BE Make or Break Stretches

[BigEastBeasts]

Make-or-break stretches in the Big East

May 29, 2009 9:44 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Football coaches will tell you that you've got to take it one game at a time, try to win each week and then add 'em up in the end.

Forget those clichés, though. Each team usually has a make-or-break point on their schedule. Today we identify the most crucial stretches for each Big East school in 2009:

Cincinnati: The Bearcats open the season at Rutgers, but their most important stretch comes at the end. They close the season with Connecticut, West Virginia and Illinois at home, followed by the finale at Pittsburgh. Their chances of repeating as Big East champs will be determined here.

Connecticut: In a three-week span from Oct. 24 to Nov. 7, the Huskies travel to West Virginia, play Rutgers at home and go to Cincinnati. We'll find out then if UConn is a contender or a pretender.

Louisville: A young team like the Cardinals needs some confidence early. That's why Games 2, 3 and 4 -- at Kentucky, at Utah and home against Pittsburgh -- could either be crushing or uplifting.

Pittsburgh: The Panthers' final three games -- Notre Dame, at West Virginia and Cincinnati -- could go a long way in determining what kind of bowl game they will play in this season.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights' soft schedule doesn't feature too many potential potholes in the nonconference portion. They should be right in contention until the end, when they get South Florida at home, travel to Syracuse and Louisville and then welcome West Virginia to Piscataway on Dec. 5.

South Florida: The Bulls' season likely will be made or broken in a four-game stretch between Oct. 15 and Nov. 12. That's when they play Cincinnati, go to Pittsburgh, host West Virginia and travel to Rutgers. South Florida will hope to reverse the midseason swoon that has plagued it the past two years.

Syracuse: With a new coaching staff that fans are ready to embrace, the Orange need to show some respectability at the beginning. The opening three contests -- Minnesota, at Penn State and Northwestern -- don't offer many breaks. Competing in those games at the very least and possibly winning one would do wonders for the program.

West Virginia: No surprise that the Big East backloads important games for its marquee teams. The Mountaineers finish up at Cincinnati, home in the Backyard Brawl versus Pitt and then at Rutgers to end the season. That's the definition of make-or-break time.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/ncfnation/0-8-205/Make-or-break-stretches-in-the-Big-East.html