August 7, 2005
Big East is starting over
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Andrew Skwara
Rivals.com Staff Writer

The Big East recovery process begins now.

After going through last year with just seven members and being hammered by critics most of the way, the conference has gone through the dramatic change it has been waiting for ever since Miami and Virginia Tech chose to leave two years ago.

The new eight-team league looks much different than its predecessor. Long-time members Boston College and Temple aren't around anymore either. Three new schools take their place, including potential flagship program and national power Louisville, as well as Cincinnati and South Florida. Connecticut, one of the fastest rising programs in Division I-A, joined last year.

Associated Press

Bobby Petrino's Louisville Cardinals received 23 of a possible 24 first-place votes in the Big East's preseason media poll.
Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia are the schools that remain from the league's inception in 1991. But the Panthers and the Orange will be starting new eras of their own after hiring new coaches Dave Wannstedt and Greg Robinson, both former NFL coaches.

There is a lot of speculation about how competitive the revamped league will be. Will anyone be able to stop Louisville? Can the second- and third-place teams compare to their counterparts in other BCS conferences? Are Cincinnati and South Florida ready for this level of play?

Regardless of what answers materialize, the season promises to be exciting. Louisville had the top-ranked offense in the nation last season, producing an average of 539 yards and nearly 50 points per game. Rutgers (No. 6) and UConn (No. 10) were among the nation's top 10 in passing offense. Pittsburgh returns the league's top quarterback-receiver tandem in Tyler Palko and Greg Lee, and Robinson is installing a West Coast offense at Syracuse.

THE FAVORITE: Louisville

Despite losing a handful of stars to the NFL, the Cardinals are expected to dominate in their new league and possibly make a run at the national title game.

Associated Press

Louisville's Michael Bush will get many more carries in 2005.
Fourteen starters return from a team that was a three-point loss to Miami away from an undefeated regular season and a BCS game. The Cardinals finished 11-1 and ranked in the top 10 of both major polls in 2004.

Sophomore quarterback Brian Brohm, the 2004 Conference USA Rookie of the Year, will take over the offense and inherit a handful of weapons to work with. Junior running back Michael Bush (6-3, 250) looks poised for a big season after rushing for 734 yards, while splitting carries with two other backs, in 2004. Broderick Clark, Montrell Jones and Joshua Tinch are all proven receivers.

The schedule also is particularly favorable. Pittsburgh, which was picked to finish second in the preseason media poll, must travel to Louisville. So do the toughest nonconference opponents, North Carolina and Oregon State.

THE SLEEPER: South Florida

Ignore the Louisville loss last season and do the same with the Bulls' No. 7 spot in the preseason media poll. The Cardinals will be doing just that. The Bulls are the only team in the league to have beaten Coach Bobby Petrino's program in the last two years (a 31-28 double-overtime thriller in 2003).

Expect a couple of more big upsets this fall from coach Jim Leavitt's program, which reeled off six straight winning seasons before falling to 4-7 in 2004. Leavitt says senior Andre Hall is the best running back he has worked with in 26 years of coaching and he could rush for more than the 1,357 yards he piled up on the ground last season. Pat Julmiste is returning at quarterback and four-star recruit Carlton Hill could make an impact right away. The entire receiving corps is also back.

The defense struggled down the stretch last season, but eight starters return, including star middle linebacker Stephen Nicholas.

Associated Press

Pitt's Tyler Palko passed for 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season.

PROGRAM ON THE RISE: Pittsburgh

No one is expecting a return to the glory days of the late 1970s and early 1980s for the Panthers program just yet, but making this league a two-team race and contending for a league title every year are real possibilities.

Wannstedt, a former Pitt offensive lineman, inherits a talented and experienced team with 16 returning starters. The Panthers should have little trouble scoring points with Palko, who looked like one of the nation's top quarterbacks down the stretch last season, and Lee, who made 68 catches for 1,297 yards in 2004.

A foundation of talent is already being set behind those stars. Wannstedt and his staff already have landed 11 verbal commitments from the class of 2006, including two four-star prospects and a handful from talent-rich Western Pennsylvania – an area in which former coach Walt Harris had trouble.

PROGRAM ON THE SLIDE: Cincinnati

This is the wrong time for the Bearcats to be moving up to a better quality league. After a 7-5 season and their first bowl game in more than a decade, they are back in rebuilding mode.

Only seven starters return and coach Mark Dantonio said this is the least amount of experience he has dealt with in 25 years of coaching. Gino Guidugli, arguably the top quarterback in school history, is gone, along with 1,000-yard rusher Richard Hall. The entire linebacking corps and the top five tacklers must also be replaced.

Immediate help is not on the way either. Dantonio's latest recruiting class barely cracked Rivals.com's top 100 team recruiting rankings (tied for No. 94) and Cincinnati has yet to land any verbal commitments from the class of 2006. With a talent-rich state in Ohio to draw prospects from and a move to a BCS conference, the recruiting front will improve, but the Bearcats are a couple of years away from being a real contender in the Big East.

TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: Syracuse

The Orange are the only team in the league besides the Cardinals who didn't set up a game with a Division I-AA opponent. By the end of Robinson's first year, he may wish that wasn't the case.

There is no time to tweak the new West Coast offense or experiment with personnel. The Robinson era starts in the Carrier Dome against West Virginia and two weeks later they host Virginia. But the road games that are the real concern. The Orange are heading to Florida State, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Pittsburgh at Louisville, Nov. 3

This nationally televised Thursday night matchup could be the signature game the revamped Big East needs. It probably will decide the league title and will be the start of an annual league rivalry.

The two programs haven't faced each other since 1994, but they are each putting together the pieces needed to contend for a BCS game every year.

UPSET SPECIAL: Rutgers over Illinois, Sept. 3

The Scarlet Knights have a solid chance of upsetting a Big Ten team to start the season for the second straight year.

They return some of the Big East's top offensive skill players from a team that beat Michigan State 19-14 in 2004. Quarterback Ryan Hart is prone to throwing interceptions, but he is dangerous when he finds a rhythm, and 1,000-yard receiver Tres Moses is one of the nation's most underrated players.

If Hart and Moses can make some big plays early in Champagne, Ill., Ron Zook's debut with the Fighting Illini could end up being a big disappointment.

Brian Brohm could be the next in a long line of great Louisville quarterbacks.

REMEMBER THIS NAME: Brian Brohm (Louisville)

Meet the Cardinals' next great quarterback. Last season, Brohm arrived at Louisville as a highly ranked recruit and managed to split significant playing time with the nation's top-rated passer Stefan Lefors. Now, the offense is all his.

With a powerful and explosive back in Bush and a collection of proven receivers, look for Brohm to put up some impressive stats right away, and his play will largely determine the Cardinals' national title hopes.

Other names to watch: Terry Caulley (UConn), Ryan Neill (Rutgers), Perry Patterson (Syracuse).

INSTANT IMPACT: Jason Gwaltney (West Virginia).

There is talk in Morgantown of Gwaltney rushing for 1,500 yards in his first college season. Mountaineers coaches have reportedly told the highly ranked recruit, who turned down offers from USC and other elite programs, that if he can win the starting job he will be given a chance to break the NCAA freshman rushing record.

Those type of numbers might be unrealistic, but the 6-foot-1, 230-pouder from North Babylon, N.Y., will play a big role in Rich Rodriguez's offense right away and be a star before too long.

Other names to watch: Joe Akers (Connecticut), Nate Harris (Louisville), Lavar Lobdell (Syracuse), Rashad Jennings (Pittsburgh).

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:

1. Louisville
2. Pittsburgh
3. South Florida
4. West Virginia
5. Connecticut
6. Syracuse
7. Rutgers
8. Cincinnati

<a href='http://www.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1014&CID=439892' target='_blank'>Rivals.com on the Big East</a>

I can beleive USF coming in 3rd in the BE. They just have too many fine athletes and a very good coach to not come in at 3rd. I think USF will win at least 8 games. I agree with the ranking. I dont know about Uconn. They may be a little high. If Rutgers finishes as low as these guys say, Schiano is gone. There is a lot of talent at Rutgers.

they mention last year as UC's first bowl game in more than a decade? that is inaccurate, i believe.

It would be great for South Flordia to finish 3rd...that prediction alone has to get there fans a little excited for football


Jackson

wvucrazed Wrote:they mention last year as UC's first bowl game in more than a decade? that is inaccurate, i believe.

Whoever wrote that is clueless... UC has been to 3 bowls in the last 4 years, and 5 in 7 I believe. UC also has brought in more good players than ever, although they will be young. I expect this year to be rough, but I expect the class that just came in to be really good in 2 years.

This just helps to push my belief that Rivals is full of a bunch of no-talent a$$ clowns who haven't a clue.

That article is one of most pathetic pieces of research I have ever seen. You point out most of the items he missed the bowl game quote etc.. Does he not know UC finished 1st or 2nd in CUSA the last four years? Does he not call three of the best four players on State Champ and National
Top Ten Colerain good recruits? Byrd was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by one source. Does he not know UC had the most recruits of any school in the Oh-PA Big 33 game. Just because UC graduated a large senior class should we not move up to the BCS level when invited? We have already beaten Rutgers, Syracuse, WVU, Va Tech, BC, Temple, UL, in the last couple years or the last time we played. All but Syracuse also were wins on the road. With
only 8 teams in the conference UC is getting a lot of bad Pub. for being picked last in the polls. If this is the same for five years then maybe it will be deserved but not with one vote and no games even played. Funny he does not mention the 87% grad rate. Oh we only mention it if its perceived bad I guess.

UC also has three verbals for 2006 to date. He says zero?

Just trying to be objective, Cincinnati's 2005 class was rated #70 by scout.com, which puts them last among current Big East members. According to them, UC has 2 commits for 2006, a * WR and ** S.

Rivals seems to be all over the place. They have the 2005 class rated #99 on the team page, yet have them T-#94 on the team rankings. Rivals only gives the 2005 class one ***, and is missing any commits for 2006.

