Michael Pina
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: FINAL WEEK
December 8, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by MICHAEL PINA
Some 940 miles away from the heart of Bearcat country, a 46-yard field goal by Texas’s Hunter Lawrence ended the possibility of a Cincinnati national championship berth. An incredible effort by Mardy Gilyard and the rest of Cincinnati’s undefeated team in a comeback win over Pittsburgh had hopes extremely high heading into Saturday night, but with Texas’s unimpressive 13-12 victory over Nebraska, the Longhorns, and not the Bearcats will be headed to Pasadena.
Regardless the Big East will be well represented in six bowl games, including the Sugar Bowl which is where Cincinnati will face defending national champion Florida.
The other bowl games are the St. Petersburg Bowl (Rutgers vs. UCF), Meineke Car Care Bowl (Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina), the Gator Bowl (West Virginia vs. Florida State), the International Bowl (South Florida vs. Northern Illinois), and the Papajohns.com Bowl (Connecticut vs. South Carolina).
Saturday saw three Big East match ups and thankfully all of them were closely contested, including the Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh instant classic which is where we’ll start.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: LOOKING BACK AT WEEK #13
November 30, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by MICHAEL PINA
Thanksgiving is officially behind us and Bowl Season is rapidly approaching. The Big East still has a national title contender that seems to dominate its opponents no matter who’s at quarterback and thanks to Notre Dame’s loss at Stanford on Saturday, the Gator Bowl will officially include a Big East team.
The Big East now has six bowl eligible teams (sorry Syracuse and Louisville) and has shaped itself into an extremely underrated, competitive football conference. Given that a few schools were forced to start young, unproven quarterbacks like Tom Savage, B.J. Daniels and Zach Collaros, the conference faired surprisingly well and should only progress over the next few years.
More heralded seasons by youngsters like Dion Lewis only reinforce the notion that the Big East isn’t standing pat, but rising up quicker than ever before.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #12 IN REVIEW
November 23, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by MICHAEL PINA
My honest apologies to those who tune in each week for my Monday Morning Quarterback Column. Last week it just couldn’t get done, but I’ll do my best to make it up with in depth coverage of the three games which took place this past Saturday. We had a major upset, an expected outcome and a win for a suffering Connecticut program that was as emotional and fulfilling as one victory can possibly be.
Rutgers (7-3, 2-3) vs. Syracuse (4-7, 1-5) (31-13 Syracuse Win)
After finally cracking the top 25 for the first time this season, becoming the fifth Big East team to do so in 2009, Rutgers continued their woeful conference performances falling to Syracuse in what has to be the year’s biggest upset.
Fresh off a more than convincing 31-0 victory over South Florida, the Scarlet Knights looked terrible, specifically on the defensive end of the ball where they allowed 424 yards and 23 first downs by one of the most anemic offenses in the country.
Freshman quarterback Tom Savage played like a freshman, going 7 for 17 with 66 yards passing and two interceptions. In the end, Syracuse played like a team that wanted to win for its seniors on their day and they pulled it off.
South Florida (7-3, 3-3) vs. Louisville (4-7, 1-3) (34-22 South Florida Win)
B.J. Daniels had one of the better all around games by a quarterback this season, finishing with 304 yards passing and 141 yards rushing. He accounted for three touchdowns including a 20-yard run and a 16-yard pass. The freshman resiliently rebounded from the worst start of his career last week against Rutgers, accounting for 445 total yards (12 off of Matt Grothe’s school record) while surpassing his statistical output from last week in the game’s first two drives.
Albeit the win came against lowly Louisville. A team which has lost nine straight road games and looks as misguided as any team in the nation. The Cardinals actually managed to go up 16-14 on a second quarter punt return by Trent Guy, but a field goal at the half’s horn put South Florida up for good.
This clearly isn’t the Bulls season of dominance, but with a freshman quarterback taking his lumps, showing gradual progression and learning each week, South Florida looks like a dangerous school for the next few years and will certainly compete for the Big East title.
Connecticut (5-5, 1-4) vs. Notre Dame (6-5) (33-30 2OT Connecticut Win)
On national television, on the road, against a historic program playing on Senior Day, Connecticut was finally able to win that ever elusive close game which has been haunting them all season long.
It took two overtimes, but the Huskies managed to pull off the upset with a 4-yard Andre Dixon touchdown scamper through the left side of the line. Jordan Todman had the game’s highlight plays which included a 43-yard run in the second quarter that put Connecticut on the board and a 96-yard kick off return that tied the game at 17 in the third quarter.
