2009 Preview Stories
2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: WEST VIRGINIA
September 3, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Questions on the offensive line aside, Mountaineers will be in BCS bid hunt in 2009
by Matt Whitfield
The Pat White era is over in Morgantown. However, before Big East defensive coordinators begin dancing in the streets, they will have to contend with White’s understudy, Jarrett Brown.
After four years watching White have a record-breaking career at West Virginia, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound fifth-year senior takes the reigns of the offense. Brown is a true dual-threat QB that has taken full control of the offense since the spring and finished off a great preseason camp, easing the minds of the WVU staff heading into the season.
Brown has shown he is a capable alternative in big games before, so he is not an untested signal caller. His most impressive game came at the end of the season in 2006 where he started in place of the injured White and threw for 244 yards and ran for another 73 in helping the Mountaineers upend Rutgers in what was the unofficial Big East Championship game.
2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: SOUTH FLORIDA
August 31, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Bulls set goal on first Big East conference title and BCS bid in 2009
by Michael Pina
Two years ago, the University of South Florida Bulls were easily the most surprising team in the nation. Now firmly established as a Big East force, the days of South Florida as a perennial pushover are long gone.
Behind quarterback Matt Grothe and defensive end George Selvie, the 2009 Bulls look to accomplish something never before done in school history. Win a Big East Title.
Mired in the recruiting hotbed that is southern Florida, Head Coach Jim Leavitt has finally been able to mold a contending, talented football team. While they may not get the type of talent Florida and Miami traditionally sign, the Bulls continue to grow as serious players on the recruiting trail. All of their verbal commitments for the 2010 season so far are from Florida which certainly bodes well for any team trying to build around athleticism.
2009 BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH
August 31, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
2009 Big East media favorite will rely on a stout defense in effort for BCS bid this season
By Anthony Jaskulski
The last time the Pittsburgh Panthers took the gridiron versus an opponent it was like two trains on the same track, facing each other and heading for sure disaster.
The only problem was both engines were out of gas and moved…nowhere.
That precisely sums up Pitt and their Sun Bowl bout with the Oregon State Beavers, in which the entire Panthers’ fan base scored just as many points as their favorite team, which was inevitably zero.
But much like the ways of David Bowie, Changes are all around the Panthers program for this upcoming 2009 football season.
The only question is: will those changes be for the better or the worse?
Pitt’s biggest task—without any question—is how to replace two of the biggest names from both sides of the ball in running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy and linebacker Scott McKillop; both in the NFL.
2009 BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: RUTGERS
August 30, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
BCS-bound? The Scarlet Knights have a shot
By Raphielle Johnson
The Scarlet Knights enter 2009 as one of the five teams thought to have an even chance at winning the Big East title. Every team has its definitive strengths that can go a long way towards earning a BCS berth, but each also has a significant weakness that if not addressed could cost them a title. For Rutgers the questions come at quarterback and wide receiver. Greg Schiano’s team has a schedule that lends itself to self-discovery after the season opener with Cincinnati; they’ll likely be favored in each of the following four games. The defense will be solid, and the same is expected of the offensive line and running backs. Here’s the unit-by-unit preview of the 2009 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
2009 BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: CONNECTICUT
August 28, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Huskies look to revamp a ground-heavy offense
By Raphielle Johnson
The 2009 football season is finally here, and once again much isn’t expected of Connecticut. Picked to finish sixth in the Big East, the Huskies will have to replace starters such as Donald Brown, Darius Butler and Tyler Lorenzen if they want to go to their third consecutive bowl game. Brown rushed for more than 2,000 yards last season, an amazing accomplishment when considering how bad the passing game was. Husky quarterbacks combined to throw five touchdown passes and seventeen interceptions in 2008, which makes Brown’s omission as a Doak Walker Award finalist all the more glaring.
Joe Moorhead takes over as offensive coordinator for the departed Rob Ambrose (head coach at Towson), and he brings with him an up-tempo no-huddle attack that the Huskies hope will open things up. On defense Connecticut will once again be solid with six starters back. Linebackers Scott Lutrus, Greg Lloyd and Lawrence Wilson make up one of the better units in the Big East, and they’ll be counted on to lead a unit that ranked sixth nationally in total defense. Special teams should be solid as well, thanks to the return of punter Desi Cullen, kicker David Teggart and a host of capable kick returners.
2009 BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: CINCINNATI
BEARCATS CAN’T GET NO RESPECT
by Scott Macmann
Is Cincinnati the Rodney Dangerfield of college football? You know, “no respect”….?
The Bearcats have now finished in the Top 25 two seasons in a row but once again they are locked out of the pre-season polls.
The Bearcats won last season’s Big East football championship with a 6-1 conference record, 11-2 overall regular season. They return one of the conference’s and nation’s most dynamic offenses largely intact. They have defeated their former nemeses Pittsburgh, Louisville and West Virginia. Moreover, since September 23, 2006, when they had lost to Pitt, Ohio State and Virginia Tech in back to back to back games to open up the season, the Bearcats have reeled off a record of 28 wins and just 8 losses (Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, UConn, Louisville-2, Pitt, WVU-2). The Cincinnati Bearcats should not be a surprise to anyone or overlooked anymore.
2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: PANTHERS GET NOD IN MEDIA POLL
August 25, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
By Raphielle Johnson
As you all know by now, the Big East Media Days took place on Monday and Tuesday, and it was an interesting meeting to say the least. The conference, going into its first year under the direction of new commissioner John Marinatto, has some serious questions to answer in the near future. Bowl lineup, possible expansion and the possibility of playing a bowl game in the new Yankee Stadium have all been topics of discussion, with the first being the most important matter. While media days didn’t give any definitive answers on those subjects it did provide insight into what the media was thinking would happen in 2009.
The keyword for the Big East in 2009 is “parity” with six of the eight teams considered to have a realistic shot at grabbing the conference’s BCS berth. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder; those who view the league from a distance rush to declare the Big East as “mediocre”, while those with a more intimate view look at the possible wild race as a positive rather than a negative. Pittsburgh was the media choice to win the league, but in a telling result the top five teams were separated by only thirty-five points in the poll.
Each team has a significant hole to fill; a blemish that if neglected can be all the difference between a BCS berth and playing in a bowl game further down in the conference pecking order. Four teams received first-place votes, with the Panthers and defending champ Cincinnati each garnering eight. But the Bearcats were beaten out for second by West Virginia, a fact that goes to show just how even the top of the Big East is expected to be. So, what does issue does each team need to resolve in order to win the conference? Here’s the full preseason poll, with a significant question/possible answer for each team.
BIG EAST MEDIA POLL RESULTS
August 6, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
During the Big East conference’s annual media day, Pittsburgh was selected by the media members as the conference favorite for the 2009 season. Here are the poll results, with 1st place votes in parenthesis:
