NCAA Football FanHouse

Louisville Wins the Big East Draft Again

John Radcliff — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:29:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, NFL Prospects, Cincinnati Football, Connecticut Football, South Florida Football

I did this last year, so it seems only fitting that I would do it again.

And it wasn't even close. Louisville had five players drafted, while Pitt and West Virginia had three apiece. Rutgers, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Connecticut had two each. And for the first time since 1975, Syracuse did not have anyone selected.

That's 19 players drafted. And any way I slice it, that's just not all that good for a BCS conference. Looking at the distribution of what rounds the players were taken, it was pretty well spread out over the entire draft for the Big East. But that doesn't make it feel any better. It's especially bad if you look at a team like West Virginia that has had three 11 win seasons in a row along with three straight top ten finishes. They've had exactly four players drafted in the last three years. And Chris Henry and Pac Man Jones the year before that. So we won't even go there.

The ACC? Yeah, that conference we've been quietly laughing at after Miami, Va. Tech, and Boston College left. Yeah, they had 33 players drafted this past weekend. The coaching must really suck over there or something.

Pac 10? Oh, they had 37 players drafted. SEC? 35. Big 10? 28. Big 12? 27. Hell, C-USA had 11 players drafted! Patriot League? Never mind.

Even more upsetting for West Virginia fans, two players left early for the NFL and weren't drafted. Those two being Darius Reynaud and Johnny Dingle. Yeah, sorry folks. Those Dingle-Berry photo's won't be happening anymore. Those are definitely two players the Mountaineers could have used this year, though. I'm not saying that their stock would go up any with one more year of college. But it sure wouldn't go down.

Louisville will have the most holes to fill as well. You don't replace Brian Brohm, Harry Douglas, and Art Carmody. I know there are others, but those three were special at their positions. West Virginia won't be far behind with the loss of Slaton and most of the secondary and defensive line. Rutgers, well we don't know how bad it is because we haven't seen anyone but Ray Rice run the ball. The rest of the conference should be fine. And that's not a good thing if you think about it.

Louisville Wins the Big East Draft Again originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Christ Overruled as Connecticut Legislature Permits UConn to Play Notre Dame

Charles Rich — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame Football, Big East, Connecticut Football

Proving that politicians can be bat-crap crazy fans even in the Northeast, the Connecticut legislature gave its approval for UConn to play Notre Dame in a six game home-and-home series starting in 2011, over the objections of Rep. Michael Christ.

Why did they even get involved in whether the football team could schedule a series with Notre Dame? It wasn't about religion. As usual, it was about the money. The way the series with Notre Dame was established, none of UConn's "home" games would take place in Connecticut.

The UConn "home" games would take place in NFL stadiums in Massachusetts, New York (if built) and New Jersey. None of the games would take place in the Connecticut taxpayer subsidized $91.2 million home stadium built in East Hartford. No economic benefit to the state or the local service industries.
So it shouldn't be a shock that the legislators for East Hartford, Michael Christ (who also happens to be the Deputy Majority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives) and Gary LeBeau objected to the series quite vehemently.

...I find it insulting that the school's athletic department is now considering leaving "The Rent" in favor of outsourcing our home games against Notre Dame.

Can there be a moratorium on the use of the term "outsourcing" for the rest of 2008? Please?

The original series was supposed to be for 10 games, but the legislature did get UConn to agree to limit the initial deal for 6 years (plus another game at ND in 2009). Originally, it was going to be a 10 year agreement. The reason for shortening it was so the Connecticut lawmakers could save face hold out hope that if the series is renewed, there might be some games played at Rentschler Field.

UConn also agreed to still play 6 real home games in the years where it plays Notre Dame at "home," and guarantee tickets to the game for season ticket holders and the students.

UConn wants the series for the extra national exposure and money it will get. The mocking and derision for playing a neutral site game where everyone knows the ND fans will outnumber Husky fans is apparently a small price to pay.

Christ Overruled as Connecticut Legislature Permits UConn to Play Notre Dame originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2008 Big East Football Schedules Announced

John Radcliff — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:04:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Cincinnati Football, Connecticut Football, South Florida Football

OMG! Football news! February is like the worst sports month in the world! Unless you like meaningless mid-season NBA and NHL games. Sure I love NCAA basketball. But that love has been tainted by my coaches fashion sense and my teams ability to rip defeat from the jaws of victory. So I'm kind of not liking February at all.

Anyhow, some good news today football fans. The Big East released the 2008 football schedule. And while that's nothing compared to being in the stands after hours of tailgating and screaming obscenities at opposing fans and players, it is a reason for hope. The hope that another football season will soon be upon us.

