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BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #8

by MICHAEL PINA

The big questions heading into this week surrounded Connecticut and understandably so. In their first game since Jasper Howard was murdered on their campus, the Huskies came into West Virginia with heavy hearts and were emotionally charged up to come away with an upset. In Cincinnati, the Bearcats showed that they wouldn’t let their injured Heisman candidate slow down their ridiculous offense and over in Pittsburgh, Dion Lewis continued to be Dion Lewis.

The Big East now has three ranked teams: West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Heading into the year, there were was not a single team ranked from the conference as the Big East was hands down slighted worse than any other conference in the country. While we won’t know for sure until the bowl season whether or not the Big East can truly compete with the very best conferences like the Big 12 and Pac-10 have to offer, right now they’re representing themselves admirably.

Louisville vs. #8 Cincinnati (41-10 Cincinnati win)

Even without regular starter and the fundamental straw that stirs the offense, Tony Pike, the Bearcats rolled to an easy victory in this one. Pike, who will resume practice this week and could be ready for next weeks contest against Syracuse, stood on the sideline while backup quarterback Zach Collaros was nearly flawless. In the first start of his career, the sophomore threw one more touchdown than incomplete pass (three to two) and showed great poise both running and passing.

Regardless of who is at the helm, Cincinnati’s offense continues to look like it could shred almost any defense in the nation. If they manage to run the table, the Bearcats should get a shot at either the national championship or, at the very least, one of the major bowl games.

#15 Pittsburgh (7-1) vs. South Florida (5-2) (41-14 Pittsburgh win)

This was one of the more exciting match ups heading into the weekend, but it ended as one of the most anticlimactic. Behind consistent superstar Dion Lewis and quarterback Bill Stull, Pittsburgh completely dominated South Florida in all phases of the game.

Stull, who coming into the season was viewed as a major question mark, started this contest 11 for 11, ending up with 245 yards and two touchdowns. The senior will now surely finish his final year with more touchdowns than former Panther Dan Marino had his senior season and in doing so make Pitt’s offense more dangerous than it’s been in years. Freshman Dion Lewis passed the 1,000 yard mark with 111 yards and two touchdowns.

The Panthers defense also held the quickly fading Bulls to just 90 yards through the air.

#21 West Virginia (6-1) vs. Connecticut (4-3) (28-24 West Virginia win)

A back and forth battle with emotions running high, West Virginia star running back Noel Devine ruined the Huskies valiant attempt to win one for Jasper Howard, taking the ball 56 yards to pay dirt with just over two minutes to play. Connecticut looked as if they were poised to pull this one out, leading 17-14 at halftime and 24-21 with 3:50 left in the game.

The Huskies defense played a great game, blitzing constantly and putting serious pressure on Mountaineer quarterback Jarrett Brown who missed practice time this week with a concussion. However in the end, there was no stopping Devine. The junior took the ball 23 times for a total of 178 yards and the game winning score.

This game was just another heartbreaking loss for the Huskies who are having themselves a more than tough season both on and off the field.

Syracuse (3-4) vs. Akron (28-14 win)

Holding their opponent to zero yards rushing is usually a good precursor for a victory and the Orange were justly awarded one after doing just that. Running back Delone Carter pitched in, rushing for 170 yards and three of Syracuse’s four total touchdowns.

Quarterback Greg Paulus played a decent game going 12 for 17 for 105 yards and a touchdown. The game plan here was clearly not to put too much pressure on the first year players shoulders by dominating the ground game.

With the win, the Orange remain mathematically eligible to get six victories and their first bowl berth since 2004.

Rutgers (5-2) vs. Army (27-10 Rutgers win)

The Scarlet Knight defense stepped up once again. Rutgers forced three turnovers including a blocked punt by linebacker Steve Beauharnais who turned that into a score. Offensively they were aided by junior running back Joe Martinek who ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Rutgers has beaten the teams that they are favored against, but haven’t put up much competition against the tougher schools. The Scarlet Knights are probably the most mercurial team in the conference and at this point in the year it seems like they could beat, on any given Saturday, any given team in the Big East. On the other hand, they could get crushed.

Big East Top Performers:

Syracuse running back Delone Carter: Without Carter, there’s a small chance the Orange might have fallen to the 1-6 Akron Zips. A very important performance by the senior.

Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros: It was his first career start and he performed like a veteran. Mastering the complex offense Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly has installed, Collaros was nearly perfect.

Quote of the Week

“We were surprised how much they passed. We didn’t have any pressure and they were able to find guys deep.”

-South Florida Defensive End George Selvie.

Power Poll

1) Cincinnati
2) Pittsburgh
3) West Virginia
4) Rutgers
5) Connecticut
6) South Florida
7) Syracuse
Louisville