NBE Big East College Football Report

BIG EAST FOOTBALL: OPENING THURSDAY RECAP

Panthers fall in OT; Rutgers wins easy against FCS opponent   by RAPHIELLE JOHNSON It’s never easy to win on the road, especially when your quarterback is making his first start, your change of pace running back (Ray Graham) is unable to go due to injury and most importantly the host has won seventeen straight home games. And in a game that featured more plays in which Pittsburgh and Utah looked to be in search of ways to give the win away, the Utes won in overtime 27-24 on a Joe Phillips 21-yard field goal. Pittsburgh received the ball first in the extra session but had the ball for just one... [Read more.]

WEEK #1 IN BIG EAST FOOTBALL

The season is finally upon us with Thursday’s kickoffs by RAPHIELLE JOHNSON No more predictions or bickering about polls; the time for teams to prove people either correct or incorrect has finally come. And while there are a couple of matchups involving Big East teams that won’t have much of a national impact (unless said teams lose), there are contests that will either confirm the conventional opinion of the conference (no need to state it; we all know what that is) or rip it to shreds with an impressive showing. The most important contest involves #15 (AP/Coaches) Pittsburgh, the preseason... [Read more.]

ODDS OF A BIG EAST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

GUEST COLUMN It’s certainly no secret that the BCS standards in NCAA Football have all but shunned the vast majority of college programs out there. It becomes increasingly hard to “earn” your respect on the field. Essentially, you must bust mouths and take it. The Big East is no stranger to the snubbing. Rutgers and South Florida have to practically go undefeated in a season to even land on the BCS radar. West Virginia is treated a little more fairly, but one loss to a SEC team and they’re on a two-year timeout in the dunce corner. With the upcoming NCAA Football season upon us, odds makers... [Read more.]

BIG EAST FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES (8/30/2010)

Louisville names a starter and other happenings with season openers this week By Raphielle Johnson   Cincinnati:  Goebel looks to bounce back from an injury-filled 2009 (Tuesday) While the Bearcats have been blessed with a deep backfield, one component was missing for much of last season due to injuries. Senior John Goebel, who rushed for 607 yards as a sophomore in 2008, missed much of 2009 due to a pulled hamstring (which he re-aggravated by coming back too soon) and a broken hand. Now back healthy Goebel will share the spotlight with Isaiah Pead and Darrin Williams, making up a three-headed... [Read more.]

WEEK 1 BIG EAST OPPONENTS NEWS & NOTES

What’s your team’s opponent up to? By Raphielle Johnson Fresno State (Cincinnati): The return of Rashad Evans at wide receiver (Sunday) Of course the biggest news involving Pat Hill’s program was the move from the WAC to the Mountain West (along with Nevada), a move that may end up being the first seismic change on the collegiate athletics landscape since the ACC knocked down the first domino by adding Miami and Virginia Tech in 2003. But that’s of no concern to Cincinnati, who opens up their season at Fresno on September 4th. Something to take note of: redshirt sophomore... [Read more.]

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PERSONNEL NOTES & LINKS (8/23/2010)

Huskies take depth hits this week By Raphielle Johnson   Before getting into some team-specific notes, the Associated Press released its first Top 25 poll of the season on Saturday, and two Big East teams found their way into the rankings. Preseason favorite Pittsburgh was ranked 15th while rival West Virginia rounded out the poll at number 25. Two-time conference champion Cincinnati tallied the most points of any team not ranked (108) while Connecticut (32 points) also received mention on some voters’ ballots. More watch lists for end of season awards were also released in the last week or... [Read more.]

TOP TALENT DOTS BIG EAST SCHEDULES

The best players on each team’s schedule By Raphielle Johnson With a schedule that includes matchups with some of the nation’s best teams, Big East schools will encounter some stiff tests outside of league play this season. But who are some of the best players that Big East schools will contend with in 2010? Below is one player on each side of the football that conference schools will need to keep tabs on, and while a few teams have marquee matchups with some of the sport’s biggest names that’s not a guarantee that said teams will provide the best individual. Feel free to add... [Read more.]

BIG EAST FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES (8/15/2010)

By Raphielle Johnson Five more awards announced have their preseason watch lists this week: the Bednarik (awarded to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player), Biletnikoff (awarded to the nation’s best wide receiver), Camp (awarded to the nation’s most outstanding football player), Maxwell (also awarded to the nation’s most outstanding football player), and the Guy (awarded to the nation’s best punter). The Big East players named to each of the watch lists are as follows: Bednarik: DE Greg Romeus (Pittsburgh), FS Robert Sands (West Virginia), LB Derrell Smith (Syracuse) and LB Lawrence... [Read more.]

NIGEL JONES TURNING HEADS AT HOLY SPIRIT

New Jersey class of 2012 running back looking to follow in the steps of previous Holy Spirit great by MATT WHITFIELD A little over ten years ago a running back by the name of William Green came out of Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, N.J. with All-American accolades and went on to an impressive career at Boston College before being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. Now, fast forward to 2010 and another running back by the name of Nigel Jones has the chance to be something special. As only a sophomore last season Jones rushed for 1,179 yards and 19 touchdowns... [Read more.]

BIG EAST FOOTBALL DEPTH CHART NEWS

Orange receive important boost in backfield By Raphielle Johnson With Averin Collier’s status still up in the air for academic reasons (it does not look good in terms of him playing this season), Doug Marrone was looking at going into a season with just one experienced running back at his disposal (Antwon Bailey). But Syracuse received quite the depth chart boost on Monday with the clearance of 1,000-yard rusher Delone Carter. Carter, kicked out of school in April for punching another student (February 27th snowball incident), was cleared by the school’s judicial review board on Monday to re-enroll.... [Read more.]

  • Your Ad Here
  • SportsFanLive_Partner_Badge_120309
  • Your Ad Here
NBE Big East College Football Report