And lookie, there are actually some good out of conference games this year. In September:

Cincinnati @ Oklahoma-Will the Sooners crumble again in the face of Big East might?

Penn St. @ Syracuse- When this game was scheduled Jo Pa was heard saying, "That Paul Pasqualoni is a tricky devil. We're going to have to find a way to shut down McNabb!"

Kansas @ South Florida- The Bulls can't be looking at this game the way they were a year ago.

West Virginia @ Colorado- This game fills the void left by Maryland opting out of the series. And given the size of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, that's quite a void to fill.

Iowa @ Pitt- Again, Iowa might not like this game as much as they did when they scheduled it.

Rutgers vs. TBA-Ah, the unknown enigma that is TBA. You just never know what team you're going to play.

October has two out of conference games of note. Auburn @ West Virginia and Pitt @ Notre Dame. This could be a buzz kill game for the Mountaineers. Even though it is a Thursday night game in Morgantown and the SEC doesn't know that you can play football on Thursday nights. It will be a tough test wedged in the middle of conference play. This could be a make or break game for West Virginia's national title hopes if they exist. Pitt has a score to settle with the Irish from the 2005 season opening game that, coincidentally, was the last time the Panthers were ranked.

This might be the last football news we get until spring practices start up in about a month. So enjoy it while you can.

2008 Big East Football Schedules Announced originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Edsall Gets Extension From UConn

Charles Rich — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:17:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, NCAA FB Coaching, Connecticut Football

Fresh off finishing tied for the best record in the Big East, a minor bowl trip, and rebuffing interest from Georgia Tech; the inevitable follows. Yes, UConn Head Coach Randy Edsall has received a raise and a contract extension.

Edsall had two years remaining on his contract, but he now has a new 5-year deal. The new contract apparently puts his salary at about $1.5 million per year. It's a better than $500K raise over his old contract.

Edsall has been the coach resopnsible for leading UConn from 1-AA to 1-A. Since moving up, the Huskies have gone 46-48. He's taken them to their two bowl appearances. Edsall's name regularly pops up in off-season coaching carousel discussions because of the success he's had at building UConn. This won't stop the annual chatter, but it will make it a little more expensive.

Edsall Gets Extension From UConn originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jackets Don't Fit For UConn's Edsall

Ian Cohen — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:55:00 EST

Filed under: Georgia Tech Football, ACC, Big East, BCS, NCAA FB Rumors, NCAA FB Coaching, Connecticut Football

Whether you admit it or not, every time the coaching carousel takes an offseason turn, you place teams in a certain hierarchy. You know, find the guy who made a non-BCS team worth caring about and peg him to lead the BCS team that finished 5-7 and is no longer worth caring about. Or, find the awesome coordinator from the team playing on New Year's Day and see if he won't start his career by trying to make some non-BCS team worth caring about again. And the cycle continues.

Things get a little dicier though when it comes to evaluating the merits of teams in differing BCS conferences. For example, Mike Leach has established himself in a way where he can possibly compete for a Big XII title without having a raving fanbase looking to run him out on a rail in the event the Red Raiders finish 8-4. And yet, UCLA, renowned for being a frugal program with a pain-in-the-ass commute to an off-campus stadium and second citizens in their own city is considered a step up. A similar position befell UConn's Randy Edsall; though he basically created UConn as a DI-A contender and, aside from BC, has New England to himself, there were whispers that he could "do better." As in, Georgia Tech, a school with great history and a fertile recruiting ground, but an arguably apathetic fanbase, rigorous academics and a general sense of malaise.

Well, he decided that if Meineke Car Care Bowls are considered reasonable goals any given year, it's probably not best to upend everything unless the job's a dream. Despite overtures from Atlanta, Edsall is staying in Storrs to continue his stewardship of the Huskies program.

Edsall's salary isn't chicken feed: $920k through 2010, which is about half of what the likes of Tommy Bowden and Al Groh make. But considering that, like his Meineke Car Care Bowl counterpart Jim Grobe, is something of a conquering hero on campus, bringing success to where there was none before (even more pronounced at UConn). And he's certainly leaving the door open by saying he's remaining in Storrs for "the good of his family and his team" (so selfless!). Who knows if he'll the UConn Frank Beamer or what have you, but you can expect that this won't be the last open position he's associated with.

Jackets Don't Fit For UConn's Edsall originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UConn Actually Controls Its Big East Destiny

Charles Rich — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:04:00 EST

Filed under: Syracuse Football, Big East, Connecticut Football

With an easy 30-7 win over Syracuse, UConn is actually the team that is in position to win the Big East next weekend. The Huskies are 5-1 in the Big East and 9-2 overall. They will finish their season next week against West Virginia.

If UConn could pull the upset in Morgantown, the Big East and a BCS bid would be theirs outright. West Virgnia still has to play tonight at Cincinnati, and has to win to keep pace with the Huskies. The Mountaineers still have the Backyard Brawl with Pitt a week after UConn as well.

The UConn-Syracuse game was never in doubt. UConn just moved slowly and relatively easily through the Orange. The Husky defense was never seriously challenged.

This should be the final nail in Coach Greg "I am a good coach, really" Robinson's tenure as a head coach (at Syracuse or anywhere). 2-9 this season, 1-5 in the conference. In his 3 seasons, Robinson has won a total of 7 games and lost 27. Only Duke and Ted Roof has had greater ineptitude among BCS schools in that period. Worse than the Orgeron at Ole Miss and Guy Morriss at Baylor.

UConn Actually Controls Its Big East Destiny originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cinci Grinds the Nutmeg State Team

Charles Rich — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:20:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, Cincinnati Football, Connecticut Football

During Cinci's 2-game losing streak, the Bearcats defense could not get stops. They would give up key conversions or just find ways to hurt themselves. The numerous turnovers a gambling defense had generated in the first six games suddenly weren't happening. Last week Cinci seemed to return to form against USF, but who knew if it was a fluke.

UConn by contrast had run its record to 8-1 on the strength of its defense that would get big stops and put the offense in a short field. The offense was not needed to generate long drives, just take advantage of opportunities. The strength of the Huskies was with a strong running game that could grind and wear down opponents.

Cinci came out and showed that they were playing the way they had in the early part of the season as they took down UConn 27-3. The offense was open and scored on their first possession. The Bearcats got the only turnover in the game and converted that into its second TD. On defense, Cinci stacked the line to stop the run and UConn could not get any offense generated.

UConn is still in contention for the Big East Championship. Stunningly, the three top teams in the Big East -- UConn, Cinci and WVU will play each other in the final weeks. WVU comes to Cincinnati next week and UConn goes to Morgantown the following week.

Cinci Grinds the Nutmeg State Team originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You'll Have to Go to the Bars to Watch Rutgers-UConn

John Radcliff — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:53:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, Rutgers Football, Connecticut Football

If you live in New Jersey, chances are pretty good that you don't get ESPNU. And wouldn't you know it, that's where the Rutger-UConn game is going to be aired this weekend. So the bar owners in Jersey have to be smiling like the butchers dog, because that's about the only place you'll be able to watch the game unless your buddy that has a satellite dish lets you come over. But he's gotta check it with his wife first. Which is code for she's not letting you come over and trash their house again. So it's off to the bars.

If you've been following the Big Ten Network saga with Brian, you can see a disturbing trend in college football broadcasting and broadcasting in general. Where networks are leveraging the fans against the cable providers to start carrying the likes of ESPNU, etc. As noted in the first link, Rutgers already played this game with the NFL Network last year for the Texas Bowl. And they were finally able to put enough pressure on to get the game broadcast on a basic channel. But this isn't a bowl game, and chances are that it won't stir up enough trouble to get the game broadcast this year. Although for the Big East, this is a big game. If UConn wins, that game with West Virginia in November becomes huge. If Rutgers wins, they are all of a sudden right back in the mix. Or their chances for a better bowl just went up.

This is a situation where everyone loses out. The fans that can't watch the game. The cable companies definitely in lost earnings. And ESPN's reputation gets another layer of tarnish. And yet somehow, I'm sure you'll be able to watch Man v Kangaroo if you choose.

You'll Have to Go to the Bars to Watch Rutgers-UConn originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USF Not Ready for Primetime

Charles Rich — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:29:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, Connecticut Football, South Florida Football

Maybe it was a bit premature to anoint South Florida as arriving. Losing at Rutgers on a Thursday night wasn't totally unexpected.

Losing at UConn, however, is a different story. This isn't to insult UConn (no, really). The Huskies apparently are a better team than expected. South Florida, however, has done a lot more in the season and was looking like a team ready to make a jump into national contenders from young team on the rise.

Turns out they are not. Good teams looking to make it nationally don't keep losing conference road games. They don't come up with a total of 3 points when starting 1st and goal inside the five -- twice. The Bulls went down to the UConn Huskies 22-15, despite USF QB Matt Grothe generating 335 yards of total offense to the entire UConn team's 353.

The lack of any other running threat -- or that Head Coach Jim Leavitt has lost faith in the other running backs as the season has progressed -- has taken a toll on the USF red zone offense. The shorter field and no other threat, makes it easier to defend. Until USF shows some more faith in, or develops another threat, it will be easier for the Bulls to be stopped.

As for the Huskies, it may be time to give them some credit.

USF Not Ready for Primetime originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who is This UConn That You Speak Of?

John Radcliff — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:04:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, Connecticut Football

Seriously! Who are these guys? Weren't they supposed to fade away after the cupcake part of their schedule? Well, I'm sure a lot would say they are still in the cupcake part of their schedule. But looking at the Huskies before the year started, I expected them to be 4-1 going into the Virginia game with Pitt being the one. After that, I wasn't expecting another win. So they've already exceeded my low expectations at 6-1. And they could easily still be undefeated if the ball bounces the right way against Virginia.

So who are these guys? First off, Tyler Lorenzen has been a huge upgrade at the quarterback position. Ranking fifth among Big East quarterbacks in yards per game and fourth in completion percentage. Plus he is connecting on over four touchdowns per interception. By comparison, last year UConn's best quarterback, Matt Bonislawski didn't break 1,000 yards passing and completed on 46% of his passes. Plus, Lorenzen is third on the team in rushing with 225 yards.

Also a surprise this year has been Andre Dixon, who leads the team in rushing with 443 yards and two touchdowns. While Donald Brown is second on the team in rushing, he was expected to be the feature back going into this year. So the emergence of Dixon has been a sweet surprise for the Huskies.

And on defense, UConn is second in total defense in the Big East. Lead by freshman linebacker Lawrence Wilson with 73 tackles. Of the top 11 tacklers, only three are seniors, and three are freshman. So the defensive future of this team looks to be in good shape.

Now is all that good enough to beat South Florida, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Syracuse, and West Virginia in the last five weeks of the schedule? Probably not, but it certainly is much better than anyone was giving them credit for. And they could come away with two of those games and find themselves in a bowl game at the end of the year.

Who is This UConn That You Speak Of? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virginia Is a Top-25 Team?

Charles Rich — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:38:00 EST

Filed under: Virginia Football, ACC, Big East, Connecticut Football

At the very end of the ~~conflict~~ ~~clash~~ ~~battle~~ Rotary meeting between UConn and Virginia one of the ESPNU play-calling crew (Doug Bell or Charles Arbuckle) asserted that Virginia would be in the top-25 with its 17-16 win at home over UConn, to move the Hoos to 6-1.

Say what? Yes Virginia is unbeaten in the ACC. Sure UConn had been 5-0 and one of eleven remaining undefeated teams left in 1-A football, but they were also the only one of them not to be ranked in the top-25. I realize that the number of possible top-25 teams is shallower and shallower each week, but Virginia?

Losing to Wyoming in the opening game? Eking out 2 point wins over Middle Tennessee State and North Carolina? Aside from 4-3 GT, this was only the Hoos 2nd win against a team that has a .500 or better record. Surely somewhere in 1-A there has to be a better choice.%Gallery-5911%

Virginia Is a Top-25 Team? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UConn/UVA- I Can Has Facebook Beef?

Ian Cohen — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:17:00 EST

Filed under: Virginia Football, ACC, Big East, BCS, Connecticut Football

I'm certainly at a point where I can fully embrace NCAA 2008 in all of its flaws, but one aspect I couldn't warm to was Campus Legend. For a long time, I've had trouble reconciling institutional pride with the fact that, at times, the football program functions as an autonomous arm of the university. But the problem with Campus Legend is that it all but shatters the illusion of athletes being ubermensch on campus; as a matter of fact, EA Sports has you spending time doing activities that are more boring than the ones I encountered as an actual college freshman. Picking up your roommate from the mall, seeing movies, watching game film, getting involved in eating contests (?)...not once night did I get to wait in a long-ass line at a Chi Phi party or chase Bacardi with Surge while playing Tekken 3 with my suite-mates. What fun is that?

As if I couldn't be more convinced of the mundanity of this lifestyle, I come to find out that the intersquad trash talk for this weekend's surprisingly important UVA/UConn battle is not only taking place on the internet, but on FACEBOOK. Mountainous human being Eugene Monroe, a tackle for Virginia, decided to clap at high school teammate Dan Davis, a DT for the Huskies, on his Facebook page, offering a fairly reasonable prediction for this Saturday: "UVA 57. UCONN 17." I'm not exactly certain what this says about Monroe's math skills, because getting exactly 57 points in football is damn near impossible, unless Al Groh decides to get cute with a 2-pt. conversion on Virginia's eighth TD. And that's not even counting the mistrust he has in the defense...giving up 17 points at home? I'm just wondering at what point pregame "bulletin board material" just ends up being a bunch of players huddled around a message board during halftime.

UConn/UVA- I Can Has Facebook Beef? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lucky in Connecticut

Charles Rich — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:53:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, MAC, NCAA FB Video, Connecticut Football, Temple Football

Let's face it, under most circumstances, teams, players and coaches shouldn't be bragging too much after playing (and usually beating) Temple. When you end up winning the game only because the refs completely screwed up a final play, calling an apparent Temple TD catch incomplete on 4th down and under a minute left in the game to let UConn survive 22-17, there is no bragging.

To UConn's credit, no one was crowing after this game. Dan Davis, the UConn defensive tackle was quite blunt.

"I am not even going to enjoy this game, to tell you the truth," Davis said. "We put the game in their offense's and the refs' hands. "We were lucky."

Even UConn Head Coach Randy Edsall didn't pretend otherwise.

"We got lucky," a red-faced and smiling Edsall said. "We were fortunate, but I'd rather be on this end than the other end."

The game was at Rentschler Field in Connecticut, but the officials on the field were from Temple's conference -- the MAC. They blew the call on the field and sent it up to replay where a Big East replay official ruled there was not conclusive evidence to overturn the call. Why?

None of the replay angles face Francis' chest, definitively showing the ball secured in his hands, one foot inbounds and the other foot not yet landed out of bounds. The best angle is partially obscured by a security guard - a giant yellow jacket - blocking the UConn season.

Judge for yourself. The ESPN Regional/Big East play calling crew seemed to think it was a score.

Lucky in Connecticut originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Replay Officials Rob Temple of Victory

Brian Grummell — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:31:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, MAC, NCAA FB Scandal, The Word, Connecticut Football, Temple Football

Hapless Temple found itself in a real ball game today against Connecticut.

With fourth and goal with less than a minute left trailing UCONN 22-17, Temple ran a reverse pass. The ball was lofted to the back of the end zone, tipped, and then caught by a Temple receiver. Update: Video below.

On-field officials ruled the receiver was out of bounds when he caught the ball. After watching several replays, it is abundantly clear to me that he 1)had possession of the ball and 2)got his left foot in-bounds while in possession of the ball.

That play's a touchdown. Period.

The replay crew disagreed and stuck with the on-field call. This is a travesty. This is a sham. This is a mockery. It's a traveshamockery and I'm embarrassed with the game's replay crew. Temple was robbed of a rare victory and I hope they raise a fit (in a professional manner, of course)with the Big East officials tomorrow.

They were robbed of a touchdown that would have all but won the game for them. They deserved that win but it goes down in the record books as a loss. How sad.

Replay Officials Rob Temple of Victory originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Thermometer: Connecticut

Matt Glaude — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 11:53:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, Connecticut Football

The Big East Thermometer is a weekly postgame feature that attempts to analyze the "hotness" or "notness" of a team's performance. It is based on a points system that contains no substantive guidance and is sure to be rife with errors, omissions, and inconsistencies.

Connecticut against Duke. The three-word fragment invokes images of basketball royalty: Krzyzewski, Calhoun, rich kids jumping in an old gym, and a host of NBA-ready potential.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned fragment only references a gridiron tussle between one of college football's worst squads against one of the Big East's least favored members.

Connecticut pulled away late from the Blue Devils in Durham yesterday, securing a 45-14 beat down. Although the final scoreline indicates everything is sunshine and lollipops in Storrs, there are still issues seeking immediate resolution.

"Special" Teams: -11
Throughout Randy Edsall's tenure at Connecticut, the Huskies have never had a lights out placekicker. Players have come and gone that have had bursts of talent (such as Matt Nuzie), but none that have cemented their place as an unquestionably reliable striker. Tony Ciaravino appears to have joined this nameless and faceless parade of "almost (in)famous."

Ciaravino attempted four field goals against Duke, all within 35 yards. Ciaravino converted three of those attempts, but the strikes strayed from center and lacked solid loft. This lack of execution was none more typified than in the fourth quarter when Ciaravino had an extra point attempt blocked following a 25-yard Donald Brown touchdown.

Outside of the kicking game, Connecticut also struggled mightily on its kickoff coverage. Desi Cullen managed to strike for a 62.9 yard average (along with two touchbacks), but his teammates allowed Duke to return such blasts for 208 yards on the afternoon for a 29.7 yard average. Included in those returns was a 94-yard return touchdown converted by Jabari Marshall, who on the day generated 191 of the Blue Devils' total kickoff yards.

That is not going to get things done against the Big East.

Tyler Lorenzen: +8
22-30, 299 yards, one interception and two touchdowns. Not bad for a rookie quarterback, right?.

