"Big (L)east Conference looking like a BCS jo

[Jim Johnson]

From the Washington Times:

Big (L)east Conference looking like a BCS joke

By Jon Siegel

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

October 18, 2005

   The Big East staged its unofficial championship football game Saturday when West Virginia rallied for a 46-44 triple-overtime win over Louisville. But this showdown with major Bowl Championship Series implications hardly made a ripple on the national TV scene, which focused on Southern Cal-Notre Dame. Even the Washington area did not get the game as the ABC affiliate (WJLA, Ch. 7) showed Penn State-Michigan instead.

   In effect, the Big East has become a big afterthought. The conference might still have BCS status, but that has not saved it from a free fall.

   West Virginia's victory was entertaining, but to suggest the Mountaineers are now in line for a top bowl is absurd. West Virginia was ranked 17th in the first BCS poll released yesterday. Each of the other five BCS leagues has at least two teams higher.

   The poll provides the latest evidence of how ugly the revamped Big East has become following the losses of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the ACC. The conference appears likely to have about as much impact on the race for the national title as a squirt gun on a forest fire.

   "We are literally in a state of flux," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said recently. "[Although] some people will just say I am trying to make excuses, that is just a fact. We lost three programs that are now ranked in the top 20."

   The Big East responded to the ACC's raid by enticing Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida from Conference USA, giving it eight members this season. Indeed, the emasculated league is up and running -- just not very well.

   West Virginia, at No. 20, is the only ranked team. The Big East is in jeopardy of falling behind the non-BCS Mountain West Conference as the sixth-highest rated league. The Big East owns a 4-8 record against BCS teams, with the biggest win being West Virginia over Maryland.

   Not that the Big East was expected to match the glory days when Miami and Virginia Tech slugged it out and competed for national titles. Instead, Louisville was supposed to become king of the lesser league while giving faltering programs like those at Syracuse and Pitt time to rebuild and young programs like Connecticut and South Florida a few seasons to emerge.

   The Cardinals were to give the league at least some legitimacy in the face of mounting criticism that it had been allowed to keep its BCS bid despite its diminished status. The Big East is one of six BCS conferences -- along with the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 10 -- that earns an automatic bid to one of the top four bowls (Orange, Sugar, Rose and Fiesta). The berth means an excessive payout, millions more than those gained by champions of non-BCS leagues that are forced to settle for lesser bowls.

   And the Big East's BCS status appears solid until reassessments are made following the 2009 season.

   "They can talk all they want," Tranghese said with a nervous chuckle. "We are going [to a BCS bowl]. It's that simple. We got it. We think we have earned it."

   But even with lower expectations, the Big East is not reaching them.

   The league has suffered humiliating defeats like Ohio shocking Pitt and Miami of Ohio drubbing Cincinnati 44-16. It has merely an 18-12 record in nonconference games, including six victories over Division I-AA opponents like Wofford, Liberty and Youngstown State, and three over I-A laggard Buffalo.

   And Louisville won't save the league either.

   The Cardinals narrowly missed an at-large BCS bid last season when they went 12-1 with the only loss to Miami 41-38. This season the would-be new Big East bullies began the season in the top 10 amid some forecasts of an undefeated year. That was before Big East newcomer South Florida, a 20-point underdog, dropkicked the then-No. 9 Cardinals 45-14.

   Asked how that defeat might affect the Big East's prestige, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino replied, "I couldn't tell you right now whether it is good or bad." He might have been the only one feeling that way.

   "Short term, it may have been a negative for the league," Tranghese conceded. "Long term, I think and most of our members think that South Florida has a huge upside."

   The Bulls, now 3-3 after losing to Pitt, provide some reason for optimism. Another rising program is Connecticut, which has a 4-2 record (2-1 in the Big East) in only its third Division I-A season. The Huskies already have conquered the league's soft middle with blowouts of Syracuse and Rutgers.

   West Virginia (6-1, 3-0 Big East) showed it was not ready to join the elite with a 34-17 loss to former Big East member and third-ranked Virginia Tech at Mountaineer Field. Even South Florida (1-1 in the league) might compete for the watered-down crown, although the 8-year-old program is far from being the state's best team.

   "Sometimes you wonder if [that challenge is] insurmountable," Bulls coach Jim Leavitt said, and that was before his team lost to No. 6 Miami 27-7.

   The Big East was desperate to have a strong presence in the state after Miami's departure and is banking on the Bulls eventually challenging the Big Three of Florida, Florida State and Miami. But Leavitt knows he first must win a few off-field battles before crashing the party.

   "We haven't been able to beat Miami in recruiting much," Leavitt said. "If Miami comes in and offers [scholarships], they are usually going to get [players] no matter how hard we try."

   The league also hopes founding members with new coaches will rise to prominence. Syracuse (1-5, 0-3) is in its first season under former Texas co-defensive coordinator Greg Robinson. Pitt (3-4, 2-1) is hoping for a resurgence under ex-Miami Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt.

