By RUPackers30
Published: February 26, 2007 PrintEmail
My first article...hope you all like it!
THE STATE OF THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Last season, we found ourselves engrossed in college football's biggest stories. The supremacy of the SEC and Big 10. The mediocrity of the ACC. The Reggie Bush saga. The whole BCS fiasco...they all stole front page headlines all season long. Pushed into the background was the emergence of the Big East as one of the premier conferences in the game. Five of eight teams earned bowl berths, with each of those teams notching wins. Six teams at .500 or better...a feat commendable for a conference not earning the respect most feel they deserve. I will be taking a look at each team's respective offseasons, their key losses, recruiting gains, and early predictions for each team''s 2007 campaign. Numbers in parentheses next to the recruit's name represents the number of stars they were given in terms of national ranking, on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best. In the interest of space, only those who earned 4 or 5 stars are mentioned.
Louisville Cardinals - (12-1)(6-1) Big East Champions
Bowl: Defeated Wake Forest in Orange Bowl
A stellar season with only one blemish in a trip to Piscataway, Louisville re-affirmed themselves as perennial BCS contenders. They'll be back in the hunt next year, but without some familiar faces. Losing Michael Bush to the NFL draft left the Cardinals with a doozy of a hole to fill. Victor Anderson and Dale Martin are ranked as the 30th and 25th best running backs in the country, and look to provide a one-two punch in the backfield, helping out Brian Brohm in his final campaign as Louisville's quarterback. He'll look to throw to Beaumont and Chichester, ranked 23rd and 54th among the nation's wideouts. 11 of the 16 Louisville recruits are ranked in the top 100 at their position, and each look to continue Louisville's history as a college football powerhouse. Assuming Steve Kragthorpe can continue what Bobby Petrino started of course.
Next year's opponents: Big East, Murray State, Middle Tennessee State, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Utah.
Prediction: (11-1)(6-1)
West Virginia Mountaineers - (11-2)(5-2)
Bowl: Defeated Georgia Tech in Gator Bowl
Key Losses: C Dan Mozes. LB Boo McLee. WR Brandon Myles.
Key Recruits: CB Ellis Lankster(4). C Gino Gradkowski(4). DT Junius Lewis(4). QB Charlie Russell(4).
A year filled with exciting games and en even more exciting offense was West Virginia's story this year...finishing with only 2 losses and defeating Calvin Johnson and Georgia Tech. And with much of it's offensive firepower returning to West Virginia for the 2007 campaign, look for much of the same for 2007. Rich Rodriguez looked to address a few pressing issues left behind by those entering the Draft, and certainly looks to have succeeded, landing Gradkowski, ranked fourth in the country among centers. He's dubbed one of the most athletic and efficient linemen in the recruiting class, despite being a bit undersized. Rodriguez also roped in 5 safeties, 4 linebackers, and 3 cornerbacks, of which three quarters of them rank in the top 100 at their respective positions, setting the stage for a scary defense in a couple of years. With an offense that fires on all cylinders with Pat White and Heisman candidate Steve Slaton, and a blossoming defense, watch for this team to make a serious run at the BCS Title.
Next Year's Opponents: Big East, Western Michigan, Marshall, Maryland, Eastern Carolina, Mississippi State.
Prediction: (12-0)(7-0).
Rutgers Scarlet Knights - (10-2)(5-2)
Bowl: Defeated Kansas State in Texas Bowl
Key Losses: FB Brian Leonard. TE Clark Harris. C Darnell Stapleton.
Key Recruits: OT Anthony Davis(5). CB Mason Robinson(4). WLB Manny Abreu(4). OT Keith Newell(4). S Joseph Lefeged(4).
Homerism aside, you couldn't help but love Rutgers this year. Breaking into the top 25 for the first time in three decades. A win for the ages against Louisville. A first ever bowl win. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and with that comes the search for young blood to continue Rutgers' rise to the top. Going into the offseason, my biggest concern was not replacing Brian Leonard or Clark Harris, it was replenishing the offensive line. 4/5 of the line graduates after this year, with the sole returning member coming back for his final season. Signing #2 tackle Anthony Davis was an enormous boost for this team, helped along by 4-star lineman Keith Newell and three other players, all 3 stars. This young line will be tested this year, with the duty of blocking for Ray Rice and protecting Mike Teel. Defense was addressed and boosted through recruting Manny Abreu, among many others. Look for another strong campaign from Rutgers this season.
