Expert Opinion

A few BIG EAST predictions for you on a slow college football week. The first set of predictions come from Bearcat beat writer Bill Koch from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

1. West Virginia
2. USF
3. UC
4. Pitt
5. UConn
6. Rutgers
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse

Having picked UC third, I have to say that I think any of those top four teams could win it, maybe even the top five, considering that defending co-champ UConn returns nine starters on offense and eight on defense. I picked the Huskies sixth because I don’t think they were as good last year as their record would indicate. UC pounded them, 27-3, as did West Virginia, 66-21.

The Mountaineers could be vulnerable without head coach Rich Rodriguez and running back Steve Slaton, but they still have quarterback Pat White and talented sophomore running back Noel Devine. USF has to replace five defensive starters but still has the best defensive player in the league in end George Selvie and a lot of talent on offense.

I probably would have picked UC to finish second if it weren’t for the uncertainty at quarterback. Six weeks before the start of practice, Ben Mauk is still waiting for his final hearing before the NCAA regarding his eligibility. I’m told that hearing might, with the emphasis on might, happen this week. Without Mauk, there’s Dustin Grutza, redshirt freshman Chazz Anderson and Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones, who showed during spring practice that he still has a long way to go. If the Bearcats resolve their quarterback issues, they have just as good a chance as anyone to win this league and, dare I say it, go to a BCS bowl game.

The second list comes from Phil Steele's 2008 College Football Preview Magazine.

1. WVU
2. USF
3. Pittsburgh
4. Rutgers
4. Louisville
4. Cincinnati
7. Connecticut
8. Syracuse

It's still very early for me to even thing about putting together a forecast on the BIG EAST race, but I know a lot of fans will be high on UC this year, so much so that they are realistically believing a BCS birth could be in the future. I on the other hand wouldn't be so optimistic on UC's season. Although, I do see a third consecutive bowl appearance, there are too many troubling aspects concerning UC that stop me from putting them at the top of the conference.

Some of my concerns:

1. Without a proven starter at QB, which by all accounts is the most important position in Brian Kelly's spread offense, look for UC not to score as many points as last season.

2. The turnover differential last season was + 16, one of the best in the country. It's hard to count on creating that many turnovers on a yearly basis.

3. Penalties, I've posted this before, but Cincinnati was the most penalized team in the league last year and racked up almost 100 yards to the next most penalized team.

PENALTIES G No Yds Avg/G
1. Connecticut......... 13 79 594 45.7
2. West Virginia....... 13 71 686 52.8
3. Syracuse............ 12 85 707 58.9
4. Rutgers............. 13 94 775 59.6
5. Pittsburgh.......... 12 87 762 63.5
6. Louisville.......... 12 93 818 68.2
7. USF................. 13 112 937 72.1
8. Cincinnati.......... 13 122 1028 79.1

You can't be a consistent winner if your team makes this many mistakes. It helped that our offense put up program records for points, yards and first downs; but those numbers should be considerably down until UC can find a reliable signal caller. Also, look for our turnover differential to be down as well with the losses of Nakumura and Hoke.

We'll dive deeper into the upcoming season closer to the start of the CFB season, but for now share your thoughts on how you feel the 2008 BIG EAST race will play out.