Wins improving Big East's image
By Rick Starr
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In the Big East's push for prestige as a football league, nothing beats results.
Big East teams have combined for a 16-5 record against teams from other conferences in the opening three weeks of the season.
Critics who once believed the Big East wasn't worthy of a BCS berth have gone underground.
"From top to bottom, I think the Big East is off to a pretty good start," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "There's even less criticism if we do well in our non-conference games."
Rodriguez predicted before the season that the Big East would be a conference on the rise.
"The reason I say that is when you look around the league, there's been a commitment to the facilities and to the coaching staffs, and that's the start," he said. "The Big East is kind of in a rebirth mode. Hopefully, that will take off."
Rodriguez became an unofficial league spokesman in the months after West Virginia's 38-35 victory over SEC champ Georgia on Jan. 2 in the Sugar Bowl.
"I know I'm biased, but there's not much difference between Big East teams and the other BCS conferences," he said. "I think we're right there in the middle. We've just had to overcome a lot of negativity the last couple years. It takes some quality wins to do that."
Big East teams are coming off another solid performance last week, in which the No. 4 Mountaineers (3-0) and No. 8 Louisville (3-0) knocked off their ACC opponents. Syracuse beat rebuilding Illinois of the Big Ten, South Florida pounded Conference USA rival Central Florida, and Rutgers stopped Ohio U. from the MAC.
"You don't hear people bashing the Big Ten or the ACC when the Big East beats them in a non-conference game," Rodriguez said. "I'd like to see all that stuff subside."
Louisville embarrassed Miami, 31-7, despite playing without both of their Heisman Trophy candidates -- quarterback Brian Brohm (for the second half) and running back Michael Bush (for the entire game). The Cardinals knocked the Hurricanes out of the polls.
While the Big East is off to a 12-5 start against Division I-A opponents, the league is 1-2 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. That includes Cincinnati's 37-7 loss to No. 1 Ohio State and No. 14 Iowa's 20-13 double-overtime victory over Syracuse.
The Big East has two teams ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2003 in West Virginia and Louisville.
The league also boasts some of the nation's most potent offenses. West Virginia leads the country in rushing offense (348.7) and ranks second in scoring offense (46.3). Louisville is tops in both scoring offense (50.7) and total offense (563.7), and Connecticut is fourth nationally in rushing (272.5).
Rutgers ranks fifth in scoring defense (7.7), and Louisville is third among all defensive units against the run (34.0).
The Big East also has its share of individual stars, starting with a pair of running backs ranked in the top five nationally. West Virginia's Steve Slaton is third in rushing (167.7), and Rutgers' Ray Rice is fourth at 166.3 per contest.
Rick Starr can be reached at rstarr@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4691.
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