Big
East
Cincinnati
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Connecticut
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Louisville
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Pittsburgh
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Rutgers
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South
Florida |
Syracuse
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West Virginia
Past Big East Predictions
Week One |
Week Two
How'd we do so far? SU 14-0
ATS 6-3
Big
East Week Three Fearless Predictions
Michigan
State
(2-0)
at
Pitt
(2-0) 12 pm EST ESPN2 Saturday,
September 16th
Why to watch:
The first meeting between the schools in
46 years has far more significance than
most would have imagined back in
August. Pitt’s been one of the big
surprises of the early season and is
poking around the Top 25 after
surprisingly easy wins over Virginia and
Cincinnati. After slogging through
2005, the Panthers have done a 180 by
playing terrific defense and doing a
much better job in pass protection.
Somehow, the defense appears to have
gotten much faster over the last several
months. Michigan State is also 2-0, but
wins over Idaho and Eastern Michigan
have mostly elicited yawns. A road win
here would get the Spartans the respect
they believe they deserve and send them
into the showdown against Notre Dame on
a roll. Pitt’s Tyler Palko vs. Michigan
State’s Drew Stanton is the best duel of
senior quarterbacks this year until
Brady Quinn hits East Lansing.
Why Michigan State might win:
Drew Stanton. Really, the entire
Spartan offense, but Stanton is the
catalyst and one of those rare talents
that can carry a team on his back. He’s
accounted for six touchdowns already
while leading the nation’s No. 8
offense. If RBs Javon Ringer and Jehuu
Caulcrick are healthy and effective,
State becomes the most balanced team
Pitt will face until the season-finale
with Louisville.
Why Pittsburgh might win: Both
teams can score plenty of points, but
only Pitt can be counted on to
consistently stop the other.
While the Panthers are ranked in the top
20 in every major statistical category,
the Spartans are young, rife with
question marks and ready to be exposed.
What do the two best defensive
players—LB H.B. Blades and CB Darrelle
Revis—in this game have in common? They
both answer to Dave Wannstedt, who has
suddenly shown off his talent as a
defensive coach.
Who to watch: Spartan WR Matt
Trannon is coming off a record-breaking,
14-catch afternoon, but with Revis
shadowing him, the catches could be
quite a bit harder to come by this
weekend. Like almost every corner that
faces Trannon, Revis will be giving away
six inches of height and have problems
with the former basketball star’s
leaping ability. However, the junior is
aggressive, instinctive, and fast
becoming one of the most polished cover
corners in America.
What will happen: With so many
big games this weekend, this one will
reside beneath the radar. Too bad.
It’ll be high-scoring, entertaining, and
won by Pittsburgh, the one team at Heinz
Field that’ll make key defensive stops
late in the fourth quarter.
CFN Prediction:
Pitt 37 ... Michigan State 31
... Line: Pitt -2
Must See Rating: (5
skip the birth of your first born - 1
Dancing with the Stars) ...
3.5
Syracuse
(0-2)
at
Illinois
(1-1) 12 pm EST ESPNU Saturday,
September 16th
Why to watch:
This would get everyone's blood racing
if it were played on the hardcourt, but
on the football field, these two have
been among the most disappointing name
programs around over the last few years.
Ron Zook's young, young, young Illini
showed last week in a 33-0 loss to
Rutgers that it's still at least a year
away from thinking about turning things
around, while Greg Robinson's Orange
team has had to spend the last week
known nationally as the team that can't
gain two yards on seven tries after
getting stuffed by Iowa 20-13 in two
overtimes. SU has lost 11 straight while
Illinois has lost ten in a row against
D-I teams. Someone will finally break
the gloom.
Why Syracuse might win: Illinois
is a mess. SU might be having problems,
but Illinois wasn't even close against
Rutgers and isn't getting any production
from the lines. Currently second in the
nation in turnover margin, the Orange
should be able to come up with a few big
plays. If the offense can finally start
to take advantage of a few
opportunities, the better-than-it-looks
defense should be able to do its job
against the struggling Illini offense.
Why Illinois might win:
Can Syracuse stop the run? LB Kevin
Smith is an All-America caliber star and
the leader of a decent group, but the
Orange D got rolled over by Wake Forest
for 245 rushing yards and by Iowa for
149. Illinois might not be consistent,
but it has the backs to get the ground
game going with Pierre Thomas and E.B.
Halsey good enough to carry the offense
if the line can give them a little bit
of room. Syracuse doesn't have the
offense to crank out more than 300
yards, much less put the game away with
any sort of spurt.
Who to watch: It's time the two
offenses started to use their
underutilized weapons. Syracuse
sophomore Curtis Brinkley has the speed
and quickness to be a difference-making
running back, but he only got 11 carries
against Iowa and was nowhere to be found
on the fateful overtime goal line stand.
The offense has revolved around QB Perry
Patterson, and that continues to be a
disaster. For Illinois, Pierre Thomas is
the number one back, but E.B. Halsey is
the more dangerous all-around runner.
The coaching staff has to try to find
ways to get the ball in Halsey's hands
after he only ran four times for four
yards against Rutgers.
What will happen: One of these
two will finally break the
doom-and-gloom. Of the two
bottom-feeders, Illinois is playing a
little bit worse.
CFN Prediction:
Syracuse 20 ... Illinois 16
... Line: Illinois -3
Must See Rating: (5
skip the birth of your first born - 1
Dancing with the Stars) ...
2
South Florida
(2-0) at
UCF (1-1), 2:30 EST, CSTV, Saturday, September 16th
Why to watch:
Fine, so this game means absolutely
nothing to folks outside the Sunshine
State, but to a pair of fledgling
programs wrestling to become the next
big thing behind the state’s Big 3, it
has the potential to develop into a
pretty nasty rivalry. South Florida has
lived dangerously this season needing
rallies to beat McNeese State and
Florida International, and it doesn’t
appear to have seized the momentum from
last year’s inaugural bowl berth. At
least not yet. UCF has been on the
winning and losing end of one-sided
games, but it should be in for a tight
battle. Last weekend the Knights learned
firsthand just how far it has to go to
compare to the elite losing 42-0 to
Florida after beating up Villanova
35-16. For both schools, a win here
would be a huge boost before league play
begins.
Why South Florida might win:
UCF’s problems on offense are likely to
continue against South Florida’s No. 10
defense. The Bulls are allowing just 53
yards a game on the ground, a tough
assignment for a Knight offense that’s
having an awful time creating space for
RB Kevin Smith averaging 63 rushing
yards per outing. South Florida is one
of just five schools yet to allow a sack
meaning QB Matt Grothe will have time to
work.
UCF might win: South Florida may
be 2-0, but it’s been horrible in both
games needing a miracle, late-game
fumble last week to beat Florida
International, a three-touchdown
underdog. Now that it’s venturing out
on the road to face a better opponent,
can it afford to win ugly? The Bulls’
sloppy coverage team is just the unit
Joe Burnett can break a game-changing
punt return on.
Who to watch: Grothe really has
been a revelation for a USF program
that’s been desperate for a quality
quarterback ever since Marquel Blackwell
graduated. Yeah, he’s making freshman
mistakes, but he also leads the Bulls in
rushing, and more important, has been
the steady-handed catalyst of both
come-from-behind wins.
What will happen: Neither team looks
right these days, but UCF’s play is
particularly troubling. The Knights are
showing their youth having looked lost
at times on the defensive side of the
ball. Grothe will get his third win of
the season, but thanks to more solid
play from the defense, won’t need to
perform any magic this weekend.
CFN Prediction:
South Florida 24 ... UCF 16
... Line: UCF -2.5
Must See Rating: (5
skip the birth of your first born - 1
Dancing with the Stars) ...
2.5
Ohio
(2-0) at
Rutgers
(2-0), 3:30 EST, ESPN Gameplan,
Saturday, September 16th
Why to watch: Raise your hand if
you thought these two schools would be
4-0 combined after the first two
weekends of the season. Liar. The
Scarlet Knights have been surprisingly
good in wins over North Carolina and
Illinois, and Ohio used an uncommonly
balanced offense on Saturday to author a
shocking 35-23 road win at Northern
Illinois to go along with a bunch of
school firsts. Frank Solich has the
Bobcats headed in the right direction
and one win from the school’s first 3-0
start in three decades. Rutgers has one
of the most dynamic running tandems in
America, and is fresh off a 33-0
spanking of the Illini in which the
offense, defense and special teams
contributed touchdowns. With Howard
coming up next week, Rutgers has an
honest shot of going 4-0 before jumping
into Big East play against South
Florida. Ohio needs this with a nasty
date at Missouri next week.
Why Ohio might win: Rutgers’
first two opponents were feeble
offensively, but the Bobcats will
challenge the Knights with a versatile
attack that rung up 509 yards on
Northern Illinois last weekend. Kalvin
McRae is an established 1,000-yard back,
and QB Austen Everson is fresh off the
school’s first 300-yard passing day in
20 years. If the Bobcats can throw like
they did against the Huskies, suddenly
this becomes a nasty attack to deal
with.
Why Rutgers might win: RBs Ray
Rice and Brian Leonard are getting most
of the Rutgers pub these days, but the
Scarlet Knight D will start to get more
and more respect as the year goes on.
The unit just posted its first shutout
in six years and is 11th in
the country in scoring defense. This
group is the real deal, and it’s more
than good enough to keep McRae and
check. Everson isn’t going to have two
big-time passing games in a row.
Who to watch: Rutgers sophomore
DE Jamaal Westerman is coming off a
two-sack day showing more and more that
he’s able to pick up the slack left by
the graduation of Ryan Neil and Val
Barnaby. If Rutgers is going to more
than just a one-month wonder, the
defensive line must continue putting to
put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Any heat on Everson will force mistakes.
What will happen: Someone’s
posing, and it’s not the Scarlet
Knights, who continue to get better and
gain confidence. While commendable,
Ohio’s win over Northern Illinois will
wind up being more of a blip on the
radar than a sign the Bobcats are ready
to storm the gates of the MAC East.
CFN Prediction:
Rutgers 35 ... Ohio 14
... Line: Rutgers -17
Must See Rating: (5
skip the birth of your first born - 1
Dancing with the Stars) ...
2
Big
East Week Three Fearless Predictions
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