Louisville News

BIG EAST FOOTBALL COACHING CHANGES

Leavitt firing garners national headlines

By Raphielle Johnson

On the surface three coaching changes within a conference wouldn’t be a huge deal. But when taking into consideration that only eight schools play football in the Big East this qualifies as an off-season of significant turnover. The most surprising move came on Friday with South Florida firing head coach Jim Leavitt, the lone coach in the program’s 13-year history. In a college football season that’s seen coaches fired at both Kansas and Texas Tech for their conduct towards players, Leavitt was let go over an incident with walk-on wide receiver Joel Miller at the half of their November 21st game against Louisville.

According to many testimonies Leavitt grabbed Miller by the throat and struck him in the face twice, allegations that the coach denied. Miller’s father went to the papers to change his story after it was originally reported by AOL Fanhouse writer Brett McMurphy on December 14th, saying then that Coach Leavitt had not struck his son. But in the investigation done by the school they came to the conclusion that Leavitt had indeed struck Miller after interviewing student-athletes and those who are not student-athletes. In the letter of termination sent to Leavitt by the school the school said the following in regards to its findings:

It was also reported that in the days following the incident Miller and Leavitt had a conversation in which the coach advised him to choose his words wisely because he (Leavitt) “was the most powerful man in the room”. Leavitt, who led the Bulls to an 8-5 record and a win over Northern Illinois in the International Bowl, leaves USF with an overall record of 95-47 and 17-18 in Big East play. Carl Franks, who was the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator the last six years, was named acting head coach while the school looks for a permanent solution. Franks was head coach at Duke from 1998-2003, where he had a record of 7-45 before being fired.

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BIG EAST FOOTBALL 2009 SEASON AWARDS

Big East Honors Announced with Panthers and Bearcats splitting major awards

By Raphielle Johnson

The Big East Conference announced its 2009 football awards on Wednesday afternoon and there were few surprises with the results. Brian Kelly, who in some circles is rumored to be headed to Notre Dame, was named the Big East Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. Kelly’s Cincinnati Bearcats finished the regular season 12-0 and will once again represent the league in the Bowl Championship Series, playing Florida in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Bearcats also saw Mardy Gilyard win the Big East Special Teams Player of the Year, the second consecutive award for the senior and third straight for the UC program (Kevin Huber in 2007).

As for the offensive and defensive honors those went to Pittsburgh, with freshman Dion Lewis winning both Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year. Lewis led the Big East in rushing and ranked in the top five nationally in rushing yards per game. Defensively Greg Romeus and Mick Williams shared the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award and as a team Pitt had ten players named to the league’s First Team All-Big East squad. Lastly the conference made late Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard the honorary captain. Howard was tragically lost in the early morning hours of October 18th after playing one of the best games of his career in a win over Louisville.

“As a family, we wanted to respectfully remember Jasper Howard and honor his memory,” said Big East commissioner John Marinatto in the conference’s release. “In naming him the Honorary Captain of the 2009 All-BIG EAST Team, we have memorialized his name in BIG EAST Conference history.”

2009 Big East Football Awards

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BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: LOOKING BACK AT WEEK #13

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.

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BIG EAST WEEKEND PREVIEW: WEEK #13

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.

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BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #12 IN REVIEW

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

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.

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A LOOK AHEAD TO WEEK #11 IN BIG EAST FOOTBALL

Last gasp for the Mountaineers in Big East race?

By Raphielle Johnson

West Virginia (7-2, 3-1) may be just one game behind Big East co-leaders Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, but their game on Friday night against the Bearcats is likely their final chance at being a player in the conference title race. By no means were the Mountaineers impressive in their 17-9 win over Louisville last weekend, even losing Noel Devine to a sprained ankle. But he’ll be ready to go in the Queen City where they hope to move the ball on a defense that struggled last weekend.

Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0) remained undefeated with a 47-45 win over Connecticut thanks to 711 yards of offense, but the defense definitely left something to be desired. They were unable to force any turnovers and had a hard time dealing with the Huskies’ power run game. The Bearcats have been best challenged by teams (Fresno State and Connecticut) who can line up and pound the ball, taking advantage of the Bearcats’ 3-4 scheme. Going against spread looks has helped Bob Diaco’s defense lead the nation in tackles for loss to this point in the season, but this may be the most versatile version that they’ll see.

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A LOOK AHEAD TO WEEK #10 IN BIG EAST FOOTBALL

Contenders look to avoid the upset as stretch run approaches

By Raphielle Johnson

Week 10 in the Big East has worked out (in regards to the schedule) to provide three games matching contenders for the conference title with teams looking to reverse their fortunes. All three contenders will be at home this weekend with #5 Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0) taking the prime-time stage (8 PM on ABC) against Connecticut (4-4, 1-3) at Nippert Stadium. As of right now QB Tony Pike, whose forearm has been improving, is questionable to play on Saturday night. But if he were unable to go Zach Collaros would get the start, and there hasn’t been much of a drop (if any) in production with the sophomore in the lineup.

On the other side of the field will be a Connecticut football team that’s been through a three-week stretch that shouldn’t be wished upon anyone. The death of Jasper Howard has been followed up by back-to-back losses by the same score (28-24), with both results coming by way of a late touchdown. Two issues that have been a problem for the Husky defense all season long, tackling in space and coverage breakdowns in the secondary, are two areas that the Bearcats can exploit with punishing regularity.

Mardy Gilyard has received the majority of the attention at wide receiver because of his big-play ability on both offense and special teams, but there’s another weapon to be concerned about. Armon Binns has taken advantage of the attention shown to Gilyard and D.J. Woods in recent weeks, and be it Binns or any other Cincinnati wideout the Bearcats can take advantage of mismatches should UConn cover the slot with a linebacker or safety.

The Bearcats are also one of the leading teams in the conference in sacking the quarterback, something that’s of added importance to their opponents this week due to the loss of QB Cody Endres (shoulder) for the remainder of the season. Zach Frazer, who entered the season as the starter before injuring his knee against North Carolina, threw four interceptions against Rutgers last week but did lead the two drives that ultimately gave the Huskies a 24-21 lead with 38 seconds remaining.

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BIG EAST MONDAY MORNING QB: WEEK #9

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.

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A LOOK AHEAD TO WEEK #9 IN BIG EAST FOOTBALL

South Florida looks to salvage season hosting West Virginia this week

By Raphielle Johnson

Having the look of a possible Big East title contender at the end of September, the USF Bulls once again had issues once the calendar hit October. Losing the conference home opener to Cincinnati shouldn’t have been as costly as it’s become given how good the Bearcats are. But USF (5-2, 1-2) hasn’t shown themselves to be the best at managing the disappointment of losing a “big game”, following up that loss with a beating at the hands of Pittsburgh last week.

USF was never in that game, going into the locker room at the half down 31-7 on their way to a 41-14 defeat. Now they’ve essentially been relegated to the role of spoiler, yet thanks to their schedule this is their last shot at derailing a contender. West Virginia (6-1, 2-0) comes to town on Friday night (8 PM on ESPN2), hoping to limit their turnovers and avenge their loss at Raymond James Stadium two years ago. The Mountaineers should be in good spirits following a wild 28-24 victory over Connecticut in an emotional game last Saturday.

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