Lorenzen, a JUCO transfer who began his career at Iowa State as a wide receiver, put together a complete effort in Durham. Showing poise in the pocket and a proclivity to spread his 22 completions to six different receivers, Lorenzen quieted many critics that questioned whether he was prepared to run the show at Connecticut. He may not be Dan Orlovsky, but he is -- at least at this moment -- light years ahead of his forerunners (D.J. Hernandez and Dennis Brown).

Linebacking Corps: +6
It's not often that an entire unit deserves kudos, but Connecticut's linebacking trio of Lawrence Wilson, Danny Lansanah, and Scott Lutrus do after their collective performance against Duke. On the afternoon, the Huskies defense recorded 68 tackles. The aforementioned triumvirate accounted for 41% of those stops, with Wilson and Lansanah each chipping in 10 blows. Considering the fact that Connecticut did not dress out arguably its best linebacker -- Ryan Henegan -- these three individuals put together a heroic performance.

The most exciting aspect of the performance of these three is that Lutrus and Wilson are only redshirt freshman. With time to mature, each could become terrific options in the middle three. Both bring juice on every pop and have solid sideline-to-sideline instincts. With a strong emphasis on gap play, each could earn All-Big East honors down the road.

The Cold Shock of Reality: -3
Let's be honest: Duke stinks. If Duke were playing in the Playoff Subdivision, it would probably struggle to hit the .500 mark. The Blue Devils have not won a game against a Bowl Subdivison team since 2004 and haven't been relevant since Steve Spurrier skipped town for Gainesville more than a decade ago.

The fact of the matter is that Connecticut struggled with the Blue Devils for more than 30 minutes. The Huskies hit the intermission trailing Duke 14-11, and won, in large part, because Duke was playing well above its own head. The victory is nice (as are the above-illustrated performances), but it must be viewed in the overall context that Duke is not good at football.

TOTAL POINTS: +0
SEASON TOTAL: +0

Big East Thermometer: Connecticut originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 02 Sep 2007 11:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Football Preview '07: Recap

Matt Glaude — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:05:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Cincinnati Football, Connecticut Football, South Florida Football

That concludes our journey through the Big East. We laughed, we cried, but most importantly, we learned that previewing the conference necessitates lots and lots of words and pictures.

In case you missed all the excitement here at FanHouse, here's the juice:

2006 Recap: Rutgers won 11 games and apparently experienced a brief epidemic of pandemonium;

Biggest Shoes to Fill: If you aren't Brian Leonard, Dan Mozes, Tyler Palko, Amobi Okoye, or Brent Celek, you have work to do;

Impact Freshman: Learn the names now so as to appear infinitely smarter to your friends;

Key Position Battles: It's like Jeopardy, except without Alex Trebek's smarmy answers;

Best Players: If Brent Musberger is doing a Big East game, you'll hear these names over, and over, and over . . .;

Most Underrated: The glue guys;

Most Overrated: Players that resemble Bill Clinton's presidency (zing!);

Coaches on the Hot Seat: As they say, guys that should consider renting, not buying;

Schedule Superlatives: Highlight of the best and most pointless;

Games of the Year: Given the Big East's track record, probable Thursday night affairs;

The Dregs: Hello, Syracuse and Connecticut!;

The Mediocre: The Miller Lite of football teams;

Contender One: Can Louisville carry the crown?

Contender Two: Morgantown -- City of Dreams (and Arson);

Contender Three: Did you know Rutgers won 11 games last year?

Contender Four: No passing game? No problem!

Big East Football Preview '07: Recap originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Football Preview '07: The Dregs

John Radcliff — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Syracuse Football, Big East, Connecticut Football

In the Big East, being one of the Dregs is not a good thing. Not at all. It means that your team is at the bottom of a conference that was left for dead two years ago. And that the prospects of that changing anytime soon are not good. It also means that your coach is probably spending as much time working on his resume as he is the game plan. Because the Big East is such a small conference we're going to take a look at the two teams we are projecting to finish at the bottom of the conference.

UConn Huskies

Last Year: 4-8 overall, 1-6 Big East

Why They'll Win: First off, a look at the schedule shows that UConn starts the season off with Duke, Maine, and Temple before a visit to Pitt. Then a home game against Akron. So the Huskies should be at least 4-1 by the time they get into the meat of the Big East schedule. Also, the starting quarterback this year will not be one of the starting quarterbacks from last year. Junior college transfer Tyler Lorenzen has already been named the starting quarterback to open the season. That he only enrolled at UConn in January should tell you all you need to know about the state of the Husky quarterback position. They also have an emerging start at the running back position in Donald Brown.

