2009 Weekly Previews, Cincinnati News, Connecticut News, Pittsburgh News, Raphielle Johnson, Rutgers News, South Florida News, Uncategorized, West Virginia News

A LOOK AT THE FINAL WEEKEND OF BIG EAST FOOTBALL

Bearcats and Panthers square off for Big East title in River City Showdown

By Raphielle Johnson

While there are three conference games on the schedule for the final Saturday of the regular season there’s only one that matters nationally. #5 Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0) takes its high-powered offense on the road to take on a Pittsburgh team (9-2, 5-1) coming off of a loss to bitter rival West Virginia. The winner (Noon on ABC) lands the Big East’s BCS bid, with the Bearcats winning the conference outright with a victory while the Panthers would share the trophy but not the most important spoils.

The question for the Bearcats: can they stop the run? It’s been an issue in victories over Fresno State, Connecticut and Illinois and they’re going to have their hands full with the freshman tandem of Dion Lewis and Ray Graham. Not only is Lewis a virtual lock to win the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award but a case could be made for him being Offensive Player of the Year. He leads the Big East in rushing and his emergence has taken some of the pressure off of QB Bill Stull, who’s had a banner 2009 despite his struggles last week.

The problem with first-year defensive coordinator Bob Diaco has been opponents’ ability to run between the tackles against the three-man front. Add to this a Pittsburgh offensive line that many consider to be the best in the conference and this could end up being a costly issue for the Bearcats. But if Cincinnati can take a page out of West Virginia’s book and force Stull into rushed decisions they could end up with the upper hand via turnover margin even if Lewis and Graham combine for a big afternoon.

As for the Cincinnati offense, Tony Pike returned to the full-time starter role last Friday and posted a record-setting performance, throwing six touchdown passes in the Bearcats’ 49-36 win over Illinois. But he and the rest of this explosive unit will have its hands full with the conference’s best defense. The Panthers have gotten the job done with their front seven, led by defensive tackles Mick Williams and Gus Mustakas, and DE Greg Romeus. They can get to the quarterback, leading the Big East in sacks as a team, and watching Romeus battle Cincinnati LT Jeff Linkenbach will be a treat for enthusiasts of line play.

Sixth-year senior Adam Gunn spearheads the linebacking corps, and the Panthers will need to hit Pike early and often if they’re to entertain thoughts of slowing them down. The Pitt secondary has been a bit banged up this season but they should be ready for the likes of Mardy Gilyard, Armon Binns and D.J. Woods. Isaiah Pead, who has proven to be a dangerous factor out of the backfield on the ground as well as in the passing game, will also need to be accounted for.

The Bearcats will likely enjoy an edge in special teams due to the presence of Gilyard, and if the Panthers decide to kick to him “gap discipline” will be crucial. One mistake and the senior from the Sunshine State could go the distance. Time of possession won’t be key unless the Panthers can also keep Cincinnati off of the scoreboard; the Bearcats rank dead last nationally in that statistic due to their explosive nature. Lastly, will the playing surface be a factor? The Bearcats have played on grass just once (at USF), and although they won 34-17 the climate in Tampa is far different from the Steel City. It could be a “mudder’s track”, which may favor the Panthers.

Other Games in the Big East:

West Virginia (8-3, 4-2) at Rutgers (8-3, 3-3), Noon on ESPN

The Mountaineers could very well be playing for a Konica Minolta Gator Bowl spot (against former WVU head coach Bobby Bowden no less) while the Scarlet Knights will also look to improve their bowl standing. How good is Rutgers? Eleven games into the season and one could argue that we still don’t know; they haven’t beaten a team ahead of them in the conference standings and they also own a bad loss at the hands of Syracuse. This is their final chance, in front of a national audience, to impress the bowl executives who tend to go with known quantities in selecting attractive matchups.

Offensively the Scarlet Knights are going to look for a variety of ways in which to get freshman WR Mohamed Sanu the football. Sanu at quarterback was a success against Louisville last week but he’ll have a tougher time against one of the conference’s more opportunistic defenses. Something must be said for Jeff Casteel’s defense; any other unit could have caved from the pressure heaped upon it by an offense that’s been far too charitable with the football this season. Rutgers will need a good day from Joe Martinek on the ground in order to keep the pressure off of Tom Savage in the passing game.

West Virginia has the athletes to be an explosive offense, and that’s been the case at times with RB Noel Devine and WR Jock Sanders leading the way. But the key will be QB Jarrett Brown, a dual-threat signal-caller who has to avoid bad decisions against a defense that leads the Big East in both turnovers forced (30) and turnover margin (+20). If he can do that and not give the ball away to the likes of CB Devin McCourty the Mountaineers could be well on their way to yet another victory over Rutgers.

South Florida (7-4, 3-3) at Connecticut (6-5, 2-4), 8PM on ESPN2

The final game of the Big East football season matches two teams seemingly heading in opposite directions. The Huskies have clinched bowl eligibility with back-to-back wins over Notre Dame and Syracuse while you have to wonder how much motivation the Bulls will have. USF was supposed to be ready for Miami last week; their chance to stake the claim that the Sunshine State has the “Big Four”. All the Bulls did was show up flat, falling behind 21-3 in what would become a 31-10 loss.

B.J. Daniels has been inconsistent for the Bulls since taking over for the injured Matt Grothe, alternating performances worthy of a seasoned vet with showings that remind you that’s he’s just a redshirt freshman. But this could be a good matchup for USF’s offense given UConn’s issues at times with tackling in space and the loss of MLB Greg Lloyd Jr. due to a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee. Mike Canales’ offense will have to take care of the football, something that’s been an issue in a number of their games this season. If they do that and show up ready to play, look for the Bulls to score some points.

As for the Connecticut offense, they didn’t necessarily rack up the yards against Syracuse but they did account for forty-two of the Huskies’ 56 points (special teams and defense accounted for the other fourteen) in the 56-31 triumph. Backs Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon have played well, with Todman eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark last weekend and Dixon within striking distance of that number. UConn has also been helped by the growth of the passing game under offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead; QB Zach Frazer has limited his turnovers and receivers Marcus Easley and Kashif Moore have increased their production.

Look for the Huskies to be fully motivated on Senior Day, a final chapter in what has been an emotionally draining season. Whether or not the Bulls rise to the challenge will determine the direction of the game.