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2010 Big East Football Predictions


Written June 21, 2010 by Jack Jones

A lot of the excitement surrounding the Big East this season is about what lies ahead come bowl season. Gone are the Gator and Sun Bowls, and also the International Bowl. The Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando will be the new destination for the Big East team that finishes No. 2 in the conference, while obviously the Big East champ will be partaking in a BCS Bowl. The Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium will host a Big East vs. Big 12 match-up, and this conference will send six of eight teams to bowl games if eligible.

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Coaching changes were also big news in the Big East this offseason. Butch Jones takes over for two-time defending champion Cincinnati, replacing the departed Brian Kelly to Notre Dame. Florida defensive coordinator, Charlie Strong, takes over at Louisville and Skip Holtz will be directing the South Florida Bulls this season.

Let’s see how this conference plays out with my 2010 Big East Predictions below. Also be sure to check out my overall 2010 College Football Predictions article to get a feel for which teams will finish inside the Top-10 in the AP polls come season’s end.

Big East Predictions:

1.) Pittsburgh Panthers – With three All-American candidates back to lead the Panthers, they will be a national force this season and will run away with the Big East. RB Dion Lewis rushed for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns in his freshman year, and was selected as the Big East Offensive Player of the Year. WR Jonathan Baldwin has an NFL-body at 6-5, 225 and runs a 4.38 40-yard dash. DE Greg Romeus registered 11.5 tackles for loss with 8 sacks, and opposite him will be Jabaal Sheard (10.5 TFL, 5 Sacks) who both return to a defense that led the nation in sacks at 3.62/game.

2.) Connecticut Huskies – The Huskies could be the sleeper in this conference. Head coach Randy Edsall has turned this program around, and Connecticut’s 8-5 record last season was the worst it could possibly have been. All 5 of their losses came by 4 points or less, (by a combined 15 points), and with a little more luck they could win the Big East this season. That’s because the Huskies return 8 starters on offense and 8 on defense. QB Zach Frazier proved he could carry this team down the stretch, throwing 8 TD’s to 2 INT’s in his final five games. RB Jordan Todman is a workhorse, rushing for 1,188 yards and 14 touchdowns. UConn put up 31.2 PPG last season and should be able to match or exceed that number, while the defense won’t suffer any drop-off with all of their experience returning after allowing 23.6 PPG a year ago. Plus, the Huskies get WVU, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati at home.

3) Cincinnati Bearcats – QB Zach Collaros proved he could carry the offense when Tony Pike went out last season, and he’ll be back to lead this unit. We saw what new head coach Butch Jones could do with Den LeFevour at Central Michigan, and Collaros does a lot of the same things that LeFevour could do both through the air and on the ground. He has two WR’s and TE Ben Guidugli returning, so there are plenty of playmakers to suspect their offense will pick up right where it left off last season, scoring 38.6 PPG which ranked 4th nationally. The defense is the biggest concern with only 5 returning starters, and the stop unit will keep the Bearcats from winning the Big East for a third straight year.

4.) West Virginia Mountaineers – Returning the most overall talent in this conference is WVU, with 9 offensive and 9 defensive starters back. But even with all this returning talent, the Mountaineers will only go as far as sophomore QB Geno Smith takes them. And even that’s not certain, as Smith broke a bone in his foot during the offseason which kept him out of spring ball, and made room for fellow sophomore Coley White to earn all the reps. And even with the talent they had last year, this offense scored just 26.2 PPG. The Mountaineers will be relying heavily on perhaps the best defense in the league, allowing 21.7 PPG last year. But without a proven QB, I’m not taking WVU to finish in the top three.

5.) Rutgers Scarlet Knights – Expectations get bigger and bigger each year for the Scarlet Knights after making a bowl appearance in five straight seasons entering 2010. Fans certainly want more now from head coach Greg Shiano, but it will be very hard to live up to their expectations with no proven running game and instability along the offensive line. QB Tom Savage flashed his potential last season while earning Freshman All-America honors, but he’ll need help from incoming freshmen in the running game and on the O-Line if the Scarlet Knights are to take the next step. What they do have going for them is a defense that led the nation in tackles for loss and finished second in turnover margin while allowing just 17.9 PPG. Six starters return to a unit that is thought to be Shiano’s fastest, most athletic stop unit in his 10 years on the job.

6.) South Florida Bulls – The offense should be explosive with QB B.J. Daniels back along with all five starters along the offensive line. Though the defense was solid last year allowing 19.8 PPG which ranked 19th nationally, it is concerning that the Bulls return just 4 starters. Two of the seven they lost are DE’s George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, both of which were selected in the 2010 NFL Draft. Skip Holtz was very successful in turning around East Carolina, but it will take at least another year or two before he turns the Bulls into Big East contenders.

7.) Louisville Cardinals – The Cardinals got a great hire in Charlie Strong, who is known for his defensive expertise while coaching the stop unit at Florida since 2003. He should help improve a defense that gave up 371.1 YPG and 26.3 PPG last season. Only 6 starters return to the stop unit, but the Cardinals did manage to recruit De’Antre Rhodes who is a four-star defensive tackle and the No. 3 prep school DT in the nation according to Rivals.com. Offensively, Louisville ranked 111th in the nation at 18.1 PPG last year. New offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford, has installed a spread attack to try and utilize the skills of senior QB Adam Froman. All five starters are back on the offensive line, and WR Doug Beaumont and RB Victor Anderson are proven playmakers, but now the new coaching staff must find a way to put this talent together and make it productive on the field.

8.) Syracuse Orange – The Orange still look to be about two years away despite the improvements they made under first-year head coach Doug Marrone last season. Syracuse did win 4 games, including wins over Northwestern and Rutgers who each played in bowl games. Their defense will keep them in ball games again this year after allowing 27.9 PPG last season, including 101.8 RYPG which ranked 13th in the country. But too many questions from an offense that returns just 4 starters will make it hard for the Orange to top their 4-win total from a year ago, and their 1-6 record in conference play.

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One Response to “2010 Big East Football Predictions”

  1. FRANK LINCOLN on July 26th, 2010 3:52 PM

    You can’t be serious WV 4th? Give me a break they will right up there along with Pitt. Stick to pro fb you are lacking in college fb knowledge.

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