Big East Is in Big Trouble

[Apis Bull]

Published Friday, September 24, 2004

Big East Is in Big Trouble

Patrick Zier

TAMPA USF begins again Saturday, at TCU -- its first game in Conference USA after two games out of the conference, one in which the Bulls outclassed the competition and the other where they were definitely out of their class.

"We played hard," USF coach Jim Leavitt said in reviewing last week's 34-3 pounding by South Carolina. "We played hard, but we didn't play very well."

Truthfully, no one had any right to think the Bulls were capable of beating South Carolina, a veteran SEC team that, were it not in the SEC, might be making noise on the national scene.

But there is always the hope that when you step out of class, you can still measure up, and the Bulls failed to do that.

Frankly, if the Bulls are to move to the next level, which they are trying to do with their entry into the Big East next year, they need to be able to play teams like South Carolina on more even terms.

But given what's happening, the Big East could be in big trouble.

Eastern football has always been suspect, with most teams running more on hype than substance.

Miami, and Virginia Tech when it started to come on, proved that with their absolute domination of the Big East. Over the past four years, Miami has a 27-1 record against conference competition, with its only loss to Virginia Tech.

Miami and Virginia Tech were really the Big East's only two legitimate football powers, and their absence has left the conference totally exposed.

Yes, West Virginia has some punch this year, but it's like other Big East entries, up and down, inconsistent.

For the Big East to maintain any respect, USF, Louisville, Cincinnati and Connecticut -- teams that are replacing Miami, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Temple -- must move their programs forward.

And the only way to do that is to step out of the conference against teams like South Carolina and beat them regularly.

This may be too much to ask, at least immediately. Like USF, Connecticut is a newcomer to Division I-A, and both Louisville and Cincinnati are trying to shed the mid-major tag.

But the conference does have an instant remedy for its problems in hand although not in its grasp -- Notre Dame.

The Irish compete in the Big East in other sports, but remain independent in football. With Notre Dame, the Big East would have much more credibility. The problem is that while the Big East needs Notre Dame, Notre Dame doesn't need the Big East.

The school has so much prestige and stature that it is now the only major program in the country that can survive as an independent. It has its own national TV contract, doesn't have to share bowl money and can recruit anywhere it wants.

So it is unlikely to change direction any time soon, which leaves it up to USF and the others to pick up the slack. That won't be easy.

Patrick Zier is a correspondent for The Ledger. He can be reached at sports@theledger.com.

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