2011 Big East College Football Preview - Special Early Bird

[Freddy Wills]

Before we get into our Big East Preview make sure you check out our career on our college football play of the days- ). Our college football packages are now on sale for and of 1 year all sports picks free if we do not profit! Now the our conference breakdown. The question with the Big East has largely been, can they compete with the big boys. Largely a basketball conference, the Big East has been unable to live up to the hype. Over the years we have seen great seasons put together by Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and West Virginia only to come up short in their bowl games if they ended up playing a major conference like the SEC. Either way here is how I see the final standings for 2011. don’t forget to check out our entire this year as well as all of our league previews which you can find by clicking article titles below:

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1. Pittsburgh
2. West Virginia
3. Connecticut
4. Rutgers
5. South Florida
6. Cincinnati
7. Syracuse
8. Louisville


1. West Virginia- Despite installing a new version of the spread offense with the new head coach Dana Holgorsen who comes over from being the offensive coordinator of Oklahoma State a year ago. One thing is for sure from his time under Mike Leach and then at Houston. He knows how to put points on the board and now with Bill Stewart gone you are going to see a little more energy with the Mountaineers in 2011. West Virginia will return QB Geno Smith, who delivered a terrific debut as a starter, earning second team All-Big East honors. It will be a challenge for him early to learn a new offense, but under Holgorsen we believe the sky is the limit. He’s got excellent receivers in Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. The offensive line is a veteran group that under achieved in 2010 so we think they will have a chip on their shoulder heading forward. The one question mark we do have is how do you replace Noel Devine? The Res: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, Connecticut, South Florida, and Lousville.


1. Pittsburgh- Pitt also has a new coach in Todd Graham who was with Tulsa from 2007-2010 where he went 36-17 including 22-12 in the conference and went 3-0 in bowl games in 4 years. Pitt has always had a great defense and I think that will remain the same under Graham. Panthers want to get pressure on the quarterback and for turnovers. Graham’s teams always had a sixth sense like ability to make big plays. The Panthers welcome back eight starters and 28 lettermen. That gives them crazy depth and a lot more talent than Graham is used to. The return of Brandon Lindsey, Chas Alecxih and Myles Cargein will make this team very hard to run on. The rest in order; West Virginia, Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Louisville, Syracuse, and Rutgers.

One thing we did not mention is that TCU will be joining the Big East in one year making the conference all that much better. TCU a perennial contender that always has a dominating defense and will likely takeover the reigns of the #1 defense in the conference when they arrive.


Cincinnati went 4-8 a year ago and was a huge disappointment. However, this team can really get back to what they did under their head coach Kelly who left to coach Notre Dame. Butch Jones is now in his second season and I think we will see the results especially on offense where they arguably can be the best in the conference with the trio of QB Zach Collaros, RB Isaiah Pead, and WR D.J. Woods all returning and could be considered the best in the conference at their positions. The defense does not lose much from a year ago that showed signs of quality. When it is all said in done the Bearcats are a real team that can compete for the Big East title.


Louisville is pretty much what you see is what you get. They won a bowl game last year which was shocking as it is, but we believe the Cards will digress as they have a lot of youth in 2011. The Cardinals will start a 5-10, 185 pound walk on at quarterback and have four new starters on the offensive line. That’s not usually a good sign and the defense is not much better. I would back any team with a strong passing game headed to Louisville this fall.


Pittsburgh at West Virginia 11/25. Isn’t this always the game of the year. There is no rivalry inside the Big East that comes close to approaching the Backyard Brawl especially when both of them are in the hung for a conference title which they should be in 2011. There is a new twist in 2011 as both schools ironically have new head coaches so it will be interesting to see how these two teams play. It will be the 104th meeting between the two and there is no doubt in my mind what will be on the line, a Big East title


1. RB Ray Graham, Jr. Pittsburgh
2. LB Sio Moore, Jr. Connecticut
3. LB DeDe Lattimore, Soph. South Florida
4. DE B.J. Butler, Soph. Louisville
5. LT Don Barclay, Sr. West Virginia



Connecticut will remain in the race despite losing Randy Edsall. It's one of our predictions that this team will stay in the race and finish in third this year. Long term this may be a different story, but Edsall left the program with the conference best up front line up. We believe pound for pound that the Huskies have the best combination of offensive and defensive line with Mike Ryan and Moe Petrus returning on offense and Kendall Reyes, Jesse Joseph, and Twyon Marin on defense. It’s a much easier transition when you don’t have to worry so much of what happens up front on both sides of the ball. Lastly don't miss a chance to get discount now through the World Series.


1. CB Keith Tandy, Sr. West Virginia
2. DE Brandon Lindsey, Sr. Pittsburgh
3. OT Lucas Nix, Sr. Pittsburgh
4. DE Bruce Irvin, Sr. West Virginia
5. WR D.J. Woods, Cincinnati
6. RB Isaiah Pead, Sr. Cincinnati
7. WR Mark Harrison, Jr. Rutgers
8. WR Mohammed Sanu, Jr. Rutgers