Why They'll Lose: The Huskies finished seventh in total defense last year, and sixth in total offense. That might sound good until I remind you that the Big East only has eight teams. Outside of Donald Brown they have absolutely no game breakers. They only return one starter on the offensive line, but that might not be a bad thing. The defense only returns one starter on the line and six overall.

Prognosis: This team will be lucky if it finishes at .500. The schedule is going to be murder for them during the final seven games. And with a two deep roster that is mainly filled with freshman ans sophomores, the wheels could come off real quick. Look for 4-6 wins in 2007.

Syracuse Orange

Last Year: 4-8 overall, 1-6 Big East

Why They'll Win: Perry Patterson isn't the quarterback anymore. The offensive line returns three of five starters and there is some talent in the backfield and receiver position in running back Curtis Brinkley and receiver Taj Smith. And although the defense only returns five starters, most if not all of this years starters will be upperclassmen.

Why They'll Lose: The offense and defense were both last in the league last year. There are only 11 starters returning total from last years team. The schedule starts out with Washington, at Iowa, Illinois, and at Louisville. All of which probably should be losses. The only sure wins on the schedule are against Miami (OH) and Buffalo.

Prognosis: This is going to be a brutal year for the Orange. And it could be the last for head coach Greg Robinson if the team doesn't exceed last years results. Look for 3-4 wins in 2007.

Big East Football Preview '07: The Dregs originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Football Preview '07: Schedule Superlatives

Matt Glaude — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:43:00 EST

Filed under: Syracuse Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Syracuse, Connecticut Football

Over the last couple of weeks, FanHouse has highlighted a number of schedules and games that deserve particular recognition. For instance, Rutgers took home honors for having the schedule loaded with the most calories and the Louisville- West Virginia game was named the conference's biggest game.

This essay focuses on some schedule aspects that have not been considered previously. Its sexiness is unquestioned.

Game of Endless Pointlessness

Who: Norfolk State at Rutgers

When: September 15, 2007

Watchability: I'd rather drink gasoline.

I do not care how bad Rutgers was before the Schiano Revolution; playing Norfolk State is unforgivable. In the last two seasons, the Spartans have accumulated all of eight wins against 14 losses. And the team hasn't even improved its winning percentage during that period (Norfolk State has put together consecutive 4-7 campaigns).

Even Mike Teel -- he of a 13-12 touchdown to interception ratio -- should look like an NFL lock against the Spartans.

Best Schedule

Who: Syracuse

When: All season long.

Watchability: I guess that presupposes whether you actually want to watch the Orange.

Syracuse has not put together much in the way of victories the last two season (five, for those keeping count), but the Orange have put together a couple of nice dockets. 2007 is no different: Syracuse will face three BCS conference teams this season (Washington, Iowa, and Illinois) as well as a functional MAC squad (Miami (OH)). The lone blemish is a home game against upstate New York compatriot Buffalo. To chastise the Orange for playing the Bulls, however, is pretty rough considering Buffalo served as Syracuse's only victory in 2005.

Game to Determine Big East Cellar Dweller

Who: Syracuse at Connecticut

When: November 17, 2007.

Watchability: If you love car wrecks and RealTV, a must-see. If not, then volunteering at a leper colony would be a better option.

This is going to be ugly. Not like bearded lady at the carnival ugly, but like judging the swimsuit competition at the Obesity Festival ugly.

Syracuse and Connecticut fans, however, do have a paramount interest in the game. Since 2005, the team that has won this game has won the basketball season series between the two schools. To wit: in 2006, Syracuse throttled Connecticut 20-14. The Orange went on to take two out of three against Jim Calhoun's Huskies on the hardwood, including a dismantling in the first-round of the Big East Tournament.

2005 saw the exact opposite occur. Connecticut dropped a 26-7 atomic bomb on Syracuse at Rentschler Field on a rain soaked October evening. The Huskies, of course, took two out of three from Syracuse during roundball season, falling only to the Orange during the Big East Tournament.

Big East Football Preview '07: Schedule Superlatives originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Football Preview '07: Coaches on the Hot Seat

John Radcliff — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Syracuse Football, Big East, The Word, Connecticut Football

With all the recent success of the Big East, and five teams that went to and won bowl games last year, there isn't a lot of need for Big East coaches to worry about their jobs. There are two new coaches in the conference this year, Brian Kelly at Cincinnati and Steve Kragthorpe at Louisville. So their jobs are safe barring the unexpected. But like every other conference in college football, someone has to be the door mat. And every door mat has to have a fall guy.

Coaches Sitting on Blocks of Ice:

Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia- Expectations are high this year like last year, but with the relatively easy schedule and a ton of talent back, he shouldn't even think about losing his job.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers- The best season in school history to go along with the schools first bowl victory. Again, nothing to worry about.

