(06-07-2012 01:51 PM)Knights_of_UCF Wrote: Football?
Mens Basketball?
Baseball?
What about 2013?
2012
Football: Louisville and/or Cincinnati
Louisville finished tied for first in the conference last year with the second youngest team in FBS football. The Cards return 14 starters from a team that was comprised mostly of freshman and sophomores, including Teddy
Bridgewater (one of if not the top QB prospect in the Big East). The schedule is also favorable as the Cards get two of the other projected main contenders in the Big East (USF and UC) at home. A lot of the problems that led to some embarrassing losses last season (OC issues, freshman playing key starting roles, etc) should be less of an issue this year. Big question marks for me are:
1. Can the Cards improve @home under Strong (6-7 overall and just 3-5 vs. BCS teams)?
2. How much has the O-line improved? This unit was the weak link of the Cardinal football team in 2011 (injuries and lots of underclassmen) and a big part of the reason for the offense's mediocre play.
3. How much has the team matured? Youth and inexperience were an apparent problem all last season and the team lacked solid on-field leadership.
Cincinnati is my other pick. UC is coming off a 10-3 campaign that ended with a 31-24 Liberty Bowl win over Vanderbilt and a share of the Big East championship. They return 12 starters and get Rutgers and South Florida at home. UC has had one of the top football programs in the conference since 2008 (3 titles) and they've beaten UofL 4 straight times. Big question marks for me are:
1. How well will UC replace the loss of its three biggest offensive playmakers (QB Zach Collaros, RB Isaiah Pead, and WR D.J. Woods)?
2. How well will UC replace the loss of three verteran O-linemen, including all-conference guard Randy Martinez? The three had 76 career starts between them and that is a big chunk of experience to lose all at once.
I think Rutgers and USF probably have a good chance as well to take home the title. While Rutgers has a lot of talent returning, they also have a new coach which can be hit or miss. USF also has a ton of returning talent but the Bulls have burned me way too many times for me to pick them straight up.
Basketball Regular Season: Louisville
Louisville is coming off a Big East Tournament championship and a Final Four appearance. While the Cards lost Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith, I would argue that when you look at the players returning (Siva, Dieng, Behanan, Russ Smith) and what UofL will be adding (Montrezl Harrell and possibly Terry Rozier), they'll be the favorite to win the Big East this coming season. Add in a healthy Wayne Blackshear and GMU transfer Luke Hancock and you should have one of the deepest teams in the conference (provided the mass injury problems that plagued the Cardinals the last two seasons doesn't strike again in 2012-2013).
Baseball Regular Season: Louisville or St Johns
Louisville has won or tied for the Big East regular season championship three times in the last four years and they have a lot of young talent on the team. St John's has some young, quality arms on the team and I think they'll definitely be on or very close to the top of the conference next season.
As for 2013, that is way too far out to predict (particularly for hoops) since most team don't know for sure who will be leaving or coming in.