Louisville Likes the Look of Big East

[bullwark]

Some Louisville players were sporting T-shirts with targets emblazoned on the front during the offseason, signifying the Cardinals' status as the team to beat in their Big East debut.

Then coach Bobby Petrino saw them, and that was the end of that fashion statement.

"That's something I don't ever want them believing, that we're sitting out there as a target," Petrino said. "I'd rather attack and be real aggressive. That's what I told them when I made them take them off. I've always been an offensive guy and I believe in attacking and going after people. That's why we got rid of them."

With or without the T-shirts, the Cardinals look like the beasts of the new-look Big East, jumping past top holdovers Pittsburgh and West Virginia to become favorites to win the conference's Bowl Championship Series bid.

With Boston College joining former Big East members Miami and Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, the Big East no longer is a league in transition.

Louisville moves in along with two other Conference USA defectors, Cincinnati and South Florida, to complete an eight-team Big East with Syracuse, Connecticut and Rutgers.

"The caliber of teams we're playing week in and week out now, we're going to have to be more focused, ready to play," Louisville offensive tackle Travis Leffew said.

Playing in Conference USA, Louisville led the nation in scoring in 2004, putting up 50 points per game, including five straight games reaching the half-century mark to end the regular season.

Petrino, one of the game's top offensive minds, must replace his leading passer, receiver and rusher from last year. It doesn't look like it'll be much of a problem.

Stepping in for quarterback Stefan LeFors is Brian Brohm, the latest member of Louisville's first family of football to guide the Cardinals. Brohm's father and two brothers also played for Louisville.

Petrino played Brohm often last season to get him ready to start as a sophomore. Brohm won the team over with a poised performance at Miami, a 41-38 loss that was the only blemish on the Cardinals' 11-1 season.

"He came in, I thought he'd be shook up a little bit and a little bit nervous," Leffew said. "But he came in and made the play, knew what he had to do. He proved to us that he can play that position and have our trust in playing the position."

Michael Bush, who ran for 734 yards and seven TDs last season, becomes the team's No. 1 ball carrier with Eric Shelton off to the NFL. Receivers Joshua Tinch, Broderick Clark and Montrell Jones, who all caught at least 27 passes in 2004, must step up to replace J.R. Russell.

Of course, being a big favorite to win the Big East didn't work out too well for West Virginia last year. With the league looking down and West Virginia loaded with veterans, the prognosticators expected the Mountaineers to stroll into the BCS.

Instead, the Mountaineers lost their last two regular-season games and landed in the Gator Bowl, where they were beaten 30-18 by Florida State to finish 8-4.

"I do think sometimes the players were pressing," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "When we won, it wasn't by enough. We certainly didn't want them to feel it inside. But it was a little bit more difficult."

Pittsburgh, led by quarterback Tyler Palko, took advantage of West Virginia's stumble and played its way into the BCS, where the Panthers were thumped by Utah 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl.

The supremely confident Palko (24 TD passes) is back to play for new Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt, a Pitt alum, who returns to the college game after leaving the Miami Dolphins.

Syracuse's Greg Robinson is the other new coach in the Big East, replacing Paul Pasqualoni, who was fired after 14 seasons.

UConn, coming off its first bowl appearance, has to replace quarterback Dan Orlovsky, but returns the league's leading rusher in Cornell Brockington (1,218 yards). Brockington will be hard pressed to keep the rushing title from South Florida's Andre Hall, who ran for 1,357 yards for the Bulls in 2004.

Second-year Cincinnati coach Mike Dantonio has just six returning starters.

Rutgers, led by quarterback Ryan Hart (3,154 yards passing), is looking for its first winning season since 1992.

A capsule look at the teams in predicted order of finish:

LOUISVILLE  Brohm was C-USA newcomer of the year, completing 67 percent of his passes for 819 yards with six touchdown passes and two interceptions. ... The biggest challenge for the Cardinals will come on defense. They struggled against good offenses last season and must replace S Kerry Rhodes and LB Robert McCune, both drafted by NFL teams.

PITTSBURGH  WR Greg Lee doesn't quite have Larry Fitzgerald's athletic gifts, but he proved a more than adequate replacement for the 2003 Heisman Trophy runner-up. Lee led the Big East with 1,297 yards receiving on 68 catches. ... Wannstedt is a defensive guy and that's where the Panthers need work after allowing 418 yards per game and looking helpless against Utah.

WEST VIRGINIA  The next great Mountaineers runner could be freshman Jason Gwaltney, and Jason Colson (706 yards) was good as a backup last year. ... None of the players competing to replace QB Rasheed Marshall has started a game.

CONNECTICUT  RB Terry Caulley was leading the nation in rushing when he tore ligaments in his right knee in September 2003. He sat out all of last season, too. He's back and could form a potent duo with Brockington. ... Huskies are 21-7 in last 28 games.

RUTGERS  WR Tres Moses led the Big East in receptions with 81, RB Brian Leonard caught 61 passes and TE Clark Harris had 53. ... Coach Greg Schiano is 12-34 in four years at Rutgers. With 17 returning starters, he's due to break .500 this season.

SYRACUSE  The Orange started last season by giving up 51 points to Purdue and ended it allowing 51 against Georgia Tech. Longtime defensive coordinator Robinson will take a more aggressive approach with nine returning starters.

SOUTH FLORIDA  The Bulls had their worst season since joining Division I-A, going 4-7. The move to the Big East won't make it any easier for coach Jim Leavitt, whose team faces seven 2004 bowl teams.

CINCINNATI  TE Brent Celek caught eight touchdown passes last season and could play a bigger role in a young offense.

[bulls96go]

at the end of the day you must live up to the hype

[bullsmania]

They looked like the real deal at first then began to show their flaws.  We can definitely hang with them if we can contain Bush.