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BIG EAST FOOTBALL STOCK REPORT: WEEK ONE

By Anthony Jaskulski

Welcome to the first installment of the football edition of the Big East Stock Report. Week by week, Anthony Jaskulski will break down a strong point and an area of improvement from each team in the conference, all while ranking them 1 to 8.

*Stats used this week are from the 2008 season unless otherwise noted.

**As the season begins, stats will be from this, the 2009 year.

***Stock for all teams is level before the season starts.

1. West Virginia 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 9-4, (5-2)

Last game: (2008): W 31-30 in Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. North Carolina

Next game: Sept. 5 vs. Liberty

Strong Point: The Mountaineers return the best running back in the Big East and a Heisman candidate in Noel Devine. The junior Devine rushed for 1,289 yards and four touchdowns. He helped WVU to the 2nd best running game in the Big East in 2008.

Area of Improvement: The irreplaceable Pat White has graduated and WVU will be turning to senior signal caller Jarrett Brown. The problem is, Brown got just 30 attempts under center last year, passing for 114 yards, lacking experience.

Overall Analysis: West Virginia had a bend but don’t break defense last year, giving up just over 300 yards a game. The great news is they return eight starters and three more with fantastic experience, including cornerback Brandon Hogan who led the secondary in tackles and interceptions a year ago. The main reason the Mountaineers don’t find themselves ranked, however, is an unproven offensive line, in which one starter is back, and a very inexperienced quarterback. The first three weeks of the season should be a clear indicator of where this new offense is going.

2. Pittsburgh 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 9-4, (5-2)

Last game (2008): L 0-3 in Sun Bowl vs. Oregon State

Next game: Sept. 5 vs. Youngstown State

Strong Point: Anchored by Greg Romeus, Gus Mustakus and Jabaal Sheard, Pitt’s defensive line is one of the best in the country, and contributed mightily to a rushing defense that gave up less than 120 yards a game—29th in the country.

Area of Improvement: Senior quarterback Bill Stull is still unproven. He needs to improve last season’s subpar touchdown/interception ratio of 9/10 if he wants to even think about leading his Panthers to a bowl win.

Overall Analysis: The Panthers have a lot to prove this year. They especially want to establish that despite losing the two biggest pieces of their team a year ago in running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy and linebacker Scott McKillop. If Stull can find his confidence, and one of the fresh faces in the backfield (Dion Lewis, Ray Graham and Chris Burns) can rise up to the occasion to lead the offense, we may in fact see Pitt snag that BCS birth, as the defense seems more than capable to finish the rest.

3. South Florida 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 8-5, (2-5)

Last game (2008): W 41-14 in St. Petersburg vs. Memphis

Next game: Sept. 5 vs. Wofford

Strong Point: Senior Quarterback Matt Grothe returns to lead the Bulls this year. Arguably the best gunslinger in the league, Grothe threw for a near 3,000 yards last season, as well as rushing for a near 600.

Area of Improvement: The Bulls don’t have much more targets on the offensive end. The offensive line, which buckled down towards the end of the season, has graduated all but one. With that, standout receivers Marcus Edwards and Taurus Johnson have also departed.

Overall Analysis: South Florida is a team that always ends up underachieving given the personnel on the roster. As far as skill on the roster, this year is no different. They return a solid group on the defensive side, including all four linemen, led by USF sack leader and All-Big East George Selvie. But if the Bulls want to be taken BCS-serious, then the ground game has to be improved, and Grothe must get less pressured in the pocket.

4. Cincinnati 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 11-3, (6-1)

Last game (2008): L 7-20 in Orange Bowl (BCS) vs. Virginia Tech

Next game: Sept. 7 at Rutgers

Strong Point: Tony Pike put an end to the Bearcats quarterback controversy last year, and secured his spot as the starter with flying colors. The senior tallied 2,400 yards and an impressive 19 touchdowns last season, playing in just nine games as the starter.

Area of Improvement: The defense is completely vacated as only one starter returns this year in safety Aaron Webster.