Notre Dame’s Golden Tate had another fine game with nine receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown, but it wasn’t enough and all signs now point to this contest being the final nail in the coffin for Charlie Weis.
Quote of the Week- “You’ve got to understand what this team has gone through. A couple of close games, and then you lose a teammate, you lose a brother, you lose a son, and you’re trying so hard to honor him by winning on the field. We hadn’t done that.”
-Connecticut Head Coach Randy Edsall
Big East Top Performers- South Florida Quarterback B.J. Daniels- A superb day for the Bulls and specifically their young leader who, as previously mentioned, should only improve and get better over the next few years.
Connecticut Football Program- Huge win for the Huskies. No team deserved to win a game in the entire country more than Connecticut and to do it in front of the entire country made it all the sweeter.
Mike’s Big East Power Poll
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
South Florida
Connecticut
Rutgers
Syracuse
Louisville
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #10
November 9, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
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.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #9
November 2, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by Michael Pina
After nine weeks, two teams look like they’re starting to separate themselves from the rest of the league as both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh find themselves ranked in the top 15 with the Panthers looking forward to a November 14th nationally televised primetime showdown against Notre Dame. Last year’s Irish vs. Panther match-up played out like an intense online Texas Hold em duel, but instead of a pair of card sharks matching wits, a pair of former NFL coaches, Dave Wannstedt and Charlie Weiss, tried to call the other’s bluff.
One of the biggest question marks right now in the conference however, is coming out of upstate New York where the Syracuse Orange’s best player Mike Williams abruptly quit the program this morning in a surprising development.
On to this past week’s games. We only had four of them, but two of the conference match-ups really showed just how competitive Big East football has become. Any team (except Louisville) can win on any given Saturday.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #8
October 26, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by MICHAEL PINA
The big questions heading into this week surrounded Connecticut and understandably so. In their first game since Jasper Howard was murdered on their campus, the Huskies came into West Virginia with heavy hearts and were emotionally charged up to come away with an upset. In Cincinnati, the Bearcats showed that they wouldn’t let their injured Heisman candidate slow down their ridiculous offense and over in Pittsburgh, Dion Lewis continued to be Dion Lewis.
The Big East now has three ranked teams: West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Heading into the year, there were was not a single team ranked from the conference as the Big East was hands down slighted worse than any other conference in the country. While we won’t know for sure until the bowl season whether or not the Big East can truly compete with the very best conferences like the Big 12 and Pac-10 have to offer, right now they’re representing themselves admirably.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #7
October 19, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by MICHAEL PINA
Football takes a backseat this week in light of the incredibly tragic stabbing death of Connecticut’s Jasper Howard. How this team will move on from something as sad as this is simply an unthinkable dilemma and there is no doubting their focus certainly won’t be on football when they go up against West Virginia next week.
I only hope closure is brought to his teammates and family members as soon as possible; that the killer is found and brought to a swift and rightful justice.
There’s no appropriate way to smoothly transition from a situation as heartbreaking as this one to analyzing the four Big East football games that took place Thursday night and over the weekend, but we’ll start with Connecticut’s win over Louisville.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #6
October 12, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by Michael Pina
With the conferences two best teams taking a week off, the rest of the Big East was given the opportunity to make statements. West Virginia went on the road, clobbered a clearly outmatched Orange squad and made a case to be ranked in the top 25. Connecticut also went on the road, nearly beating preseason conference favorite Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. Rutgers thoroughly routed out of conference Texas Southern and Louisville barely slipped by Southern Mississippi in another average performance.
Here’s the rundown on the Big East’s four games this past Saturday and what they mean as the season nears the midway mark.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #5
by MICHAEL PINA
Finally Big East conference play is underway. While none of the games were actually, you know, close, we finally can catch a glimpse of how good (or bad) some teams actually are. South Florida jumped into the AP Top 25, joining Cincinnati as the only two Big East teams on the list, the Bearcats and West Virginia both saw out of conference success, which has been a consistent theme of the Big East’s young season. And Rutgers and Connecticut both had the week off.
Now onto the weekends games….
#23 South Florida (5-0) vs. Syracuse (2-3) (34-20, USF win)
It was a one point game at halftime, but then B.J. Daniels absolutely broke the Orange’s back with an 85-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage of the second half. The story of this one was the defensive domination by South Florida’s front four. Everybody knows about George Selvie, but junior defensive end Jason Paul-Pierre looked like a dominating force. Reading a Syracuse screen pass perfectly, the 6’ 6” Paul-Pierre snatched a Greg Paulus lob out of the air and took it untouched 18 yards for a score. Paul-Pierre was recruited by Florida, Florida State and Miami (Fl.), can do a standing back flip in his pads and looks like he’ll be playing on Sundays in a couple of years.
