In my discussion of conferences likely not deserving an automatic BCS bid, at least for this year, the Big East is at the forefront. The woes of this conference at least in the football world was highlighted last week with the USA Today Coaches poll listed no Big East teams in the top 25. In contrast, the Mountain West Conference has three teams: BYU, TCU, and Utah, the last of which made a push to congress to address the BCS preventing an undefeated Utes team from playing for a title last year. The Big East has only eight teams, and it would probably help if they could add at least a couple teams. The only problem is that they already have 16 teams for basketball, and adding other teams to the conference could add problems in other sports. Notre Dame, a Big East basketball team, would be a great add for the conference, but they seem content with their independent status in football. So alas, we are stuck with the current roster of teams and here’s how I think it’ll shake out.
Team to Beat: Cincinnati
It’s bad when the school to beat in your conference is more well known for basketball and in fact hasn’t been a real notable football team well….ever. In fact the most decorated team in Cincinnati history, you guessed it, the Dance Team in the Hip Hop Division, three years in a row from 2004-06. So, why are they the front runners? One answer could be: why not? But I’m going to say that they are the front runners because they won last year and have the best coach in the conference. Pittsburgh was the Big East coaches’ preseason pick, but in a conference that’s virtually a toss up, I’ll take the defending champs.
Surprise/Sleeper Team: Rutgers
Another tough one to pick due to the fact that it’s a pretty huddled mess in this division. Louisville and Syracuse are pretty miserable at the bottom, and West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and South Florida are all tough to pick as real sleepers. The Rutgers would probably have been a tough pick before Ray Rice left, but the Rutgers slipped back to mediocrity. This year, however, in a wide open conference they sport one of the easiest schedules and host many of the toughest in conference games, which will certainly help in breaking in a new quarterback. In a conference this mediocre, they have as good a chance as anyone.
Team That We May Call Overrated by the End of the Season (if an unranked team can be overrated): West Virginia
Two years ago West Virginia was on the doorstep of a BCS Championship game appearance when they stumbled in their last game against Pitt (at home). They still hold some of that respect of a top Big East team, but Bill Stewart is a far cry from Rich Rodriguez and the pieces that won then are now gone. The Mountaineers have to replace the best and most winningnest QB in school history in Pat White, which will certainly cause some bumps and bruises. Add in that they probably have the toughest schedule in the conference, playing ECU, Colorado, and Auburn in the nonconference and playing at Cincinnati, South Florida, and Rutgers. At least they have Pitt at home, right? This team could easily fall to 6-6 this year, two years removed from their best season ever.
Offensive MVP: Mardy Gilyard
If you haven’t heard of this Cincinnati receiver, don’t worry, neither had I. But the receiver put up some great numbers last year: 81 catchers, 1,276 yds, 11 TDs. Though, Noel Devine may be the most exciting player in the conference and will probably produce more YouTube highlights, Gilyard will have the production to backup his playmaking ability.
Defensive MVP: George Selvie
The defensive end from South Florida broke out as a sophomore two years ago with 13.5 sacks, but last year saw his production drop to only 5.5. The reason: double and triple teams. Selvie is the best defensive player in the conference and opposing offensive coordinators gameplan as such. He has a great impact on the game, even if it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, merely by the attention he will get from opposing offenses.
Coach of the Year: Brian Kelly
I think this is another conference where the conference champion will likely win the award. Kelly, who calls his own plays on offense, will return a lot on offense to work with. The biggest challenge he will face is on defense, where he has a number of starters gone from last year. His staff thus far has shown an ability to win games, and not necessarily with great talent. He already has 22 victories after two years on duty. I think he will be up to the same old tricks. The real question is how long he will stay in Cincinnati before the lure of a big program pulls him away.
Games to Watch (not many):
Nonconference Games:
Cincinnati @ Oregon State, September 19
This matchup pits two surprise teams from last year. Oregon State has quietly been one of the better teams in the Pac-10 under Mike Riley, and no one talks about them. This will be a tough road game for the Bearcats.
West Virginia @ Auburn, September 19
Two or three years ago this would have been one of the best matchups on the schedule in all of college football. As it is, both teams are looking to try to remain in yearly conversation for national championship consideration.
USF @ Florida State and @ Miami, September 26 and November 28
Both of the these in-state matchups will be big games for USF, a team looking to make its own mark in Florida. USF will no doubt be up for these games. The question is whether FSU and Miami will be.
Possibly: Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh (Nov. 14)
Conference Games:
West Virginia @ Cincinnati, November 13
The last two conference champions and the two most exciting offenses in the conference. Could be the two best teams in the conference (as could any other pairing).
Pittsburgh @ West Virginia, November 27
The “Backyard Brawl” will return to Blacksburg where Pitt derailed West Virginia’s title hopes two years ago.
