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Five years in, the ultimate Big East scoreboard
Tonight's Connecticut-Rutgers game opens the Big East's conference schedule for 2010, so this is a final chance to reflect on USF's first five seasons in the league and how the eight teams have fared in those seasons.
First, we'll look at overall conference win-loss record, which confirms as you might expect that West Virginia has been the dominant team in the league since 2005, with at least five conference wins in every season. Cincinnati is only four games back, and actually has more wins over the past four years, and then you have a logjam of four programs (Rutgers, Pittsburgh, USF and Louisville) within four wins of each other, with Connecticut a close seventh but still worlds ahead of Syracuse, which is a glaring 4-31 in Big East play since 2005.
Conference record, 2005-09
West Virginia 27-8
Cincinnati 23-12
Rutgers 20-15
Pittsburgh 19-16
USF 17-18 ... Read more
Could Big East drop out of Top 25 on Sunday?
Ah, the question headline. I don't mind it, so long as it's simply intended to generate a conversation, as it is here. Remember all the headlines last fall when the Big East opened the season without a team in the top 25? To me, it seems like there's a distinct possibility that the same scenario could come into play Sunday.
All it would take was West Virginia losing at LSU on Saturday night, and unless Pittsburgh can pull out the home win Thursday night, the league will not only be out of the top 25, it might be off the poll radar entirely. As it stands West Virginia and Pittsburgh are the only league teams getting any votes in the AP top 25 -- Rutgers could perhaps pick up a few with a win against North Carolina, but otherwise, without a big nonconference opponent to show something against, it could be a few weeks before a Big East team can find its way back into the national rankings.
Thoughts? Comments?
Can Holtz solve USF's Big East road woes?
Working on a big Skip Holtz feature for Sunday's paper, and I've been doing some research on how his teams have fared on the road, given that USF has had particular trouble finding wins on the road in the Big East, well, at least when not at Syracuse.
Take away three wins at Syracuse, and the Bulls are 3-12 on the road against the rest of the Big East, including six losses in a row -- the last time USF got a road win other than at Syracuse was at Pittsburgh in 2007. There are three such road games in Big East play this season, with games at Cincinnati and Louisville, where the Bulls are a combined 0-6 since 2004, and a tough game at West Virginia.
Holtz's East Carolina teams were outstanding on the road in Conference USA, going 10-3 in the past three seasons, even winning a conference championship game at Tulsa in 2008. His worst conference road record in five seasons at ECU -- 2-2 in 2005 and 2006 -- still matches USF's best conference road record in the same five-year span. ... Read more
Bulls make cameo in coaches' preseason poll
Not many people have suggested USF should be a top 25 program to open the season, but the Bulls showed up in someone's initial rankings, getting four vote-points to rank an unofficial 45th in the preseason USA Today coaches poll released Friday.
Four vote-points could be a single appearance at No. 22 on one ballot, or lower rankings on more ballots -- the Bulls are the fifth Big East team in the poll, with Pittsburgh at No. 15 and West Virginia at No. 22 as the only actual ranked teams. There's nearly a third in Cincinnati, which is the top team in "also receiving votes," with Connecticut unofficially at No. 33. Two more USF opponents this fall are ranked, with Florida at No. 3 and Miami and No. 13. ... Read more
Young Guns: Little experience for Big East QBs
A year ago, Rutgers' Tom Savage and USF's B.J. Daniels had never taken a snap in a Big East game, and yet as their sophomore seasons are about to begin, they line up, somewhat unbelievably, as the most experienced starting quarterbacks in the conference.
Across the league, there are largely unproven passers leading their teams into the 2010 season -- the eight projected starters this fall have combined for 41 career starts. By comparison, USF's Matt Grothe went into last season with 38 starts all by himself. Savage is the dean of the league quarterbacks with 11 career starts, one more than the Bulls' Daniels.