Overall Analysis: The Bearcats could easily boast the best offense in the Big East with Pike at the helm, running back Jacob Ramsey toting the rock and Pike’s two nastiest targets in receivers Marcus Barnett and Marshawn Gilyard. But if you’re a betting man, I would take the over, as a lot of Cincinnati’s games could turn into shootouts with basketball-esque scores. But that is unless the Bearcat defense can rally around their only starter returning and keep offenses at fewer than 320 yards a game, like last years unit was capable of.

5. Rutgers 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 8-5, (5-2)

Last game (2008): W 29-23 in Papa John’s.com Bowl vs. NC State

Next game: Sept. 7 vs. Cincinnati

Strong Point: With center Ryan Blaszcyk leading the way, the offensive line returns all five starters from a year ago. Running back Kordell Young, who pushed for just over 550 yards a year ago, also returns to the offensive unit.

Area of Improvement: Quarterback Mike Teel and receivers Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt, the heart and soul of the Rutgers offense a year ago, have all graduated. With that, three of the best defenders, including linebacker Kevin Malast and safety Courtney Greene, who led the team in tackles, have also departed.

Overall Analysis: The Scarlet Knights have the most to replace this year with their five of their biggest leaders gone. But unlike most teams, Rutgers could actually benefit from the departure of their Teel air attack. With all the offensive linemen back and a strong running attack, the Knights can get right back into Greg Schiano’s most famous “chop wood” mantra, a mantra that was started during the grind-it-out Brian Leonard and Ray Rice days. Can you say ground assault part deuce?

6. Connecticut 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 8-5, (3-4)

Last game (2008): W 38-20 in International Bowl vs. Buffalo

Next game: Sept. 5 at Ohio

Strong Point: The linebacker unit for the Huskies may be one of the best in the conference. Scot Lutrus, who tallied up 106 tackles a year ago returns with Lawrence Wilson to create quite the tandem on defense.

Area of Improvement: This offense is in complete shambles and it all starts at the quarterback position, where the Huskies averaged an abysmal 140 yards per game—109th in the country. And to make matters worse, their most experienced quarterback, Tyler Lorenzen, has graduated.

Overall Analysis: Imagine the siren you hear during every Godzilla movie or Sci-Fi flick. You know, right before the monster attacks the town or the massive volcano erupts. Or in Connecticut’s case, it’s when the offense takes the field. Zach Frazer will take the reigns as quarterback. He completed just half of his passes and had a rough 2/6 touchdown/interception ratio in his sophomore campaign. It’s up to him to turn around an offense with as many fresh faces as the Huskies have.

7. Syracuse 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 3-9, (1-6)

Last game (2008): L 30-10 vs. Cincinnati

Next game: Sept. 5 vs. Minnesota

Strong Point: The Orange’ have done the most necessary things to improve their awful season a year ago. They brought in a new coach in Doug Marrone, they actually built up a solid recruiting class and they grabbed an attention grabber in former Duke basketball star turned quarterback Greg Paulus.

Area of Improvement: Almost everything needs improvement, including an offense that averaged a horrendous 270 yards per game, and a defense that gave up over 414 yards a game.

Overall Analysis: Much like the movie “What About Bob?” this team has to take baby steps to get back up. It seems they are heading in the right direction with all the moves they made this season, including sending Greg Robinson out and bringing Marrone in. Don’t be surprised if Syracuse actually finished with a .500 or one game above record this year.

8. Louisville 0-0, (0-0), Stock: LEVEL

2008 final record: 5-7, (1-6)

Last game (2008): L 63-14 at Rutgers

Next game: Sept. 5 vs. Indiana State

Strong Point: 1,000 yard rusher Victor Anderson returns to the Louisville offense to hopefully put a much needed shock back into the unit.

Area of Improvement: Star linebacker James Bryant has graduated from a Cardinals defense that was already ranked 92nd in NCAA D-1 football, giving up just over 369 yards per game.

Overall Analysis: It’s hard to believe that Louisville finished just as bad as Syracuse to end the season. With quarterback Hunter Cantwell and running back Brock Bolin out now, who will possibly replace the only spark that the Cardinals had last season? Expect to see much of the same from the defense, and expect to see a much more insufficient offense, unlike the one last year that tallied up over 375 yards a game. Other than Indiana State, the Cardinals could, in fact, lose every game on their schedule if the youngsters don’t pan out.