Jim Leavitt, South Florida- Wins over Louisville in 2005 and West Virginia in 2006 to go along with two winning seasons and two bowl appearances since joining the Big East. It might be hot in Florida, but not where Jim is sitting.

Coaches on the Luke Warm Seat:

Dave Wannstedt, Pitt- I don't think he is in any trouble of losing his job after this year, no matter what the outcome. But if he follows up 5-6 and 6-6 with two more like seasons it could be curtains for Dave. The talent is there. Pitt has had great recruiting class after great recruiting class since Wannstedt arrived. It should start to show up on the field this year and continue to improve next year. If not, you'll be reading about Wannstedt in the same vein as the guys after the jump.

1. Greg Robinson, Syracuse

Every head coach in America is always "excited to be hear" and wants to get back to "(insert your teams name here) football" when they are hired. But Syracuse isn't everywhere else in America. It's one of the 15 most winning football programs in college football. And the guy they fired to hire Robinson, Paul Pasqualoni, was fired for a 6-6 record and taking his team to a bowl and winning getting crushed in the bowl game. Not to mention finishing at or near the top of the Big East nine out of the 13 years he was coaching the Orange, and two conference titles.

So to say that the pressure is on Greg Robinson might be an understatement considering his 1-10 record in his first season and a 4-8 record in his second season. His offense has finished at the bottom of the Big East both years in total offense. And the defense came out the same both years as well.

According to some Syracuse fans, he doesn't show a lot of emotion or get his team fired up. And that's just a bad combination for a college head coach. So what does he have to do to keep his job? At least one upset of the big three in the conference plus a bowl appearance should keep his job. But considering his predecessor, it still might not be enough.

2. Randy Edsall, UConn

How bad is it for coach Randy Edsall? It's so bad that Getty Images doesn't see fit to have a picture of him. Yeah, the picture to the right is from 2002, so it's pretty safe to say what we already knew: Connecticut football isn't really on the college football map.

And that's not to say that Edsall hasn't done some good things at UConn. His 2004 team went 8-4 and won their bowl game and he did bring them from 1-AA to D1 in the process. But after two losing seasons in a row, a 41-51 overall record in his eight years, and not much hope of a turn around this year, things are not looking good. Support for the football team isn't at the level it is for the basketball team in Connecticut, but the expectations probably aren't too far off.

What does Edsall have to do to keep his job? A winning record and a bowl birth would be a good start. The schedule isn't too hard until they get into October. A 4-1 start should really be expected. But that's where the pain begins, with a road trip to Virginia followed by games with Louisville, South Florida, and Rutgers in consecutive weeks. It's not impossible to think that the Huskies could end the season with six wins. But if they should fall to anyone in the first five games not named Pitt, expect to see a new coach at Connecticut next year.

Big East Football Preview '07: Coaches on the Hot Seat originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Media Tabs Mountaineers as 2007 Favorite

Matt Glaude — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:15:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Connecticut Football

The Big East Conference media horde has spoken and two things are abundantly clear: (1) West Virginia is carrying a ton of cache within the league; and (2) Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson better be renting his place in the Salt City.

Released today in the college football hotbed of Newport, Rhode Island, the 2007 Big East preseason media poll does not contain too many surprises. The Mountaineers took home 20 of the available 24 first-place votes, while Louisville (3) and Rutgers (1) picked up the remaining tallies:

2007 BIG EAST FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

1. West Virginia (20) 188

2. Louisville (3) 167

3. Rutgers (1) 142

4. USF 123

5. Cincinnati 86

6. Pittsburgh 80

7. Connecticut 45

8. Syracuse 32

The bottom of the poll could generate some mild arguments. Pittsburgh is obviously carrying more pure talent than Cincinnati, but given the fact that the Panthers must travel to Rutgers, West Virginia, and Louisville this season (in fact Pittsburgh is the only Big East school which will run such a gauntlet), it is not totally out of the scope of reason that the Panthers will lose those three games. Thus, Pittsburgh's position behind Cincinnati is not without merit.

The other area of intrigue is the slotting of Syracuse and Connecticut. Plagued with question marks on the offensive line and behind center, neither program is likely to challenge for the league's championship in 2007. However, to see the Huskies a full 13 points ahead of the Orange is striking, especially considering the fact that Syracuse -- operating under similar youthful and injury-plagued conditions to that of Connecticut -- drilled the Huskies just one short year ago. Methinks that Syracuse's trip to East Hartford, Connecticut on November 17th swayed the vote.

Big East Media Tabs Mountaineers as 2007 Favorite originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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