Big East football preview
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
BY TOM LUICCI
Star-Ledger Staff
CINCINNATI
Nickname: Bearcats
Head coach: Mark Dantonio
Last year's record: 7-5 (Beat Marshall, 32-14, in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl)
Names you should know: RB Delbert Ferguson, WR Earnest Jackson, TE Brent Celek, OT Steve Eastlake, DL Adam Roberts, CB Antoine Horton, DE Anthony Hoke
Football tradition: The fifth-oldest Division 1-A program in the country -- behind Rutgers, Michigan, Navy and Minnesota, respectively -- finally appears to be catching on, with five of the school's eight bowl appearances coming since 1997. Sid Gillman went 50-13-1 as head coach from 1949-54. Among the program's 30 football All-Americans are quarterback Greg Cook and place-kicker Jim O'Brien. Cook led the country in passing in 1968 and was the fifth overall choice in the 1969 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, earning Rookie of the Year honors. O'Brien was the nation's leading scorer in 1968 and is best known for his game-winning field goal on the game's final play in the Colts' Super Bowl victory over the Cowboys in 1971.
Why they won't finish higher than Rutgers: Dantonio will pay the price in his second year for last season's surprising bowl run. He lost 16 starters, including QB Gino Guidugli, a four-year starter, and 1,000-yard rusher Richard Hall.
CONNECTICUT
Nickname: Huskies
Head coach: Randy Edsall
Last year's record: 8-4 (Beat Toledo, 39-10, in the Motor City Bowl)
Names you should know: RB Cornell Brockington, LB James Hargrave, WR Jason Williams, TE Dan Murray, DT Deon McPhee, FS M.J. Estep
Football tradition: Almost all of the school's history and tradition is in the 1-AA ranks or in the old Yankee Conference, where Connecticut played from 1949 to 1996 before moving to the Atlantic 10 from 1997-99. The Huskies began play as an independent in Division 1-A in 2000, and four years later earned the school's first bowl bid. UConn was fast-tracked to the Big East for football last season a year ahead of schedule, opened 40,000-seat Rentschler Field in East Hartford in 2003 and is building a football complex and a new training center, both on campus and set to open next year.
Why they won't finish higher than Rutgers: The Huskies have beaten Rutgers three straight years largely because they were able to count on QB Dan Orlovsky, the most accomplished passer in school history. They can't this year, and they also lost standout WR Keron Henry and star LBs Alfred Fincher and Maurice Lloyd to graduation. UConn will take a slight step back this year while Rutgers takes one forward.
LOUISVILLE
Nickname: Cardinals
Head coach: Bobby Petrino
Last year's record: 11-1 (Beat Boise State, 44-40, in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl)
Names you should know: RB Michael Bush, QB Brian Brohm, OT Travis Leffew, LB Brandon Johnson, WR Montrell Jones, DE Elvis Dumervil, C Jason Spitz
Football tradition: Until Howard Schnellenberger returned home to Louisville to coach the Cardinals in 1985 after leading Miami to a national championship, the football program was mostly an afterthought. Johnny Unitas starred there from 1954-56 before going on to a Hall of Fame NFL career, but nearly transferred out after an administrative foul-up. Unitas played as a freshmen when others couldn't because Louisville didn't belong to the NCAA then. With some talk of dropping football, Schnellenberger revived the program, leading the school to a signature victory over Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl after the 1990 season. ESPN's Lee Corso coached there from 1969-72 and fellow ESPNer Tom Jackson starred at linebacker at the school. The program's first bowl bid was in 1957 and the Cardinals have been bowl regulars lately.
Why they will finish higher than Rutgers: This is a preaseason Top 10 team expected to win the league. Rutgers is trying for its first winning season in 13 years. Any other questions?
PITTSBURGH
Nickname: Panthers
Head coach: Dave Wannstedt
Last year's record: 8-4 (lost to Utah, 35-7, in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl)
Names you should know: QB Tyler Palko, WR Greg Lee, TE Erik Gill, OL Charles Spencer, LB H.B. Blades, CB Bernard "Josh" Lay, CB Darrelle Revis
Football tradition: The Panthers claim nine national championships -- the most recent when Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett led Pittsburgh to a 12-0 season in 1976 -- as part of their rich football history. Glenn "Pop" Warner and Jock Sutherland, two of the game's coaching giants, applied their trade at the school, and the program's list of retired jerseys features several of college football's all-time greats: Mark May, Dorsett, Dan Marino, Hugh Green, Bill Fralic, Joe Schmidt, Jimbo Covert and Mike Ditka. Pittsburgh ranks 12th among Division 1-A schools with 22 inductees in the college football Hall of Fame.
