Doesn’t anybody want the Big East’s BCS bid?

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, October 30, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

College Football
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Let's see -- at the halfway point of the Big East season, less than two weeks ago, this was the "power ratings":

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

OK, Syracuse is still No. 8. Everything else is confusion.

Since those ratings were published, Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel -- he of the three touchdown passes, eight interceptions and a badly tarnished reputation -- threw for six scores in a 54-34 rout of Pittsburgh, the team that previously had the best pass defense in the conference. Weird.

South Florida lost to Louisville, then to Cincinnati. Stunning.

The Bearcats got hammered by Connecticut, 40-16. UConn had lost, 12-10, to Rutgers the previous week. Curious.

One thing is certain -- the Big East will have one team in a BCS bowl, period. And it may not have one ranked in the Top 25, although West Virginia certainly played like a ranked team in routing Auburn last week. The week before, though, the Mountaineers barely beat Syracuse.

So ... how about a little reassessment?

Don't worry, it may all change again by next week.

1. WEST VIRGINIA. The tiny West Virginia backs played fox and hounds all night with Auburn's well-regarded defense, with Noel Devine slipping through cracks and inventing new moves in the open field en route to 207 rushing yards. On one occasion, he gained 10 yards running backward after a missed tackle spun him around. Pat White mixed run and pass expertly, and the young Mountaineer defense seems to be coming around.

On the other hand, Bill Stewart's team has to travel to Connecticut, to Louisville and to Pitt, sandwiched around home games with Cincinnati and South Florida. But at this stage of the season, it's the same for everyone.

2. CINCINNATI. Here's a vote for Brian Kelly for coach of the year. He seems to be this year's Greg Schiano, getting the most out of a tough defense (DE Corey Smith was a beast against South Florida) and some unlikely stars (Mardy Gilyard, John Goebel, Tony Pike) on offense. Pike opened some eyes in prime time against USF, demonstrating perhaps the strongest arm of any Big East quarterback. Unfortunately, his other arm was broken earlier this season and currently resides in a cast. The big loss to UConn may have been an aberration.

3. SOUTH FLORIDA. The Bulls are currently 1-3 in league play, but c'mon. Matt Grothe? George Selvie? All those fast running backs and wide receivers? Jim Leavitt's club has been killing itself with penalties and mistakes, playing more like August than October. The Bulls had over 100 yards in flags in the loss to Louisville and committed some key mental errors against Cincinnati.

Another problem has been the offensive line, which allowed Louisville (the worst defense in the Big East last season) to get to Grothe five times.

4. PITT. LeSean McCoy is shredding defenses like an All-American again -- 144 rushing yards against South Florida, 156 versus Navy, 154 in the loss to Pitt. Jonathan Baldwin, a true freshman, has provided the deep threat the offense lacked, and Bill Stull has been steady (if unspectacular) under center. Meanwhile, linerbacker Scott McKillop is tackling everyone in sight, just like last season. If Stull is unable to play against Notre Dame (he suffered a concussion against Rutgers), Pat Bostick is a capable backup.

5. RUTGERS. Let's go out on a limb here. Maybe Teel now has his confidence back, and he has two of the best wide receivers in the conference to throw to. The Rutgers defense has tightened up considerably after a slow start, especially at linebacker.

6. CONNECTICUT. Everyone keeps waiting for workhouse back Donald Brown to wear down, but he still leads the nation in rushing and is carrying the Huskies on his back. UConn appeared to have crested the bell curve with a big loss to North Carolina, but then rallied to trounce Cincinnati. As with several other teams in the league, though, young quarterbacks have been forced to play too early. That has been counterbalanced somewhat by a veteran defense.

7. LOUISVILLE. The Cardinals don't belong down here, but where else to put them? The star of the upset of South Florida, wideout Scott Long, tore an ACL in practice this week and is lost for the season. And can defensive coordinator Ron English keep doing it with smoke and mirrors, transforming a unit that was more smoked than smoke in 2007?

8. SYRACUSE. Punter Rob Long is having a great year. Other than that, the Orange season has devolved into a death watch for beleaguered coach Greg Robinson. In all fairness, SU has been bad, but not necessarily horrible, giving Pitt and West Virginia a fight. If nothing else, they deserve props for not giving up.

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