Big East preseason conference outlook

By J.R. Hopwood  |   Thursday, July 28, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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The Big East is very weak from the middle of the pack on. Graduation and NFL attrition has hurt a few schools and it's hard to recover from lost experience. The conference does add Louisville this year, and along with Pittsburgh's improved play, should provide the Big East with a few competitive teams. Below is my projected order of finish:

Big East
1. The Louisville Cardinals have a shot at matching last year's undefeated season and Brian Brohm should put up stellar numbers.

2. Pittsburgh Panthers QB Tyler Palko now has experience under his belt, and a fantastic wide receiver in Greg lee to throw to, not to mention a new head ball coach.

3. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have an experienced team this year. QB Ryan Hart will have to throw less interceptions (17:19 ratio last year) if he wants a 3154 yard season to stand out.

4. The Syracuse Orangemen nabbed a great coach in Greg Robinson this off-season and they also return star running back Damien Rhodes.

5. The West Virginia Mountaineers suffered several losses this off-season to draft and graduation including Marshall, Harris, Pacman Jones and many more. However the backups waiting in the wings are very capable.

6. The Connecticut Huskies lose star QB Dan Orlovsky but returns two solid rushers in Terry Caulley and Cornell Brockington.

7. The South Florida Bulls return some good talent at key positions and could have a shot at finishing in the middle should a few breaks go there way.

8. The Cincinnati BearCats lost practically every starter they had last year, returning only 6, and they lost all-time passing leader Gino Guidugli.
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