single BEast title. Perhaps that's the hype he's referring to...

(08-30-2009 05:10 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 03:48 PM)animus Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 03:43 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Question is when will Pitt ever live up to the hype?

When did Pitt have any hype

Pitt's had the top rated recruiting class for The BEast since Wannstedt's hiring every season except for last season, and Wanny's not won one single BEast title. Perhaps that's the hype he's referring to...

Exactly... Pitt's greatest accomplishment so far in the Wanny era has been preventing WVU from getting to the national championship game.

I don't understand the shots at Cincinnati considering we played 4 different QBs and we were playing our backup against UConn as well. As for the stadium, it's small, but far from High School, I think everyone in the Big East would agree to that, unless High School stadium now have huge screen monitors to show the games and scoreboards for games going on around the league and country. That being said, it was a down year for the league.

Nippert Stadium is not a glorified high school stadium....it's a classic venue with iron gates and lots of brick....it's called the Wrigley Field of college football......yes, it's small but it's also charming, there isn't a bad seat in the house and it gets VERY loud when sold out (which has been happening a lot over the past two years) and has a tremendous gameday atmosphere and big time college feel while providing UC with a true homefield advantage....screw him.

(08-30-2009 05:25 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  I don't understand the shots at Cincinnati considering we played 4 different QBs and we were playing our backup against UConn as well. As for the stadium, it's small, but far from High School, I think everyone in the Big East would agree to that, unless High School stadium now have huge screen monitors to show the games and scoreboards for games going on around the league and country. That being said, it was a down year for the league.

Last year definitely wasn't Cincy's fault. Cincy was picked to finish 5th in the league last year. Bottom line is that teams that were picked high last year simply did not deliver.

I give Cincy a lot of credit. Kelly is building a nice squad there for the long term.

(08-30-2009 05:29 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 05:25 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  I don't understand the shots at Cincinnati considering we played 4 different QBs and we were playing our backup against UConn as well. As for the stadium, it's small, but far from High School, I think everyone in the Big East would agree to that, unless High School stadium now have huge screen monitors to show the games and scoreboards for games going on around the league and country. That being said, it was a down year for the league.

Last year definitely wasn't Cincy's fault. Cincy was picked to finish 5th in the league last year. Bottom line is that teams that were picked high last year simply did not deliver.

I give Cincy a lot of credit. Kelly is building a nice squad there for the long term.

Well Pitt was predicted to finish 2nd last year and finished where we was supposed to. That sh1t happens in every conference on every level. Thats why they play the games. For all we know Cuse could come out swinging and earn a BCS Bowl Bid.

(08-30-2009 05:32 PM)animus Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 05:29 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 05:25 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  I don't understand the shots at Cincinnati considering we played 4 different QBs and we were playing our backup against UConn as well. As for the stadium, it's small, but far from High School, I think everyone in the Big East would agree to that, unless High School stadium now have huge screen monitors to show the games and scoreboards for games going on around the league and country. That being said, it was a down year for the league.

Last year definitely wasn't Cincy's fault. Cincy was picked to finish 5th in the league last year. Bottom line is that teams that were picked high last year simply did not deliver.

I give Cincy a lot of credit. Kelly is building a nice squad there for the long term.

Well Pitt was predicted to finish 2nd last year and finished where we was supposed to. That sh1t happens in every conference on every level. Thats why they play the games. For all we know Cuse could come out swinging and earn a BCS Bowl Bid.

We NEED Cuse to get back to McNabb form.....it would be huge if the Cuse could get back to national ranked program year in and year out....even if it was in the 20-25 range......

Will be tougher now that Rutgers and UCONN are recuiting well, esp Rutgers...Cuse doesn't have their pick of talent like the used to....will be an uphill battle but I hope they get back to form asap.