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh, December 5
The last weekend of the regular season, this matchup could determine the conference champion. If that is true it could definitely be a game to watch.
Conference Champions: Cincinnati
As mentioned previously, any team could win. Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and South Florida are most likely the competition, but Rutgers could be thrown into the conversation as well. I think this conference is going to have four or five 7-5/8-4 teams and it will probably result in matchups to determine the conference champ. Cincinnati is the pick for the fact that they have the best coaching staff.
Thoughts from elsewhere in the sporting world:
-Wanna talk about signs of a bad economy? Alex Rios was given to the White Sox for nothing by the Blue Jays. NOTHING. Rios was a budding all-star just two years ago and worked his way into a huge $10-12 M/yr contract. Now that he’s playing like an average outfielder, when the Sox claimed him on waivers, the Jays were happy to bail out on paying the last 5-6 years of that contract.
-Of course everyone by now knows about the epic defeat of Tiger Woods by Y.E. Yang. They are talking about it as one of the biggest upsets of all-time and it just doesn’t feel that way to me. I think a lot of that feeling for me probably comes from the fact that Tiger Woods is going to be there again on Championship Sunday. I think it’s true of tennis too, you would assume if Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal lost a final to an unknown you’d see them again. That isn’t always true of the great teams, they may never be there again. Team sports deal with free agency and the shuffling of personnel so it may truly be a one time chance. This makes it nearly impossible to make a comparison between an individual sport and team sports. Having that said, you have to think that the field is probably scared right now what Tiger’s going to do next year after sitting on this loss for 6 months. How many majors do you think he’s going to win next year? I got him for 2 at least.
-In the World Championships in Track and Field yesterday Usain Bolt proved again to be one of the most freakish athletes on the planet. He ran a blazing 9.58s in the 100M shattering his old record of 9.69s. American Tyson Gay ran his best race ever, and the fastest time not owned by Bolt, and still lost by .13s. Can you imagine how fun it would be to see this guy play some different sports. Football is the obvious one. Line this guy up at receiver and than just throw the ball deep on the snap, he’ll get under it. But even baseball would be interesting. I have to think if this guy played centerfield a ball would never drop in the outfield.
-The Cubs certainly sputtered against the World Champion Phillies last week before beating the living daylights out of the Pirates on Friday. Though getting into the playoffs is the primary concern, the Phillies series has to be a concern for this Cubs team. The Phillies are a likely first round playoff matchup should the Cubs make it into the playoffs and they have looked terrible against them. In fact, against the current division leaders the Cubs are 1-5 against Philadelphia, 2-2 versus the Dodgers (with a big 4-game set looming next weekend), and 5-8 against the Cardinals. Doesn’t sound like a playoff team to me.
-Husker football starts in 19 days. This is self explanatory.
Go Big Red!
Team to Beat: Cincinnati
It’s bad when the school to beat in your conference is more well known for basketball and in fact hasn’t been a real notable football team well….ever. In fact the most decorated team in Cincinnati history, you guessed it, the Dance Team in the Hip Hop Division, three years in a row from 2004-06. So, why are they the front runners? One answer could be: why not? But I’m going to say that they are the front runners because they won last year and have the best coach in the conference. Pittsburgh was the Big East coaches’ preseason pick, but in a conference that’s virtually a toss up, I’ll take the defending champs.
Surprise/Sleeper Team: Rutgers
Another tough one to pick due to the fact that it’s a pretty huddled mess in this division. Louisville and Syracuse are pretty miserable at the bottom, and West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and South Florida are all tough to pick as real sleepers. The Rutgers would probably have been a tough pick before Ray Rice left, but the Rutgers slipped back to mediocrity. This year, however, in a wide open conference they sport one of the easiest schedules and host many of the toughest in conference games, which will certainly help in breaking in a new quarterback. In a conference this mediocre, they have as good a chance as anyone.
Team That We May Call Overrated by the End of the Season (if an unranked team can be overrated): West Virginia
Two years ago West Virginia was on the doorstep of a BCS Championship game appearance when they stumbled in their last game against Pitt (at home). They still hold some of that respect of a top Big East team, but Bill Stewart is a far cry from Rich Rodriguez and the pieces that won then are now gone. The Mountaineers have to replace the best and most winningnest QB in school history in Pat White, which will certainly cause some bumps and bruises. Add in that they probably have the toughest schedule in the conference, playing ECU, Colorado, and Auburn in the nonconference and playing at Cincinnati, South Florida, and Rutgers. At least they have Pitt at home, right? This team could easily fall to 6-6 this year, two years removed from their best season ever.
Offensive MVP: Mardy Gilyard
If you haven’t heard of this Cincinnati receiver, don’t worry, neither had I. But the receiver put up some great numbers last year: 81 catchers, 1,276 yds, 11 TDs. Though, Noel Devine may be the most exciting player in the conference and will probably produce more YouTube highlights, Gilyard will have the production to backup his playmaking ability.
