Dark Horse

[ChiTownBull]

http://www.louisvillecardinal.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/05/09/445ffaa570731

Last year was a wacky one at times for Big East football. Louisville was picked to win in just their first year in the conference, but despite having both the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, they could not do it.

And, of course, West Virginia rolled through the conference last year and is considered the clear-cut favorite going into the Big East next year. Let’s take a deeper look into how things may shape up this fall.

Contenders

West Virginia: Pat White and Steve Slaton are really the only two names you need to know, and if you’re a Cards fan you probably remember them after what they did to the Louisville defense in Morgantown last year. Both Slaton and White are perfect for Head Coach Rich Rodriguez’s run-first, shotgun-style spread offense. Slaton explodes out of the backfield, while White is a dual threat and is a younger, less-hyped version of Vince Young. As a surefire preseason top 10 team, the Mountaineers should roll through their schedule until they visit Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Nov. 2.

Louisville: The offense is there, but will the defense be enough? It may not matter. The Cards return a potent offense that may rival many of the top programs in the land. Michael Bush, Brian Brohm and company will anchor Petrino’s schemes, but the wild card in his unit will be the wide receiving core. Mario Urrutia has looked great in spring practice and is showing the makings of an All-American wide out, while Notre Dame transfer Chris Vaughn and senior Harry Douglas are two other receivers that can stretch the field.

However, the defense is a huge question mark after losing three of its top players (Elvis Dumervil, Montavious Stanley and Brandon Johnson) to graduation, while the offensive line lost several other key components. The Cards will be tested early with Miami coming to town along with a trip to Manhattan to take on Kansas State. The health of Brohm’s knee is another question mark that will not be answered until game one, against Kentucky.

Pretenders

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights return a bruising duo in the backfield that paced the team to its first bowl appearance in 27 years. Raymell Rice and Brian Leonard combined for almost 2,000 yards on the ground, leading their team to third place in the Big East last year. Despite the solid ground game, Rutgers is still several years away from competing for the title and does not have the offensive firepower to deal with teams like West Virginia and Louisville, nor does it have the overall talent level on defense yet to make a run.

Pittsburgh: Pitt was the only other team besides Louisville ranked among the preseason top 25 teams last year and turned in a disappointing season going 5-6. While senior Tyler Palko returns at the helm for the offense and senior linebacker H.B. Blades for the defense, the Panthers will otherwise have a slew of underclassmen competing for the remaining positions. Head Coach Dave Wannstedt has shown his ability to recruit, bringing in a terrific 2006 class, but this team is still several years away from being a top program in the Big East. Despite the youthful influx of talent, they still should find themselves in the middle of the pack with a possible bowl bid.

Dark horse

South Florida: South Florida showed what kind of talent it had after last year’s 45-14 drubbing of Louisville. Still, the question of consistency remains, evident in the game after that, when they were routed by Miami. Despite the instability of play, Florida is a team with a lot of speed, drawing from the well of the talent-rich football state of Florida. The linebacking crew of Ben Moffitt, Stephen Nicholas and Patrick St. Louis, all Florida natives, rivals any team in the country and is the cornerstone of this squad. While the overall talent is almost there, a six- or seven-win season and a bowl bid will be the ceiling for the Bulls.

Rest of the pack

Cincinnati: The Bearcats are on the right track as defensive-minded Head Coach Mike Dantoniois slowly building a powerhouse defense. Yet despite a solid group of players, they still lack the talent needed at the skill positions and will struggle this year. Games against the likes of Virginia Tech and Ohio State, along with their conference schedule, spell trouble this year for the Cats.

Connecticut: Still in the first phase of making the jump to Division I football, the Huskies are feeling the pain. After several solid years, the veteran UConn roster turned over and Head Coach Randy Edsall now must continue to build this program through recruiting. While this year’s class does not rank up there with the likes of what Jim Calhoun brings in for the basketball program, they have a solid base and will ride the coattails of senior running back Terry Caulley this year.

Syracuse: After finishing 1-10 last year, the Orange have virtually nowhere to go but up. Head Coach Greg Robinson continues to build the team with a defensive mindset, and his senior linebacker Kelvin Smith will make life a little easier for the team. Syracuse still has a ways to go and will need a miracle to finish anywhere near the 500 mark this year.

[80mins]

Dark horse

South Florida: South Florida showed what kind of talent it had after last year’s 45-14 drubbing of Louisville. Still, the question of consistency remains, evident in the game after that, when they were routed by Miami. Despite the instability of play, Florida is a team with a lot of speed, drawing from the well of the talent-rich football state of Florida. The linebacking crew of Ben Moffitt, Stephen Nicholas and Patrick St. Louis, all Florida natives, rivals any team in the country and is the cornerstone of this squad. While the overall talent is almost there, a six- or seven-win season and a bowl bid will be the ceiling for the Bulls.

They just called us Florida. WTF?! ???

[BULLfreak]

Keep calling us the underdogs

[ChiTownBull]

They are hicks from L'vill....what did you expect.

[Guest Sprtsfn627]

I love that people are overlooking us again.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Time to prove that 2005 was no fluke  ;D

[bullwark]

Wow, the author of the article referred to USF as Florida and as horses, gee, you would think by now Loserville fans would know we are the BULLS from South Florida, perhaps another drubbing by the Bulls will jar their memory.  ;D

[bulls96go]

decent analysis

but he did not mention the most critical concern: QB

we will go as fas as our QB takes us!

[smazza]

this will be a down year for usf

[USFan]

this will be a down year for usf

It's always a down year according to you.

[Herman_Momart]

I dont think the defense will allow us to have a down year.  Those linebackers they named are sick, plus all those starters coming back with a healthy verpaele, someone is going to get a Bulls hit.