2009 Weekly Previews
A LOOK AT THE FINAL WEEKEND OF BIG EAST FOOTBALL
December 2, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
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.
BIG EAST WEEKEND PREVIEW: WEEK #13
November 25, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Annual “Backyard Brawl” between Pitt & WVU takes center stage
By Raphielle Johnson
One of the fiercest rivalries in the game will be played on Friday night (7PM on ESPN2) in Morgantown and it would be a conservative statement to say that these two schools don’t like each other. The Panthers (9-1, 5-0) return to Morgantown for the first time since their upset of the Mountaineers in 2007, a result that knocked West Virginia (7-3, 3-2) out of a possible national title berth and could be seen as a program-changing result for both.
West Virginia did go on to win the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl with a dominant performance over Oklahoma, but that result changed the atmosphere surrounding Dave Wannstedt’s program. The Panthers won nine games last season and have followed that up with one of their best seasons as a Big East football member. Bill Stull, inconsistent throughout his career in the Steel City, has played the best football of his career due to improved decision-making and the presence of offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.
The Pittsburgh native calling the plays has done a masterful job of using the run (backs Dion Lewis and Ray Graham) and the pass (Jonathan Baldwin, Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham) all season long and if not for a defensive letdown in the second half at NC State the Panthers are undefeated. The match of wits between Cignetti Jr. and West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel will likely determine the outcome in Morgantown. As for the West Virginia offense, their explosive playmaking ability has sometimes been short-circuited by their propensity to turn the ball over.
UNC – UCONN FOOTBALL PREVIEW
2009 Hoops Final Four participants meet on the gridiron
By Raphielle Johnson
Saturday’s game with #19 North Carolina brings about the opportunity for Connecticut to see where they stand right now and how good they could become this season. Butch Davis’ team will be a significant test for a team that didn’t look too impressive in their 23-16 win over Ohio last weekend. The primary issue according to head coach Randy Edsall was consistency, or the lack thereof. The Huskies didn’t take advantage of positive gains in momentum, allowing the Bobcats to stick around via turnover or missed assignment. Mistakes such as those will get UConn beat and beat badly, which is what happened in Chapel Hill (38-12) last season.
But the task is not impossible. The Tar Heels took care of The Citadel last weekend by the final of 40-6, but things were by no means perfect. QB T.J. Yates completed fewer than half his passes and threw an interception in the win, with the running game and defense providing the deciding blows. Have the Huskies learned from their mistakes on special teams in last year’s meeting? The “little things” will make a big difference one way or the other on Saturday. Below is the North Carolina depth chart for Saturday’s game.
A LOOK AHEAD TO WEEK #2 IN THE BIG EAST
September 9, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Favorites looking to avoid the upset
By Raphielle Johnson
Week two of the college football season will bring about a different challenge for the Big East. The first weekend was primarily about avoiding the embarrassing defeat, and the conference was able to do that with the lone loss being Syracuse falling to Minnesota in overtime. The one conference game was Cincinnati visiting Rutgers on Labor Day, and the defending champions made quite the statement in front of a sold-out crowd and a national television audience.
The second weekend will bring about a couple of challenging games for teams favored to finish in the top half of the Big East standings. Pittsburgh will visit the defending MAC champion Buffalo Bulls, who are coming off of a solid win at UTEP. West Virginia has a score to settle with East Carolina visiting Morgantown. While those are both games that can be lost the two Big East members need to win from a national perception standpoint. Connecticut and Syracuse will play ranked teams on Saturday; the Huskies host #19 North Carolina while the Orange visit #9 Penn State.
A LOOK AT UCONN WEEK 1 FOE: OHIO U
September 4, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Huskies must stop the run
By Raphielle Johnson
Below is the Ohio depth chart (from the Ohio game notes) for Saturday’s game against the Connecticut Huskies, along with a little information on each unit. Ohio will give the Huskies a variety of looks when on offense in hopes of springing a few big plays. Their passing game ranked in the middle of the pack within the MAC last season. However the Bobcats struggled on the ground last season, ranking tenth in the MAC in rushing offense. On offense Ohio will line up in a spread formation with three receivers, a tailback and a tight end. Defensively Ohio runs the 4-3 scheme.
OFFENSE
QB 3 Theo Scott
8 Boo Jackson
Both will play on Saturday, and they’ve got similar skill sets. Scott was the starter heading into 2008 before a broken collarbone in the second game of the season at Ohio State ended his campaign. Jackson set school records in touchdown passes and total yards in Scott’s stead last season, but ironically his own nicks in the fall resulted in Scott winning back the job. Coach Solich said in Monday’s teleconference that both quarterbacks will see time on Saturday however, so the Huskies will prepare for both.
A LOOK A WEEK #1 IN THE BIG EAST
September 2, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Conference clash highlights opening weekend of football in the Big East
By Raphielle Johnson
Opening the season with a conference game is hardly the preferred start to a season, but that’s exactly what the defending Big East champion Cincinnati Bearcats will have on their plate when they visit Rutgers on Monday (4 PM on ESPN). While there is familiarity it does change the nature of fall camp; both Brian Kelly and Greg Schiano have noted that it’s tougher to get everyone reps in that situation. It also doesn’t help either team that they’ve got some significant changes to negotiate.
Much has been made about the Bearcats losing ten starters on defense, but they’re also adjusting to a switch from the 4-3 to the 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco. The switch makes Cincinnati more versatile in their personnel, meaning that there won’t be as many hectic moments making substitutions in order to deal with the influx of spread offenses. At least Coach Kelly has an offense that returns eight starters, led by QB Tony Pike and one of the more prolific receiving corps around.
Speaking of receivers, the Scarlet Knights could use a few with the loss of Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood. Tim Brown and Mason Robinson are two of players who will need to increase their production in 2009. Rutgers will also have to deal with the prospect of replacing Mike Teel with either Domenic Natale or true freshman Tom Savage. Savage has been around the program and the grasp of the system may have him in the driver’s seat for the opener.