Next Year's Opponents: Big East, Buffalo, Army, Navy, Norfolk State, Maryland.
Prediction: (10-2)(5-2)
South Florida - (9-4)(4-3)
Bowl: Defeated Eastern Carolina in PapaJohns.com Bowl
Key Losses: OLB Stephen Nicholas
Key Recruits: RB Mike Ford(4). WR Carlton Hill(4).
South Florida is planting seeds left and right, setting the stage for a powerful team in a few years. Just look at their 8-4 Division I record. And they're not losing that many people! Bulls fans should be tapping their fingers in excitement for September now. Despite recruiting 28 people out of high school, only two are ranked four stars, a figure that surprises me. South Florida is one of those off-the-grid teams that is growing in power, and will one day contend for the Big East championship. The Bulls have a lot of young talent on the current roster, chiefly in QB Matt Grothe, and recruiting Ford to take the handoffs and Hill to make the big plays down the field. Look for South Florida to make another bowl appearance this year, and make a push for the Big East in a few years.
Next Year's Opponents: Big East, Elon, Auburn, North Carolina, Florida Atlantic, University of Central Florida
Prediction: (8-4)(4-3)
Cincinnati Bearcats - (8-5)(4-3)
Bowl: Defeated Western Michigan in the International Bowl
Key Losses: None
Key Recruits: TE Adrien Wilson(3). SLB Ricardo Thompson(3). SLB Randy Martinez(3).
Do NOT let Cincinnati's lukewarm Big East record, overall record, and garbage bowl game victory fool you, this is a team to be reckoned with in the Big East. One of those wins was against then-ranked 7th Rutgers. They also gave Louisville a fight to the finish, and made fools out of South Florida. This is a team that, despite a weaker recruiting class is now strong at linebacker, with #44 and #48 SLB Thompson and Martinez there to compliment Kevin McCollough in his senior campaign. Look for an already strong defense to get better, with Dustin Grutza leading this team to another bowl berth. Still more work to do on the offensive side if this team is going to make a push for the Big East.
Next Year's Opponents: Big East, Southeast Missouri State, Oregon State, Miami (OH), Marshall, San Diego State
Key Recruits: RB LeSean McCoy(5). QB Pat Bostick(5). OG Chris Jacobson(5). DE Tony Tucker(4). WR Maurice Morris(4). SLB Brandon Lindsey(4). DT Tommy Duhart(4). FB Henry Hynoski(4). OT Dan Matha(4). DE Myles Caragein(4). S Dom DeCicco(4).
An originally promising 2006 campaign peaked after a 52-7 mauling of UCF, bringing the Panther record to 6-1, and a mere 6 votes from breaking into the top 25. Things unraveled quickly from there as the Panthers lost their last 5 games to finish at .500. Dont bank on such a finish this year, considering the class Dave Wannstedt has coming in this year. Scout.com has this team ranked as the 8th best recruiter this year, ahead of the likes of Michigan and Ohio State. The departure of Tyler Palko to the NFL was addressed, in the form of 5-star QB Pat Bostick. With a variety of strong players at a variety of different positions, look for the Panthers to find their way back into the bowl hunt this season.
Next Year's Opponents: Big East, Eastern Michigan, Grambling, Michigan State, Virginia, Navy
Despite finishing dead last in the Big East, Syracuse showed some moxie which led me to believe that they were better than many believed or wanted to believe. A 3 game winning streak early in the season against teams they definitely should have beaten sent them above .500 for the first and only time last season. Not to mention an almost upset of the Louisville Cardinals in 'Cuse. But alas, the Orange went on to lose 6 of their remaining 7, beating only the lowly Huskies. This year's recruiting class wasn't anything to be envious of at all, although 32nd ranked RB Doug Hogue looks to provide a boost at the RB position, one of many positions Syracuse needs to get stability at if they're to make a push at a bowl berth, let alone a championship.
Next Year's Opponents: Big East, Washington, Iowa, Illinois, Miami (OH), Buffalo
UConn's 2006 campaign was disappointing to say the least, and it's recruiting class was only slightly better. Their real hope is that Tyler Lorenzen can provide some stability at the quarterback position, which had been yo-yo'ed around last year. Otherwise, nothing particularly noteworthy can be said about the Huskies for 2007, or their future campaign, as they look to likely finish in the Big East cellar again, with other conference teams blowing ahead at full steam. A soft non-conference schedule should keep them within a stone's throw of .500 though.
Next Year's Opponents: Big East, Maine, Temple, Akron, Duke, Virginia
