With less than a week to go now before the college football season kicks off, it’s time for The Dirt to make some predictions. Beginning with conference standings and conference winners, I’ll take a look at all six BCS conferences (ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC). Next up, the Big East:
Big East
· Preseason Top 25 Teams
AP Poll Dirt Poll
24. West Virginia 15. West Virginia
· Predicted Finish
1. West Virginia 10-2 (6-1)
2. Pittsburg 7-5 (4-3)
3. Louisville 8-4 (4-3)
4. South Florida 7-5 (4-3)
5. Syracuse 7-5 (3-4)
6. Connecticut 6-6 (3-4)
7. Cincinnati 5-7 (2-5)
8. Rutgers 5-7 (2-5)
· Bowl Teams: (6)
o West Virginia
o Pittsburg
o Louisville
o South Florida
o Syracuse
o Connecticut
· Big East Champion: West Virginia Mountaineers
· Key Games:
o 10/8: #24 West Virginia Vs. Connecticut
o 9/24: #24 West Virginia Vs #4 LSU
o 9/14: #25 USC Vs Syracuse
o 9/3: #16 Notre Dame Vs South Florida
o 12/1: South Florida Vs #24 West Virginia
o 11/15: #24 West Virginia Vs Pittsburg
o 11/5: #24 West Virginia Vs Louisville
· Big East Summary:
It could be tough to find reasons to cheer this season, if you’re a Big East fan. But heck, when was the last time the Big East either boasted a legit BCS team or national title contender? Probably not since good ole’ Rich Rodriquez left West Virginia (anyone want to bet he regrets that decision?), along with Pat White.
Connecticut had their shot in the prime time last season, and got stomped by Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Two things I noticed about that game; first, if you’re in a BCS bowl, you shouldn’t lose by more than 20 points. And secondly, if you can’t even sell all of your tickets, just don’t show up. I refuse to watch another BCS game with empty 300 level seats; that was a joke for not only the Connecticut, but also the Big East.
That was then and there though, so let’s look forward and check out what this season will be like for the Big East. West Virginia has a new head coach, again, and they by default come in as the preseason favorite to win the conference. Most preseason polls have them ranked in the #20-25 range; I moved them up to #15, though. They will have to face LSU in preseason play, but will get them at home. I figure a loss there, along with a conference loss; and there’s a 10 win season for the Mountaineers.
As for the rest of the conference, is TCU in town yet? Holy smokes it’s bad. Thankfully for them, the Big East gets to play a 5-game non conference schedule. What a joke. So that means a Big East team could go 5-0 out of conference, 1-6 in conference; and there’s a bowl team.
Pittsburg, Louisville and South Florida will be decent. With South Florida facing an early test at Notre Dame, that should be an indicator of where they’ll finish in the conference. Syracuse made a bowl game last season, and because I didn’t finish these blogs in time; they beat Wake Forrest last night to start out 1-0. The Orange should make it back to post season play; a good barometer check will be there game at USC.
In the future, I advise the Big East to desperately look to further expand. The Pac 12 got better by adding Utah; the Big 10 got better by adding Nebraska; the Big 12 lost two teams, but they boast the preseason #1 ranked team; the ACC has two legit title contenders this season; and nothing needs to be said to boost the SEC. That leaves the Big East in the dust. Adding TCU next season will be a step in the right direction, but it’s not good if you add a non BCS conference school and they immediately become the favorite (see, Utah picked to finish in middle of the Pac 12). The Big East is the only major conference this season without a horse in the National Title race. Who knows, maybe West Virginia will knock off LSU, then run the tables in conference play. But, don’t expect it.
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