Looking at Syracuse, who held their own for a half, it has to be said that Mike Williams might be one of the most valuable offensive players in the conference. Where would they be without him? He single-handedly kept the Orange in Saturday’s game with shoe string catches, a refusal to let any cornerback sniff any ball in his vicinity and 186 yards receiving with two touchdowns.
On South Florida’s end offensively, their 6’ 2”, 225 pound horse of a running back Mike Ford looks like a mini Brandon Jacobs. He had two touchdowns on the day and couldn’t be taken down by just one Syracuse defender. South Florida is a confident team that’s currently riding a tumbling snowball of momentum into the heart of their season. Their next game will be a nationally televised home game against #8 Cincinnati on Oct. 15, a Thursday night. This is the game of the year if you’re a fan of Big East football.
Pittsburgh (4-1) vs. Louisville (1-3) (35-10 Pitt win)
One week after a very tough loss to North Carolina State, the Panthers traveled to Louisville and flexed their muscles. Either Bill Stull is turning into one of the more pleasant surprises in the conference, or Louisville’s secondary is that bad. Stull absolutely torched the Cardinals in the second half with three touchdown passes, all on game breaking, deep balls.
Most of Pittsburgh’s big names are on the offensive side of the ball, but their defense was just as impressive, recording six sacks and holding Louisville to zero points in the second half.
The story here is less the Cardinals, who were expected to struggle this season and have so far lived up to their bill, and more about the Panthers who besides a bump in the road last week where they gave up a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, are playing like one of the best teams in the Big East. They haven’t been ranked yet this season, but they will be if they can win their next three games, the third being a home contest against #23 ranked South Florida.
West Virginia (3-1) vs. Colorado (35-24 win)
If Darren Sproles, Ray Rice and Kevin Faulk can have success in the NFL then so can Noel Devine. The quicker than quick speedster had a career high 220 yards rushing and one touchdown.
A performance like this from Devine really shouldn’t shock anybody who has seen his 5’ 8” frame run with a football, but 10 Mountaineer turnovers in the past two games should. West Virginia fumbled the ball four times in the first half alone and are a team that can’t be considered at the top of the Big East until they find more consistent quarterback play and a major reduction of the turnovers.
#8 Cincinnati (5-0) vs. Miami (OH) (37-13)
Starting the season on the outside looking in, the Bearcats now find themselves in the drivers seat for a BCS Bowl game. They’re ranked in the top 10, undefeated and playing in a conference that should receive more respect than was given to it a few months ago.
This contest showed the pass happy, high octane Cincinnati offense in rare form, winning the ballgame on the ground. Heisman hopeful Tony Pike had a lackluster 23 for 42 performance with two touchdowns and one pick while receiver Mardy Gilyard managed to find the end zone once again.
Cincinnati didn’t play their finest game this week and still won by 24 points. A testament to the class of the conference.
Quote of the week
“We kept our foot on the pedal in the second half. I think our defensive line is the best in the country.”
-Pittsburgh Linebacker Adam Gunn
Top Performers:
West Virginia RB Noel Devine- He took it 77 yards to the house on the Mountaineers second play from scrimmage and didn’t slow down from there. Without him and his ridiculous 7.4 yards per carry, West Virginia would be in serious trouble
Syracuse WR Mike Williams- His second appearance on the top performers list. Williams is the best wide receiver in the conference and possibly the nation. Better than Mardy Gilyard, better than West Virginia’s Jock Sanders. Williams is playing like a first-round pick with more receiving yards than Georgia’s A.J. Green and Notre Dame’s Golden Tate.
BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #4
September 28, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
Big East has a strong week on the gridiron, highlighted by taking 2 of 3 in ACC territory
by MICHAEL PINA
In August, heading into the fall, most analysts around the country had the Big East ranked from top to bottom as one of the weakest conferences Division-I football had. Four weeks into the season and those pundits have been proven wrong.
South Florida, without starting quarterback Matt Grothe, went into Tallahassee and absolutely dominated the Seminoles, especially along the line of scrimmage. Rutgers took it to Maryland on the road as well. The Big East could not quite come up with a three-game sweep against the ACC, all on the road, as Pittsburgh squandered a large fourth quarter lead against North Carolina State, narrowly losing in Raleigh.
While the ACC’s heavyweights (Miami, Virginia Tech) are still likely the cream of the crop of the two conferences, from top to bottom, the Big East has shown to be a much more competitive conference than originally predicted.