I don't think placing UC last in the Big East is that much of stretch given their turnover from last year...

Nobody is denying UC being weak this year. They will not have much experience, so this year will be a rough year most likely. But their ratings are ridiculous, especially considering the guys from Colerain HS (in Cincinnati) all dropped after accepting their scholarship to UC. Both Rivals and Scout have "experts" that cater to the large schools with bigger subscription fan bases. And if you can't get the actual facts straight, I am very skeptical if you can do the subjective portions of a review of any teams.

Whoever wrote that article is an idiot that did no research...

UC has been to bowl games five of the last seven years...NOT last year was their first in a decade. What a dumb wad.....

Prob. $uckeye homers who wrote that article who know dang well it was false. Somehow O$U has people in positions that "rate" recruits and if you do a little digging...you find that whoever commits to O$U...they are all of a sudden top 25 players....it's all a big sham.

I would agree that ratings services need to be taken with a grain of salt.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:

1. Louisville
2. Pittsburgh
3. South Florida
4. West Virginia
5. Connecticut
6. Syracuse
7. Rutgers
8. Cincinnati

I like it. Pray that Leavitt gets our QB situation squared away......

Let's not get carried away with recruiting rankings. Antonio Bryant was a 2 * recruit with offers only from Louisville and Pitt. All he did was win the Belitnikoff Award as a Soph. I don't think Curtis Martin was highly regarded coming out of high school, but he seems to have done OK for himself. These are just 2 examples of Panthers who weren't highly regarded coming out of high school, but were excellent college, and in Martin's case, pro players. I'm sure every school can list a bunch of nobodies who did very well in college. That knife cuts both ways, Ron Pawlous, Dan Kendra, Brian Davis, were all players who "couldn't miss". None had a stellar college career.

Now would be a good time to say that Andrew Skwara is a USF alum......

(joke)


A lot of things have to break right for USF in order for us to come in third, but it's not that far fetched.

Most BE teams outside of Rutgers and Pitt have had a lot of turnover and we are not going to know how they are going to be until they hit the field.

Even UL has a lot question marks b/c they are replacing Lefors with a very talented but Young QB. If he makes a couple mistakes in reading a coverages and UL as a result loses two close games this year that is one more loss than last year. The Cardinals are also replacing their top two RBS, WRs and beast of a middle LB. In addition they are starting a brand new safety tandem.

I am not knocking UL but it's doesn't take much at this level for youth and experience to cost you a couple games. Thus with USF, we played with a lot of youth and inexperienced players last year but the main thing was they were talented. They all be better as sophomores this year and really good next year. My USF teams reminds me a lot of Dave Ragone's last UL team where the Cards were very young and talented but had a very mediocre season. However, since that season they have not looked back.

BTW, even Pitt has question marks since it may take a while to transition from Harriss's finese style of football to Wanny's straightahead style.

This should a very exciting and competitive BE season.

Predictions don't mean jack******. UC has an experienced backfield and Mark Dantonio is known for his defense. UC will hit stride late in the year and pick up a win at Rutgers to slide into bowl eligibility. No way this team finishes last.

Cyberbull I think you might be sleeping on are running backs, Micheal Bush is every bit as good as Eric Shelton and Kolby Smith is probably the best overall back on the team with the most upside. Brohm is ready good and ready trust me this guy has been special in practice the first couple of days with all of his throws on the money. I can understand your skepticism though its never easy replacing 6 NFL guys on the roster but our backups are pretty damn good. For now I will definitly agree with you about questions marks with MLB and the S positions. However I'm more concerned with the Saftey spot than MLB we have three guys battling for that MLB spot and they are all talented but I will reserve judgement until they put the pads on and start tackling. Safety we will be relying on probably a couple of freshman to help with depth and safety is a position where you backups should be experienced. The two starters at safety have game experience and our solid, I'm just worried about the depth at safety. I do think South Florida can sneak up on some teams this year, they had alot of very good young talent this year, I will be interesting to see if that experience from last year turns into a good season this year. I think South Florida has such a high ceiling its ridiculous. If i'm not mistaken doesn't South Florida play Penn State this year?

Funny, Rivals has Cincinnati's recruiting class barely in the Top 100 but every other reputable recruiting guru has Cincinnati's class no less then being in the Top 60, some even say the Top 50. Rivals website is trash and isn't worth the time of day. Cincinnati is going to make an impact next year, this year inexperience will hurt them.

RapmasterAC Wrote:Just trying to be objective, Cincinnati's 2005 class was rated #70 by scout.com, which puts them last among current Big East members. According to them, UC has 2 commits for 2006, a * WR and ** S.

scout.com isn't much better sometimes. Everytime UC got a highly touted recruit his ranking would drop. Example, UC would pick up what scout.com had as a 4 star prospect and suddenly he would be a 2 or 3 star prospect. But if someone like Ohio State or West Virginia or even Louisville picked them up they would remain a 4 star player so those rankings are diluted.