(08-30-2009 05:36 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 05:32 PM)animus Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 05:29 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(08-30-2009 05:25 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  I don't understand the shots at Cincinnati considering we played 4 different QBs and we were playing our backup against UConn as well. As for the stadium, it's small, but far from High School, I think everyone in the Big East would agree to that, unless High School stadium now have huge screen monitors to show the games and scoreboards for games going on around the league and country. That being said, it was a down year for the league.

Last year definitely wasn't Cincy's fault. Cincy was picked to finish 5th in the league last year. Bottom line is that teams that were picked high last year simply did not deliver.

I give Cincy a lot of credit. Kelly is building a nice squad there for the long term.

Well Pitt was predicted to finish 2nd last year and finished where we was supposed to. That sh1t happens in every conference on every level. Thats why they play the games. For all we know Cuse could come out swinging and earn a BCS Bowl Bid.

We NEED Cuse to get back to McNabb form.....it would be huge if the Cuse could get back to national ranked program year in and year out....even if it was in the 20-25 range......

Will be tougher now that Rutgers and UCONN are recuiting well, esp Rutgers...Cuse doesn't have their pick of talent like the used to....will be an uphill battle but I hope they get back to form asap.

Cuse back is needed for the BE. As for RU recruiting, it is not any better than UCONN's LOL regardless what those recruiting rankings say. The days where Cuse can handpick recruits off CT and NJ are over. UCONN also been recruiting in NY state so nothing is a give me for the CUSE anymore. The new coaching staff has to work hard just like everyone else.

Winning another BCS bowl game will work. WVU and Louisville have both won BCS games for The BEast. UC didn't in their chance last year. That's the difference between this year and previous years. But our situation was far worse in 2005, and there weren't any stars in the conference. The BEast lost every bowl game, except for WVU's win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. That saved our reputation. If we win our BCS game this year, they can't say diddly....

(08-30-2009 05:59 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  As for RU recruiting, it is not any better than UCONN's LOL regardless what those recruiting rankings say.

False report.

(08-30-2009 06:17 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  Winning another BCS bowl game will work. WVU and Louisville have both won BCS games for The BEast. UC didn't in their chance last year. That's the difference between this year and previous years. But our situation was far worse in 2005, and there weren't any stars in the conference. The BEast lost every bowl game, except for WVU's win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. That saved our reputation. If we win our BCS game this year, they can't say diddly....

They will always say didly because we have 8 teams, we must ad 1 or 2 teams that add value at his point ucf does not.

(08-30-2009 03:48 PM)animus Wrote:  When did Pitt have any hype. Last season we was ranked 22 to start the season and finished in 2nd place with a 9-3 record. And this season we aren't even ranked. Not sure where any hype is. And if i'm not mistaken Pitt pounded UConn in UConn last season. So i'm really not sure where you are coming from.

Last time i remember Pitt having some hype was 2005, when the hosted Notre Dame early on and got embarrassed. That burst a bubble.

(08-30-2009 05:28 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  Nippert Stadium is not a glorified high school stadium ..... it's a classic venue with iron gates and lots of brick ..... it's called the Wrigley Field of college football ..... yes, it's small but it's also charming, there isn't a bad seat in the house and it gets VERY loud when sold out (which has been happening a lot over the past two years) and has a tremendous gameday atmosphere and big time college feel while providing UC with a true homefield advantage ..... screw him.

Too many casual fans, and media pundits who really ought to know better, are way too obsessed with the ill-conceived notion that bigger is better. It is ridiculous. Just because a team's stadium does not hold 100,000 - or even 50,000 - fans does not make it a glorified high school field. Nippert is great. While it might be nice to add something like 10,000 more seats, that is not the be all or end all, and the media need to shove that buffoonish barf babble up their butts. Cincinnati's marketers should really start playing up the historical structure and significance of Nippert as much as they can to sell fans and recruits on those aspects of the venue. The next time I watch a Bearcats game on ESPN or whatever other channel, I want to hear the announcers talking about the charm of Nippert, not pointlessly droning on with their misinformed opinions that it is too small to allow the university to develop a consistent program in the long run.