Why they will finish higher than Rutgers: The cupboard certainly wasn't left bare for Wannstedt, a Pittsburgh graduate who was the Miami Dolphins' head coach from 2000-04. After earning a share of the Big East title and representing the league in the BCS, the Panthers return 16 starters and both kickers. Palko, a junior, blossomed into a star the second half of last season.
RUTGERS
Nickname: Scarlet Knights
Head coach Greg Schiano
Last year's record: 4-7
Names you should know: QB Ryan Hart, RB Brian Leonard, TE Clark Harris, WR Tres Moses, WR Shawn Tucker, DE Ryan Neill
Football tradition: The school that helped start all of this college football madness with Princeton on Nov. 6, 1869 is still trying to get it right. After spending the first 100-years plus content playing Ivy League schools and those that now form the Patriot League, the school made the jump to the big-time college football ranks in the early 1980s and has struggled to find success ever since. Rutgers' only bowl appearance came in the 1978 Garden State Bowl, played at Giants Stadium, and the school is on its fourth coach since 1984, having gone without a winning season since 1992. The Knights are a charter member of the Big East football conference.
Why they will go to a bowl: Because all of the gridiron planets are finally aligned for Rutgers: There's a wealth of returning experience and talent, and the schedule couldn't be more favorable.
SOUTH FLORIDA
Nickname: Bulls
Head coach: Jim Leavitt
Last year's record: 4-7
Names you should know: RB Andre Hall, LB Stephen Nicholas, WR Johnny Peyton, DB D'Juan Brown, DT Terrence Royal, FS Danny Verpaele
Football tradition: There's not much to tell. The Tampa-based school -- founded in 1956 -- has only been playing football since 1997, joining the Division 1-A ranks in 2001. Leavitt is the only coach the program has ever had, and recently signed an extension through 2009. School enrollment is 42,000-plus, and the Bulls play at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite the youth of the program, four ex-South Florida players have played in the Super Bowl already: J.R. Reed for the Eagles last year, Kenyatta Jones and Scott McCready for the Patriots and Ryan Benjamin for the Buccaneers.
Why they won't finish higher than Rutgers: Though the defense returns nine starters, the unit ranked No. 77 nationally a year ago. Hall (1,357 rushing yards last year) is a budding star, but uncertainty at quarterback could hold the offense back. Pat Julmiste is the returning starter, but is more a scrambler than a passer. He will be pressed by Auburn transfer Courtney Denson and sophomore Anthony Severino, who appeared in just two games last year.
SYRACUSE
Nickname: Orange
Head coach: Greg Robinson
Last year's record: 6-6 (Lost to Georgia Tech, 51-14, in the Champs Sports Bowl)
Names you should know: TB Damien Rhodes, DE James Wyche, LB Kellen Pruitt, LB Kelvin Smith, DT Kader Drame, FS Anthony Smith
Football tradition: Start with the running backs. Jim Brown, arguably the greatest back in NFL history, 1961 Heisman winner Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Larry Csonka, Joe Morris. That's just the beginning in detailing Syracuse's football history. Some of the other prominent football names the school has produced: NFL Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey, who revolutionized the position, Hall of Fame lineman Jim Ringo, Raiders owner Al Davis, QB Donovan McNabb, WR Art Monk, PK Gary Anderson, FB Daryl Johnston, DT Tim Green, WR Marvin Harrison and DE Dwight Freeney. The program boasts 22 bowl appearances and the 1959 national championship.
Why they won't finish higher than Rutgers: Robinson, who in his first year will double as defensive coordinator, is overhauling the program, and who knows how quickly the players will adapt? Syracuse will switch to an attacking 4-3 on defense and to the West Coast offense. Quarterback is still an issue with Perry Patterson, last in the Big East in passing efficiency in '04, and Joe Fields -- replaced by Patterson last year after originally winning the job -- again battling for the position.
