Cincinnati News, Connecticut News, Louisville News, Pittsburgh News, Raphielle Johnson, Rutgers News, South Florida News, Uncategorized, West Virginia News

A LOOK AHEAD TO WEEK #7 IN BIG EAST FOOTBALL

Bearcats visit Bulls in important Thursday night showdown

By Raphielle Johnson

It seems as if ever since the Big East reconfigured the schedules seem to have worked themselves out, with the games that ultimately decide who wins the conference taking place in front of a national audience. And that’s what is on tap Thursday night when #8 Cincinnati (5-0, 1-0) heads south to take on #21 South Florida (5-0, 1-0) on ESPN (7:30 PM). Both are coming off of byes and the winner will be in the driver’s seat, but it’s much too early to use one game as a forecast of how the race will finish in December.

The defending conference champion Bearcats have had a problem that many of the nation’s poorer offenses wish they’d have to worry about: scoring too quickly. Despite ranking eleventh nationally in total offense Brian Kelly’s team is dead last in time of possession with an average of 23:47 (Baylor, which ranks 119th, has an edge of just over two minutes). The problem with this: limited rest for the defense. And while this unit has performed far better than many pundits expected, the defense ranks fifth in the Big East in total defense and sixth against the run.

QB Tony Pike is a true Heisman candidate at this point in the season, ranking in the Top 10 nationally in both pass efficiency and total offense. In 2009 Pike has thrown thirteen touchdown passes to just three interceptions, and two of the primary weapons are receivers Mardy Gilyard and D.J. Woods. You know that Cincy can move the ball through the air; should backs Isaiah Pead and Jacob Ramsey get going look out.

It won’t help matters for the Bulls that their defensive line is a bit banged up, with DT Cory Grissom (knee) out for the season and promising DE Ryne Giddens likely to miss the remainder of the year (redshirt; hurt ankle in practice) as well. However, George Selvie is back for one more shot at the Bearcats, a team he’s failed to be on the winning end against in three prior meetings.

Offensively the Bulls have gotten the job done with redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels (leads the Big East in pass efficiency) replacing the injured Matt Grothe. But a key player in the Bulls not suffering a significant drop-off has been junior WR Carlton Mitchell, who leads USF in both receptions and receiving yards per game. Just like the Bearcats USF enjoys a few different options as wide receiver; however it may be important that backs such as starter Mo Plancher step up their production. While all definitely is not lost for the loser Thursday’s showdown will set the tone of the Big East race.

The rest of the Big East slate this weekend:

Friday: Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-0) @ Rutgers (4-1, 0-1) 8 PM on ESPN

Rutgers hasn’t been tested since their season-opening beating at the hands of Cincinnati so we’ll find out a lot more about this team when the Panthers show up on Friday night. Tom Savage saw action in last week’s 42-0 win over Texas Southern, showing no ill effects of the concussion he suffered earlier this season. However Rutgers will have to deal with the Big East’s best team when it comes to rushing the quarterback. If the offensive line that received so much preseason hype can’t keep Greg Romeus and company away from Savage it’s going to be a long day.

Offensively the key for Pittsburgh is consistency; they’ve been able to move the football essentially at will this season. But there were some key miscues in their 24-21 win over Connecticut last week, most notably a pair of interceptions thrown by Bill Stull. By and large the senior had avoided the crucial mistake but those picks by Robert Vaughn essentially cost Pitt fourteen points (one picked in the end zone, the other returned for a touchdown).

There are a number of offensive weapons at Stull’s fingertips, such as RB Dion Lewis, WR Jonathan Baldwin and TE/WR Dorin Dickerson. The Scarlet Knights could have their hands full at home if they don’t avoid defensive lapses. If Greg Schiano’s team wants to entertain any thoughts of getting back into the Big East title race they need to win on Friday night.

Louisville (2-3, 0-1) @ Connecticut (3-2, 0-1) Noon on Big East Network

The Huskies have to solve the riddle that is the fourth quarter if they’re to make any waves in the Big East this season; their two losses (by a combined five points) have come due in large part to their inability to hold onto fourth quarter leads against North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Is the offense too conservative? Some may want Randy Edsall and offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead to run an “exciting” offense but the question needs to be asked what the passing game has shown consistently to warrant such an opening of the playbook.

Cody Endres looks to be firmly entrenched as the starter, as does RB Andre Dixon after he clearly outperformed Jordan Todman last week. And while it was good to see Marcus Easley make a big play in the passing game (79-yard touchdown reception) the big plays have been few and far in between for the Huskies. But with the Cardinals ranking dead last in the conference in rushing defense this may set up better for Dixon and Todman to have big days. Louisville LB Jon Dempsey, who ranks second in the Big East in tackles per game, will be under pressure to keep the Husky running backs from getting into the secondary.

Louisville picked up a much-needed win last week, coming back to beat Southern Miss just days after an erroneous report that head coach Steve Kragthorpe had been told that he’d be let go. The good news in that 25-23 win was that RB Victor Anderson rushed for ninety yards after rushing for a combined seventy-three yards in losses to Utah and Pittsburgh. One-time backup QB Adam Froman didn’t make the lethal mistake and had a solid game, meaning that he will most likely get the start.

And despite ranking at or near the top of many defensive categories within the league it’s not a given that the Connecticut defense will win that battle convincingly. While the level of competition the Huskies faced wasn’t as bad as Rutgers’ it did make it tough for some to read this unit. And with LB Scott Lutrus (neck) likely out after aggravating an injury suffered in the season opener, Jory Jackson will need to step into his role. The Cardinals need wins to keep the heat away from their coach, and the Huskies need to win games like this in order to close in on bowl eligibility.

Marshall (4-2, 2-1) @ West Virginia (4-1, 1-0) 3:30 PM on Big East Network (local)

No matter what the national media may think about this matchup it’s a big rivalry game. How the Mountaineers’ players think of this game could lead to early laziness that’s likely a long shot due to their head coach’s disdain for the Thundering Herd. Head coach Bill Stewart has seemingly taken a page from the late Woody Hayes, simply referring to Marshall as “that team down south”. This much is true: two of the best running backs in the East will be on display in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers feature the reigning Big East Offensive Player of the Week in junior Noel Devine while Mark Snyder will counter with Darius Marshall. Marshall leads Conference USA (and ranks second nationally) in rushing with an average of 147.4 yards per game. But Marshall still ranks 92nd in total offense due to their lack of consistency through the air (107th in passing offense). WVU will do their best to shut down Marshall, which means that QB Brian Anderson will need to step up.

Offensively the Mountaineers haven’t had much trouble moving the football in any of their five games. The problem: turnovers. West Virginia ranks dead last in the Big East in turnover margin but they’ve been able to escape serious punishment outside of their six-turnover effort in a loss at Auburn. Jarrett Brown will look to get the ball to a number of options, and the primary focus of the entire team will need to be ball security. Such mistakes can keep a team like Marshall around longer than they should be.