   However, the Panthers reflect how out of whack the Big East has become. Last season Pitt won the league's BCS bid, despite being ranked 21st in the BCS standings, and fired coach Walt Harris. The Panthers played Utah, which became the first non-BCS member by finishing sixth in the BCS standings, in the Fiesta Bowl. The Mountain West's Utes, under current Florida coach Urban Meyer, routed Pitt 35-7.

   "Last year was bad for everybody," Tranghese said. "We had a league, but it was a year of limbo. Temple [which was kicked out because of poor play, facilities and attendance] was leaving. Boston College was leaving. We were bringing in new members. Connecticut was rushed in a year early so we would have competition. It was a very, very bizarre football season."

   This season the conference can't use the same excuse although results have been similar. The Big East's roster is now set for the foreseeable future, but the embarrassing losses keep coming as it continues to be stuck in a credibility crisis.

   "We are going to have to win some quality nonconference games this year and next year," Tranghese said. "That is how we are going to get the message across. We are going to have to win what I call some 'statement' games."

   And there's no time to waste.

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20051017-115909-5530r.htm

[Markeymark]

Even South Florida (1-1 in the league) might compete for the watered-down crown, although the 8-year-old program is far from being the state's best team.

I didn't realize winning some sort of mythical state championship was a criteria for going to a BCS bowl. I guess when you're from the DC area where you have Penn St and Va Tech as the only nearby teams the subject of what state the school is from comes up more often in conversation.

It's kind of ironic that if USF beats WV there could be a negative impact on the league, in terms of overall ranking of the league champ.

[BullDoug]

If WVU & UL wins out, there will be a BE team in the Top 15 and Top 25 in the AP.  The truth is, if the Bulls beat WVU, this conference will be a national joke even though I believe it is more competitive than the rest of the country believes.  IMO the NBE and NMWC are very close in competition top to bottom.

[Velcro]

If WVU & UL wins out, there will be a BE team in the Top 15 and Top 25 in the AP.  The truth is, if the Bulls beat WVU, this conference will be a national joke even though I believe it is more competitive than the rest of the country believes.  IMO the NBE and NMWC are very close in competition top to bottom.

quite frankly, i don't care what the rest of the country thinks of the NBE... i'd rather have us win and people think the conference is a joke, as it will help us be that much better in recruiting, and help the conference out in future years when the auto BCS bid is actually on the line.  Right now it isn't so it doesn't matter that much.  

[USFFan]

I saw this one the other day.  A couple of points...

Does this guy think he's breaking new ground?  This has been rehashed more often than the CIA leak probe or the Natalee Holloway disappearance.  What purpose does this article serve?  

Second, for the love of Pete, this season is only half over.  If West Virginia finishes the season at 10-1, with their only loss to #3 Virginia Tech, they'll likely end up somewhere around the top 10.  If Louisville wins out, they'll probably end up in the #15 area.  Meanwhile, it's not unthinkable that both WVU AND Louisville could be ranked above the Big Ten champion once this season is over.  Will the author be ripping the Big Ten if that happens?  

Finally, if you take just about any conference and rip out their top three teams, they'd be in big trouble.  No USC, UCLA and Oregon and the Pac 10 is left with #25 Cal.  Take Texas and Texas Tech away from the Big XII and they have no ranked teams.  Hell, take Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College out of the ACC and they're left with #11 FSU and #23 Virginia.  

This is a subject that will be harped on every year even though it won't (and shouldn't) be judged until the Big East is given a chance to recover from losing three of the top 13 teams in the country.  

USFFan

[RHBullsFan]

I am with Velcro. I don't care what the rest of the country thinks of the BE level of competition if we beat WVU and make the BCS. Can you say cha-ching?$$

[DawgPound]

You get the money either way because the conference shares, right?

What you need to worry about is Pitt running the tables on everyone else.  They could do it and it would be a disaster for the league's status.

[Guest]

You get the money either way because the conference shares, right?

What you need to worry about is Pitt running the tables on everyone else.  They could do it and it would be a disaster for the league's status.

Pitt won't win in Morgantown or Loiusville...

---

And the team going to the BCS gets a bigger portion of the money than the other coference teams.  I could be wrong but I think it's close to half goes to the team in the game, and the rest is split among the conference teams (and the conference itself).

[Markeymark]

it's not unthinkable that both WVU AND Louisville could be ranked above the Big Ten champion once this season is over.

The Big Ten champion will have played (and beat) a number of top-30 teams. Louisville faces no team higher than 60th the rest of the way, and WVU's strongest remaining opponent is USF. (using current BCS rankings.)

[Cubanbull]

They can bash the Big East all they want but the facts are that the league keeps its BCS access until 2009 and if it continues to strngthen itself it will keep it further than that.

Yes is the weakest BCS conference but it still stronger than any other conference that could take its place.