WEST VIRGINIA
Nickname: Mountaineers
Head coach: Rich Rodriguez
Last year's record: 8-4 (Lost to Florida State, 30-18, in the Toyota Gator Bowl)
Names you should know: FS Jahmile Addae, SS Mike Lorello, OG Dan Mozes, RB Jason Colson, DL Ernest Hunter, DL Keilen Dykes
Football tradition: Though the school's coaching history includes future Hall of Famer Bobby Bowden and inductees Don Nehlen and "Greasy" Neale, the name most synonymous with West Virginia football is Sam Huff. The star linebacker was elected to the college Hall of Fame in 1980 and to the pro Hall of Fame in 1982. The program has made 24 bowl appearances, including two in the Sugar Bowl, and played in the national championship game against Notre Dame in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl. The school's roster of football greats includes Huff, Darryl Talley, Aaron Beasley, Bruce Bosley, Todd Sauerbrun, Grant Wiley, Major Harris, Marc Bulger, Jerry Porter, Mike Vanderjagt, Avon Cobourne, Brian Jozwiak and Amos Zereoue.
Why they will finish higher than Rutgers: The reloading job is a sizeable one, but this is Rodriguez's fifth year on the job and he has continually brought in good talent. So even though the Mountaineers have to replace 13 starters -- seven on offense -- they can take some personnel hits and continue to be successful.
BEST OPENING DAY MATCHUP
West Virginia at Syracuse, Sept. 4
Both will be looking to make an early statement; Syracuse for new coach Greg Robinson, West Virginia to remind people it's still a player in the league after being hit hard by personnel losses.
FIVE GAMES YOU SHOULDN'T MISS
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, Sept. 3
Irish usher in the Charlie Weis era just as the Panthers embark on the Dave Wannstedt era. An important opener for both.
South Florida at Miami, Oct. 1
The Bulls aren't ready to beat Miami yet, but how much would it help the Big East's image if USF put a scare into the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl? Miami is where South Florida wants to be some day.
Louisville at North Carolina, Oct. 8
It's an ACC-Big East matchup and those always matter now -- especially when Louisville looks to be the Big East's best team.
Pittsburgh at Louisville, Nov. 3
The way things shape up, this should be the game that decides the Big East title and a BCS bowl berth.
Pittsburgh at West Virginia, Nov. 24
The Thanksgiving night matchup is far and away the best rivalry the Big East has to offer. The Backyard Brawl almost always seems to produce something memorable or unexpected.
THE LEAGUE'S BEST SHOTS FOR A BOWL
Louisville
It only seems to be a question of whether the Cardinals or Pittsburgh are BCS-bound.
Pittsburgh
The schedule is a tough one with the opener against Notre Dame and road games with Nebraska, Louisville and West Virginia, but the Panthers have talent and the adjustment to new coach Dave Wannstedt shouldn't be an issue.
West Virginia
The Mountaineers' run of three straight bowl appearances will be tested because of heavy personnel losses, but Rich Rodriguez has a knack for producing winners.
Rutgers
If the Knights aren't bowl worthy this year, someone at the Meadowlands should create a postseason game and stipulate that one of the teams has to be a 1-A school from New Jersey.
Syracuse
There's a new guy in charge (Greg Robinson) with no head coaching experience and the schedule is brutal, but the Orange always seem to squeeze out six victories-plus.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER
Tyler Palko, QB, Pittsburgh
The junior blossomed into one of the country's top QBs the second half of last season, finishing the year with 3,067 passing yards and 24 TDs.
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER
H.B. Blades, LB, Pittsburgh
The latest football star from the Blades family -- dad, Bennie, and uncles Brian and Al all were standouts at Miami -- earned first-team all-league honors as a sophomore last year.
BEST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER
Larry Taylor, PR/KR, Connecticut
He led the Big East last year with a 31.3 average on kickoff returns and tied for the league lead in punt-return average at 14.6 -- as a freshman. Returned a punt and a kickoff for a TD as well.
WILL BE THE BIGGEST SURPRISE
Rutgers
Whenever the Knights have a winning season it's a surprise -- even if everything seems aligned perfectly for them this year. The school's last winning record came in 1992.
WILL BE THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
South Florida
The Bulls have plenty of potential -- this year and for the future -- but uncertainty at quarterback and a midseason stretch of Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh and West Virginia will be their undoing. That's after opening at Penn State.
|