Take a stroll through the Big East with me for a moment...
Syracuse (1-3), you're intimately familiar with.
Rutgers (0-3), I mean, Jesus you guys. We kept the seat warm for you. Not only are you 0-3 but two of your losses came to non-BCS teams and all three came at home. Who are you...us? The good news for Greg Schiano is that Penn State is still interested in his services. The bad news is that it's Penn State-Altoona.
West Virginia (1-2). The Colorado loss isn't so horrible on its own. I can imagine that's a tough place to play, the fans smelled blood and the timing was right. Of course, that East Carolina loss is just going to look worse as the season goes on and ECU returns to mediocrity. Bill Stewart is already starting to sound like Greg Robinson with the "positive things" he's seeing...not good, Mountaineer fans.
Pittsburgh (2-1) looks like the very definition of mediocrity. Losing to Bowling Green at home solidified another disappointing start for the Wannstache and unconvincing wins over Buffalo and a mediocre Iowa haven't squashed fears.
Louisville (2-1), actually looks like you're returning to the land of the living. That Kentucky game was a nightmare but at least you won a nationally-televised game against a BCS opponent, something the Big East is in short supply of.
Cincy (2-1), we fully expect you to have one of those 7-5/8-4 seasons that no one outside of Ohio notices. It will culminate with a Papajohns.com Bowl berth and next season no one will ever remember anything that happened.
UConn (4-0), I'm onto you. You know that feeling when you're playing a football video game and the game decides you're not going to win, no matter what? UConn is the real-life opposite of that. I'm fairly certain that Randy Edsall has made some sort of binding agreement with the devil (and by devil I mean Jim Calhoun). UConn is going to win the Big East on the back of overtime wins over Temple and Baylor. I feel it.
Help us, USF (4-0), you're our only hope. Sadly, USF's time as an undefeated is short for this Earth. 31-24 over UCF? 17-9 over FIU? I know these are semi-rivalry games but the 13th team in the country should not be in single-digit games with these schools on a regular basis. They're just the kind of good team that loses 1-2 games to opponents they shouldn't. Paving the way for UConn...
ESPN's Brian Bennett thinks the demise of WVU is a good thing for the Big East. I would be inclined to agree with him (especially since they'll be fine and finish 8-4) except for the fact that it doesn't seem like there are many legit contenders to the throne. I don't feel safe sending any Big East team into a BCS Bowl right now against Georgia or Oklahoma or even Clemson.
Brian's right, conferences are "healthier when they have more giants." Problem for the Big East is, we don't have ANY giants right now.
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Syracuse (1-3), you're intimately familiar with.
Rutgers (0-3), I mean, Jesus you guys. We kept the seat warm for you. Not only are you 0-3 but two of your losses came to non-BCS teams and all three came at home. Who are you...us? The good news for Greg Schiano is that Penn State is still interested in his services. The bad news is that it's Penn State-Altoona.
West Virginia (1-2). The Colorado loss isn't so horrible on its own. I can imagine that's a tough place to play, the fans smelled blood and the timing was right. Of course, that East Carolina loss is just going to look worse as the season goes on and ECU returns to mediocrity. Bill Stewart is already starting to sound like Greg Robinson with the "positive things" he's seeing...not good, Mountaineer fans.
Pittsburgh (2-1) looks like the very definition of mediocrity. Losing to Bowling Green at home solidified another disappointing start for the Wannstache and unconvincing wins over Buffalo and a mediocre Iowa haven't squashed fears.
Louisville (2-1), actually looks like you're returning to the land of the living. That Kentucky game was a nightmare but at least you won a nationally-televised game against a BCS opponent, something the Big East is in short supply of.
Cincy (2-1), we fully expect you to have one of those 7-5/8-4 seasons that no one outside of Ohio notices. It will culminate with a Papajohns.com Bowl berth and next season no one will ever remember anything that happened.
UConn (4-0), I'm onto you. You know that feeling when you're playing a football video game and the game decides you're not going to win, no matter what? UConn is the real-life opposite of that. I'm fairly certain that Randy Edsall has made some sort of binding agreement with the devil (and by devil I mean Jim Calhoun). UConn is going to win the Big East on the back of overtime wins over Temple and Baylor. I feel it.
Help us, USF (4-0), you're our only hope. Sadly, USF's time as an undefeated is short for this Earth. 31-24 over UCF? 17-9 over FIU? I know these are semi-rivalry games but the 13th team in the country should not be in single-digit games with these schools on a regular basis. They're just the kind of good team that loses 1-2 games to opponents they shouldn't. Paving the way for UConn...
ESPN's Brian Bennett thinks the demise of WVU is a good thing for the Big East. I would be inclined to agree with him (especially since they'll be fine and finish 8-4) except for the fact that it doesn't seem like there are many legit contenders to the throne. I don't feel safe sending any Big East team into a BCS Bowl right now against Georgia or Oklahoma or even Clemson. Brian's right, conferences are "healthier when they have more giants." Problem for the Big East is, we don't have ANY giants right now.
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)