Defensive MVP: George Selvie
The defensive end from South Florida broke out as a sophomore two years ago with 13.5 sacks, but last year saw his production drop to only 5.5. The reason: double and triple teams. Selvie is the best defensive player in the conference and opposing offensive coordinators gameplan as such. He has a great impact on the game, even if it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, merely by the attention he will get from opposing offenses.
Coach of the Year: Brian Kelly
I think this is another conference where the conference champion will likely win the award. Kelly, who calls his own plays on offense, will return a lot on offense to work with. The biggest challenge he will face is on defense, where he has a number of starters gone from last year. His staff thus far has shown an ability to win games, and not necessarily with great talent. He already has 22 victories after two years on duty. I think he will be up to the same old tricks. The real question is how long he will stay in Cincinnati before the lure of a big program pulls him away.
Games to Watch (not many):
Nonconference Games:
Cincinnati @ Oregon State, September 19
This matchup pits two surprise teams from last year. Oregon State has quietly been one of the better teams in the Pac-10 under Mike Riley, and no one talks about them. This will be a tough road game for the Bearcats.
West Virginia @ Auburn, September 19
Two or three years ago this would have been one of the best matchups on the schedule in all of college football. As it is, both teams are looking to try to remain in yearly conversation for national championship consideration.
USF @ Florida State and @ Miami, September 26 and November 28
Both of the these in-state matchups will be big games for USF, a team looking to make its own mark in Florida. USF will no doubt be up for these games. The question is whether FSU and Miami will be.
Possibly: Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh (Nov. 14)
Conference Games:
West Virginia @ Cincinnati, November 13
The last two conference champions and the two most exciting offenses in the conference. Could be the two best teams in the conference (as could any other pairing).
Pittsburgh @ West Virginia, November 27
The “Backyard Brawl” will return to Blacksburg where Pitt derailed West Virginia’s title hopes two years ago.
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh, December 5
The last weekend of the regular season, this matchup could determine the conference champion. If that is true it could definitely be a game to watch.
Conference Champions: Cincinnati
As mentioned previously, any team could win. Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and South Florida are most likely the competition, but Rutgers could be thrown into the conversation as well. I think this conference is going to have four or five 7-5/8-4 teams and it will probably result in matchups to determine the conference champ. Cincinnati is the pick for the fact that they have the best coaching staff.
Thoughts from elsewhere in the sporting world:
-Wanna talk about signs of a bad economy? Alex Rios was given to the White Sox for nothing by the Blue Jays. NOTHING. Rios was a budding all-star just two years ago and worked his way into a huge $10-12 M/yr contract. Now that he’s playing like an average outfielder, when the Sox claimed him on waivers, the Jays were happy to bail out on paying the last 5-6 years of that contract.
-Of course everyone by now knows about the epic defeat of Tiger Woods by Y.E. Yang. They are talking about it as one of the biggest upsets of all-time and it just doesn’t feel that way to me. I think a lot of that feeling for me probably comes from the fact that Tiger Woods is going to be there again on Championship Sunday. I think it’s true of tennis too, you would assume if Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal lost a final to an unknown you’d see them again. That isn’t always true of the great teams, they may never be there again. Team sports deal with free agency and the shuffling of personnel so it may truly be a one time chance. This makes it nearly impossible to make a comparison between an individual sport and team sports. Having that said, you have to think that the field is probably scared right now what Tiger’s going to do next year after sitting on this loss for 6 months. How many majors do you think he’s going to win next year? I got him for 2 at least.
-In the World Championships in Track and Field yesterday Usain Bolt proved again to be one of the most freakish athletes on the planet. He ran a blazing 9.58s in the 100M shattering his old record of 9.69s. American Tyson Gay ran his best race ever, and the fastest time not owned by Bolt, and still lost by .13s. Can you imagine how fun it would be to see this guy play some different sports. Football is the obvious one. Line this guy up at receiver and than just throw the ball deep on the snap, he’ll get under it. But even baseball would be interesting. I have to think if this guy played centerfield a ball would never drop in the outfield.
-The Cubs certainly sputtered against the World Champion Phillies last week before beating the living daylights out of the Pirates on Friday. Though getting into the playoffs is the primary concern, the Phillies series has to be a concern for this Cubs team. The Phillies are a likely first round playoff matchup should the Cubs make it into the playoffs and they have looked terrible against them. In fact, against the current division leaders the Cubs are 1-5 against Philadelphia, 2-2 versus the Dodgers (with a big 4-game set looming next weekend), and 5-8 against the Cardinals. Doesn’t sound like a playoff team to me.
-Husker football starts in 19 days. This is self explanatory.
Go Big Red!
