Michael Pina, Uncategorized

BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #10

by Michael Pina

Saturday saw three Big East match-ups that came and went without any real unexpected drama or excitement. That is, until the sun went down.

Saturday night’s near miracle comeback by Connecticut against Cincinnati was wonderful. Yes, it was a little tough to see yet another Husky moral victory that, in reality, was an absolute back-breaker, but through it all we learned a little about the Bearcats in the process.

This was their first contest of the season where the opportunity to grab a victory was in question late in the fourth quarter. We’ll get into the specifics later on, but Cincinnati led 30-10 at halftime and ended up winning by just two points without turning the ball over once and racking up 711 yards of total offense. No team in the nation has as many resilient fibers in their being as Connecticut; they’re really hard to root against right now.

Now onto the game recaps.

Connecticut (4-5, 1-4) vs. #5 Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0) (47-45 Cincinnati win)

After backup quarterback Zach Collaros threw for 480 yards and a touchdown, ran for 75 yards, including two more scores and tallied a conference record 555 total yards, a good old fashioned quarterback controversy immediately ensued.

When asked about who would start next week against West Virginia, Bearcat head coach Brian Kelly said, “OK, I’ve changed my mind based on the way he’s played the last three games. I think I have to reconsider my decision.”

Collaros has now completed 70 of 89 passes for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns in the 3+ games he has been under center since coming in relief for an injured Tony Pike. Collaros has also added 281 yards rushing and four more touchdowns and could transform the senior Pike into a modern day Wally Pipp before it’s all said and done.

The actual game was it’s own little novel of development. With a seemingly insurmountable 37-17 lead midway through the third quarter, Cincinnati looked like they were cruising to another blowout win. But the Huskies simply refused to surrender. An 87-yard punt return by Robert McClain followed by two heroic touchdown runs by Jordan Todman (who also threw a successful two-point conversion pass to teammate Marcus Easley and finished with four rushing touchdowns) cut the Bearcat lead to 40-38 with five minutes left.

Collaros was cool as a cucumber even in this situation, driving his team down the field and setting up a 14-yard touchdown scamper by Isaiah Pead on fourth and one.

Whoever decided to put this game on national television clearly had no way of knowing how incredibly viewable it would be, but sometimes you just luck out.

With losses by Iowa and Oregon, Cincinnati’s national title chances managed to improve albeit with a scrappy win at home.

Connecticut has now lost five games this season by a combined 15 points.

#13 Pittsburgh (8-1, 5-0) vs. Syracuse (3-6, 0-4) (37-10 Pittsburgh win)

I know he’s only a freshman, but is it really that outlandish to suggest Dion Lewis as a legitimate Heisman candidate. If a first year player were to win it any year, this would be it as there’s no clear cut front runner by any stretch of the imagination and suddenly the Panthers find themselv in the nation’s top 10 and control their own destiny for a BCS bid.

On Saturday against a Mike Williams-less Orange, Lewis rushed for 110 yards (breaking the century mark for the sixth time this season) and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Lewis is seventh in the country in both yards and attempts, he’s averaging over five yards a carry and only a handful of halfbacks have found the end zone more often than him.

He’s more valuable to #8 Pitt than anyone could have ever predicted and with a primetime national television audience next week against Notre Dame, a big time performance should definitely get him looked at for the prestigious award. The fact that at this time last year he was a senior in high school only makes it more impressive.

In regards to this game specifically, one Greg capitalized on another Greg’s mistake when Pitt’s linebacker Greg Williams intercepted a Greg Paulus pass and took it 51-yards to the house to put the Panthers up 13-3 near the half. Things snowballed from there as Bill Stull continued his efficient play (16-25, 225 yards, one touchdown, no picks) and the Panthers defense resembled a living, breathing wall of bricks.

Louisville (3-6, 0-4) vs. West Virginia (7-2, 3-1) (17-9 West Virginia win)

Once Noel Devine grew hampered with an ankle injury, the Mountaineers offense looked anemic as they struggled to just 100 yards through the air and 17 points against the lowly Louisville Cardinals. Quarterback Jarrett Brown was downright awful from the gate (especially in the red zone), overthrowing a wide open Alric Arnett and rifling a pass to the wrong color in the end zone. Both passes occurred in the first quarter.

At one point looking like a serious contender to snatch the Big East crown away from either Pitt or Cincinnati, West Virginia still has a sliver of a shot, but after a performance like this it’s looking highly improbable.

Big East Top Performers

Connecticut running back Jordan Todman- Running for four quarters like the score was 3-3, Todman finished with four touchdowns and was a pea short of engineering a ridiculous comeback over one of the best teams in the nation.

Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros- One of the more remarkable stories in the country right now. The backup Collaros is playing so well that his head coach is now rumored to take over at Notre Dame. Now that’s showing command of an offense.

Quote of the Week-

“Oh, damn”

-Cincinnati wide receiver Mardy Gilyard after a first glance at the stat sheet Saturday night’s epic game

Michael’s Big East Power Rankings
1) Cincinnati
2) Pittsburgh
3) South Florida
4) West Virginia
5) Connecticut
6) Rutgers
7) Louisville
Syracuse