Big East Preview: The Dregs

So we come to the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. The less-than-mediocre, the outhouse, bottom-feeders, however you want to word it is fine. They are what we thought they were.

In the Big East, the climb out from the bottom shouldn't be as difficult in other conferences, simply because there are only 8 teams. A much smaller climb, so there is much more hope. With that, the dregs of the Big East.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

Only 9 returning starters would be enough for most teams to have them falling a few notches. The Cardinals were a bitter disappointment last year under new head coach Steve Kragthorpe. The defense collapsed and wasted the final season for Brian Brohm, Harry Douglas, Mario Urrutia and Gary Barnidge. All four are now in the NFL. An offense that averaged over 35 points was let down by a defense that surrendered more than 31 points per game.

Kragthorpe was despised by the fans for the perceived squandering of a season that began with dreams of going to a BCS bowl for a second straight season. So when rumors surfaced that he was a good possibility for the open Southern Methodist job Cardinals fans were encouraged by the prospect. Instead he has stayed.

In the process, he has seen an incredible roster turnover. Some bad luck, but a lot of disciplinary and academic reasons. Also, however, a lot of dissatisfaction with their treatment by the new coach and their fit in his system.

Kragthorpe obviously knows he is under some pressure to turn things around in a hurry. He fired the defensive coordinator. Then he brought in 10 JUCO players. The most in a recruiting class outside of Kansas State. Those are obvious signs of someone who knows he needs to win and win now.

This has all the makings of a team about to go ka-boom.

SYRACUSE ORANGE

Remember what I said in the intro about it shouldn't be too difficult for any Big East team to envision getting out of the basement? Even in the Big East there is an exception to that rule. The precipitous drop of the Orange to Baylor, Washington State and Duke levels has happened with astounding speed. That the decline has come with the rising fortunes of Rutgers and even UConn is probably not a total coincidence, but it also exacerbates the perception of how bad a head coach Greg Robinson is.

When Syracuse fired Paul Pasqualoni after four or five seasons of six or fewer wins, it was also because the talent level was definitely falling. Greg Robinson was hired from Texas (where he was the defensive coordinator) with the reputation as an excellent recruiter.

As head coach, Robinson has failed to upgrade the talent. In fact, recruiting appears even worse under Robinson. The excuse of the lack of talent and academic standards doesn't wash for most. UConn is not exactly in a thriving football population and Boston College in the ACC seems to be doing okay for itself.

Plus, his acumen as a head coach has been nothing short of disastrous. He is 7-28 in three seasons, and only 2-19 in the Big East. Robinson is a virtual lock to lose his job -- very likely before the season even ends -- short of signing over his soul for 6 wins.

The team that went 2-10 last year has only 12 returning starters. There is little (healthy or academically eligible) talent at the receiver spot. The offense could barely score (16.4 pts/game) last year, while the defense gave up nearly 35 points per game.

The Orange also has a difficult schedule with Penn State, at Northwestern and at Notre Dame as part of the non-conference. In the Big East, their road games include trips to WVU, Rutgers and USF.