"That's amazing," said West Virginia coach Bill Stewart, whose starter, sophomore Geno Smith, has never started a college game. "A sophomore is the most veteran guy in the league. It's unpredictable, but I think it's exciting. It makes things interesting. You have to get a lot of people involved in your offense." ... Read more
Pitt picked to win Big East; Bulls picked sixth
NEWPORT, R.I. -- The Big East has released its preseason football media poll, with Pittsburgh a nearly unanimous pick to win the league and USF picked to finish sixth in Skip Holtz' first season.
The Panthers, who barely lost last year's conference crown to Cincinnati on the final weekend of the season, got 22 of 24 first-place votes, with West Virginia and Cincinnati tying for second place. Connecticut and Rutgers follow, then USF in sixth, and in something of an upset, Syracuse edged Louisville by a single vote-point to take seventh.
Team Points
1. Pittsburgh (22) 190
2t. Cincinnati 142
2t. West Virginia (1) 142
4. Connecticut (1) 131 ... Read more
USF starts camp Thursday, heads to Vero Sunday
NEWPORT, R.I. -- There's still no official announcement, but USF coach Skip Holtz, enjoying the sunset over Naragansett Bay on Monday night, confirmed that USF will leave Sunday to train for two weeks at the Vero Beach Sports Village. What's more, the Bulls will start preseason camp a day earlier than previously expected, with practice starting Thursday on campus -- USF's first four practices will be in Tampa before heading east.
We still don't have a full schedule of when the Bulls will be practicing, but Holtz may make the Vero Beach sessions open to the media, with the other practices likely sticking with his spring model of having just the first half-hour open to reporters. With the Bulls out of town, USF's "Fan Fest" event at Raymond James Stadium is expected to be held on Aug. 22 when the Bulls return, rather than Aug. 14 as previously announced. ... Read more
'Something special' about Bulls center Genus
NEWPORT, R.I. -- It would be no surprise to find USF center Sampson Genus putting in extra time in the weight room, as the senior is arguably the Bulls' strongest player, able to bench-press a team-best 455 pounds.
But offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler was in the weight room one day this summer when he looked out the window and was impressed to see the 318-pound Genus running outside in the midday heat.
"It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, it's about 98 degrees, and he's out there running by himself with a stopwatch, timing himself," Shankweiler said. "No coaches around, and later I grabbed him and said 'Didn't you get enough work this morning?' He said, 'Coach, I've got to do all the things I can do." ... Read more
Newport news: Lobsters, mild weather await
I have a morning flight up to Newport, R.I., for the Big East's annual preseason football media gathering -- renowned among the college football preseason circuit for its Monday night clambake at the Eisenhower House, overlooking Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay.
It'll be Skip Holtz's first trip representing USF in Newport, and he'll have quarterback B.J. Daniels and center Sampson Genus as the players he's chosen to meet the league's media outlets. I got to talk to Genus on Sunday for a feature story, and he's a big cooking guy, so he's excited about the clambake, with lobsters aplenty and clams and quahog chowder. I'm as excited about the weather up there -- lows in the low 60s, highs in the mid-70s, something we won't see in Tampa until midseason at best.
All the formal access with players and coaches is Tuesday morning, when the league's preseason poll is unveiled. USF should wind up right in the middle of the pack -- my guess would be fifth -- and Pittsburgh should be the league's team to beat for the second year in a row. ... Read more
Here you go: My Big East picks, and yours
For those of you who missed today's live chat, I rolled out my Big East preseason ballot from the league's annual preseason media poll. Three journalists covering each team get ballots, and the Times has a policy where writers are only allowed to vote in such things if they disclose their ballots publicly. The whole media poll will be unveiled Tuesday morning at 9:30 in Newport, R.I., and we'll be busy blogging from Rhode Island on Monday and Tuesday.
Wasn't easy, but here are my picks for the Big East in 2010:
8. Syracuse
7. Louisville
6. Rutgers
5. Connecticut
4. USF
3. West Virginia
2. Cincinnati
1. Pittsburgh ... Read more
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