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PREVIEWING WEEK #12 IN BIG EAST FOOTBALL

Zach Frazer returns to South Bend as UConn meets Notre Dame

By Raphielle Johnson

At one point in time Zach Frazer was ranked among the best scholastic quarterbacks in the nation, even ranking ahead of eventual Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford in his graduating class. He was expected to go to Notre Dame (2:30 PM on NBC) and compete for the starting job but found himself on the outside looking in following spring football as a freshman and he transferred to Connecticut. The junior has now regained the starting job due to Cody Endres’ shoulder injury suffered against Rutgers and he looked good at Cincinnati two weeks ago.

This Saturday marks his return to South Bend and he’ll be leading UConn (4-5, 1-4) into a possible firestorm that has absolutely nothing to do with them. The question surrounding Notre Dame (6-4) involves the future of head coach Charlie Weis, who at this point in his tenure has the same winning percentage as Ty Willingham and Bob Davie…and they were fired. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick has announced that the state of the program will be evaluated at season’s end but it doesn’t take much to figure out that Coach Weis will need at the least a split of their final two games.

As for what may happen on the field, hopefully the Huskies have taken care of their tackling and pass defense issues with the extra time afforded to them. Connecticut will have their hands full with QB Jimmy Clausen and receivers Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, and tight end Kyle Rudolph is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. The Huskies must limit the number of big plays through the air it they’re to win.

Connecticut should be able to move the ball on the ground with backs Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon but the deciding factor will be how well Frazer takes care of the football. He didn’t throw an interception at Cincinnati and as a result the Huskies had their best offensive game of the season. If the Huskies can win the turnover battle they’ll definitely be in business.

Other Games Involving Big East Teams:

Louisville (4-6, 1-4) @ South Florida (6-3, 2-3), Noon on Big East Network

The Cardinals are coming off of their first conference win of the season, beating Syracuse 10-9 last weekend in a game that displayed exactly why both teams are at the bottom of the league standings. Steve Kragthorpe’s team will visit a USF team licking its wounds from a 31-0 beating at Rutgers last Thursday. On paper this is a game that B.J. Daniels and company should win and they likely will; the Bulls have won all three meetings in Tampa between the two schools.

Essentially the only way in which the Bulls lose this game is if they turn over the football. And in their losses when it rains it pours for USF in that department. “Charitable donations” that give QB Adam Froman and company too many short-field situations will make this one far more interesting than it should be. It will be interesting to see how USF deals with their latest setback with bowl eligibility on the line.

#25 Rutgers (7-2, 2-2) @ Syracuse (3-7, 0-5), 3:30 PM on Big East Network

Both conference games offer up definitive favorites, and the visit from Rutgers will offer Doug Marrone’s program the opportunity to make some waves on the New York/New Jersey recruiting scene. Greg Schiano’s rebuilding job has placed the Rutgers program in the heart of the Big Apple and that’s not a good thing for the slumping Orange due to the large number of alums they boast in the area themselves. As for what may happen on the field this is not a good week for the Orange to have issues on the offensive line.

DE George Johnson and company do a good job of getting into the backfield, a trait that kick-started their 31-0 pasting of USF last Thursday. If the Syracuse offensive line can’t keep quarterbacks Greg Paulus and Ryan Nassib upright they’re going to be in serious trouble. It also doesn’t help matters that the Scarlet Knight offense may be rounding into form due to the production of RB Joe Martinek and receivers Tim Brown and Mohamed Sanu.

If Syracuse is to entertain any thoughts of picking up their first conference win they’ll need to pick up some easy scoring opportunities while not turning the ball over. Rutgers on the other hand simply needs to stay out of its own way and keep things simple for Tom Savage.

Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and West Virginia all have byes this week.

Raphielle’s Power Rankings

1. Cincinnati
2. Pittsburgh
3. West Virginia
4. Rutgers
5. USF
6. Connecticut
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse