Big Beasts of the East

[TyBull]

Big Beasts of the East

Posted on Jul 07, 2006 by Chris Harring

People haven't thought much of the Big East since the losses of Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004. However, West Virginia, Louisville, and Chris Harring would beg them to reconsider.

Big Beasts of the East

By Chris Harring

A few years ago, the basic structure of the college football hierarchy was fairly easy to follow. Each conference had a couple elite teams, and barring a huge collapse from several favorites, or a particularly amazing year from an underdog, fans were guaranteed the same few schools reigning as conference champions, and taking a spot in the BCS. The Big 12 had Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, Big Ten with Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio St., the Pac-10 with USC and Oregon for a while, the list goes on; and while these and other teams maintained their power, one might be able to crash the party, but could never stay. That all changed back in 2004, when in an epic grab for national power, the ACC signed away three of the Big East's best football teams, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College who at the time had amassed ten of the conference's thirteen championships since it's inception. With the ACC title chase now bloated, the three former Big Easters along with Florida State; there was a vacuum of power forming in the Big East. The additions of a few outside schools fueled the struggle for supremacy, and after two seasons, it has become clear just who is ready to shed their title of party crashers.

When West Virginia headed into last year's Sugar Bowl matchup against Georgia, most experts praised the Mountaineers for going undefeated in the Big East, but gave them absolutely no chance of beating the SEC power, one of the regulars on the national scene. Little did the Bulldogs, or for that matter, the rest of the nation, know, WVU had been hiding a pair of freshmen gems up there in the West Virginia wilderness. QB Pat White out duel-threated 5th year senior D.J. Shockley, and RB Steve Slaton saved his best day for the team's biggest, racking up 204 yards and 3 TDs in the victory. After handily beating most of its conference competitors, except for Louisville, most expect a similar run for a now more experienced Mountaineer squad. The only problems for the team would revolve around the new-found attention the team has been getting. Not only will the players and Rich Rodriguez have to deal with a lot of added pressures now that they're expected to be great, they'll have to go up against teams ready to give them their best shot every week. The White-Slaton rushing combo will give them a chance to beat anyone, but White will have to work on getting more consistent passing the ball if they want to avoid any upsets.

Ready to take that BCS spot away from West Virginia is that lone BE school that gave them a serious run in 05, Lousiville. After losing early in the year to upstart South Florida, the Cardinals refocused themselves and played excellent football the rest of the season, scoring at least 40 points each of the next seven games, including their loss in that three overtime thriller against WVU. Even with the loss of Nagurski award winner Elvis Dumervil, the Cardinals return the main pieces that will make them very dangerous. Junior Quarterback Brian Brohm first emerged as a freshman, nearly toppling #3, and then undefeated Miami, and has steadily improved his game ever since. He'll get his chance at redemption against the Canes September 16, and the same November 2 against WVU, both, of course, at home in lovely Papa John's Stadium. The key to Louisville's success, and the ultimate yang to the flashy duo in Morgantown, is running back Michael Bush, a big, bruising, athletic, life eater of a man. In that epic battle, Bush had 159 yards and 4 touchdowns, as Bobby Petrino just rode Bush's 6-5 240 pound frame to a near victory. In 2006, many consider him a top ten Heisman contender, and believe his biggest breakout is yet to come.

As for the rest of the conference, it's basically a game of elaborate shoots and ladders. Whenever one team expects to be good, they flounder, and vice versa. Take Pittsburgh for example, many thought they'd be headed for the top, seeing as how they always hung around 3rd place behind Miami and VT a few years ago, but when they get a golden opportunity, Dave Wannstedt's team starts off the year 1-4, and all but bury themselves. USF was the exact opposite, when no one expected much, they come out of nowhere and rack up a respectable 4-3 conference record and a spot in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Another school looking to make some noise in the near future is Rutgers, that's right, Rutgers. After years of losing, but also building talent through quality recruiting both locally and South Florida; the '05 Knights put up 7 victories, finishing 3rd in the Big East. Cincinatti, Connecticut, and Syracuse are also in the mix, as they've reached, or at least approached bowl bids in recent memory.

So when your coworkers, friends, or just local know-it-all's start trying to be trendy and bash the Big East, make sure they realize that just because the big name schools are gone, it doesn't mean quality football is. With WVU and Louisville leading the way, and a handful of rising programs ready to do their part, the conference will be back to normal in no time, especially as long as they continue scheduling old ACC rivals and playing them as well as they have. To the rest of the country, don't you worry about the "burden" of allowing a BE team in the BCS, rather, focus a little more on what to do when they get there. Any questions, ask Georgia.

If you have questions or comments, you can email me at chrisharring@nfldraftblitz.com

http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/index.php?c=2&a=852

[TyBull]

Big Beasts of the East

Posted on Jul 07, 2006 by Chris Harring

People haven't thought much of the Big East since the losses of Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004. However, West Virginia, Louisville, and Chris Harring would beg them to reconsider.

Big Beasts of the East

By Chris Harring

A few years ago, the basic structure of the college football hierarchy was fairly easy to follow. Each conference had a couple elite teams, and barring a huge collapse from several favorites, or a particularly amazing year from an underdog, fans were guaranteed the same few schools reigning as conference champions, and taking a spot in the BCS. The Big 12 had Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, Big Ten with Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio St., the Pac-10 with USC and Oregon for a while, the list goes on; and while these and other teams maintained their power, one might be able to crash the party, but could never stay. That all changed back in 2004, when in an epic grab for national power, the ACC signed away three of the Big East's best football teams, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College who at the time had amassed ten of the conference's thirteen championships since it's inception. With the ACC title chase now bloated, the three former Big Easters along with Florida State; there was a vacuum of power forming in the Big East. The additions of a few outside schools fueled the struggle for supremacy, and after two seasons, it has become clear just who is ready to shed their title of party crashers.

When West Virginia headed into last year's Sugar Bowl matchup against Georgia, most experts praised the Mountaineers for going undefeated in the Big East, but gave them absolutely no chance of beating the SEC power, one of the regulars on the national scene. Little did the Bulldogs, or for that matter, the rest of the nation, know, WVU had been hiding a pair of freshmen gems up there in the West Virginia wilderness. QB Pat White out duel-threated 5th year senior D.J. Shockley, and RB Steve Slaton saved his best day for the team's biggest, racking up 204 yards and 3 TDs in the victory. After handily beating most of its conference competitors, except for Louisville, most expect a similar run for a now more experienced Mountaineer squad. The only problems for the team would revolve around the new-found attention the team has been getting. Not only will the players and Rich Rodriguez have to deal with a lot of added pressures now that they're expected to be great, they'll have to go up against teams ready to give them their best shot every week. The White-Slaton rushing combo will give them a chance to beat anyone, but White will have to work on getting more consistent passing the ball if they want to avoid any upsets.

Ready to take that BCS spot away from West Virginia is that lone BE school that gave them a serious run in 05, Lousiville. After losing early in the year to upstart South Florida, the Cardinals refocused themselves and played excellent football the rest of the season, scoring at least 40 points each of the next seven games, including their loss in that three overtime thriller against WVU. Even with the loss of Nagurski award winner Elvis Dumervil, the Cardinals return the main pieces that will make them very dangerous. Junior Quarterback Brian Brohm first emerged as a freshman, nearly toppling #3, and then undefeated Miami, and has steadily improved his game ever since. He'll get his chance at redemption against the Canes September 16, and the same November 2 against WVU, both, of course, at home in lovely Papa John's Stadium. The key to Louisville's success, and the ultimate yang to the flashy duo in Morgantown, is running back Michael Bush, a big, bruising, athletic, life eater of a man. In that epic battle, Bush had 159 yards and 4 touchdowns, as Bobby Petrino just rode Bush's 6-5 240 pound frame to a near victory. In 2006, many consider him a top ten Heisman contender, and believe his biggest breakout is yet to come.

As for the rest of the conference, it's basically a game of elaborate shoots and ladders. Whenever one team expects to be good, they flounder, and vice versa. Take Pittsburgh for example, many thought they'd be headed for the top, seeing as how they always hung around 3rd place behind Miami and VT a few years ago, but when they get a golden opportunity, Dave Wannstedt's team starts off the year 1-4, and all but bury themselves. USF was the exact opposite, when no one expected much, they come out of nowhere and rack up a respectable 4-3 conference record and a spot in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Another school looking to make some noise in the near future is Rutgers, that's right, Rutgers. After years of losing, but also building talent through quality recruiting both locally and South Florida; the '05 Knights put up 7 victories, finishing 3rd in the Big East. Cincinatti, Connecticut, and Syracuse are also in the mix, as they've reached, or at least approached bowl bids in recent memory.

So when your coworkers, friends, or just local know-it-all's start trying to be trendy and bash the Big East, make sure they realize that just because the big name schools are gone, it doesn't mean quality football is. With WVU and Louisville leading the way, and a handful of rising programs ready to do their part, the conference will be back to normal in no time, especially as long as they continue scheduling old ACC rivals and playing them as well as they have. To the rest of the country, don't you worry about the "burden" of allowing a BE team in the BCS, rather, focus a little more on what to do when they get there. Any questions, ask Georgia.

If you have questions or comments, you can email me at chrisharring@nfldraftblitz.com

http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/index.php?c=2&a=852

[bulls96go]

nice write up