Front page CNN SI: Must-see Big East TV returns when Cincy heads to USF

[TheBullies]

The Big East's big burden, inside the Bowden mess, more mail

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/10/14/mailbag/index.html

Thursday night brings the return of an old tradition that has spent the past couple seasons on the backburner: a must-see Big East game.

Fans of all conferences will presumably tune in Thursday night to watch No. 8 Cincinnati (5-0) visit fellow undefeated South Florida (5-0) in a game with potential BCS implications. Come Friday morning, the inevitable deluge of e-mails will flood my inbox deriding both teams as frauds and demanding the Big East's immediate ousting from the BCS.

Seems like a good time to check in on everyone's favorite conference whipping boy.

Stewart, the Big East has two ranked teams and four among the top 28 in the AP Poll. How important has the conference's strong start been for its image? It's true that the conference doesn't have a true marquee out-of-conference win and it's blown a few big games in the fourth quarter, but do you agree that Big East teams have done almost everything else that Big East fans could have hoped for this year?

-- Will, Washington D.C.

The Big East will always have an inherent "image" problem due to its size. The Big 12 can afford to carry four deadweight teams (Iowa State, Kansas State, Colorado and Texas A&M) without the league's overall standing suffering. Once you throw out non-factors Syracuse and Louisville, just six teams remain to carry the Big East.

I agree the league has acquitted itself well in nonconference play this season. Unlike some other conferences, its teams went on the road and played BCS-conference foes -- and did fairly well. Cincinnati won at Oregon State. USF won at Florida State. Connecticut won at Baylor when Robert Griffin was still playing. If West Virginia had held on at Auburn and/or Pittsburgh at NC State, the Big East could have joined the SEC as the only leagues right now with winning records against the Big Six and Notre Dame.

Moving forward, though, Big East perception won't hurt Cincinnati and/or USF as much as their own lack of tradition. West Virginia had no problem inserting itself into the national title race under Rich Rodriguez in large part because the Mountaineers have been there before. Teams like Pitt and Syracuse would presumably enjoy the same advantage. But the only real difference right now between Cincinnati and Boise State is the former is guaranteed a major bowl berth by winning its conference. Should the Bearcats keep winning late into the season, they may run into much the same "ceiling" in the polls based purely on skepticism over whether Cincinnati could really, truly be a national title-caliber team.

Personally, I'm still skeptical myself, which is why I'm surprised the Bearcats have risen so high so fast. A lot of people watched their Labor Day demolition of Rutgers and jumped on the bandwagon, and I don't blame them. Brian Kelly's team boasts both a potential first-round quarterback (Tony Pike) and receiver (Mardy Gilyard). It ended Oregon State's 26-game home winning streak against nonconference foes, and in that game its defense held Jacquizz Rodgers to a season-low 73 rushing yards.

But it's hard to forget how Pike and the Bearcats laid an egg in last year's 20-7 Orange Bowl loss to a four-loss Virginia Tech team, and even harder to forget all the meltdowns USF has suffered the past few years after rising in the polls. Fairly or unfairly, these teams have less margin for error because they don't have nearly the same built-in mileage as an Oklahoma or Texas. It will be interesting to see how the public reacts to Thursday night's game. A big night for Pike and Gilyard against a thus-far dominant USF defense should boost Cincy's credibility further, just as the Bulls would raise eyebrows if they manage to shut those two down.

Incidentally, an interesting Big East-related nugget fell into my inbox last week. Many fans and media seem to believe the Mountain West has a chance to "take away" the Big East's automatic BCS berth following the current four-year evaluation period (2008-11). However, an e-mail from a BCS official explaining its selection procedures happened to mention that the review process will "determine if a seventh conference achieves automatic qualification."

So love it or hate it, people, the Big East is here to stay. Enjoy the game Thursday.