subject: Big East Football Predictions 2010 [print this page] Big East Football Predictions 2010 Big East Football Predictions 2010
Big East Predictions
1. Pittsburgh Panthers - Pitt is coming off its best season in nearly 30 years, but the program is far from satisfied considering it blew an excellent opportunity to win the league and play in a BCS bowl last season. Pitt should get that chance in 2010 though. A talented crop returns with running back Dion Lewis leading the offense and defensive end Greg Romeus leading the "D".
2. Connecticut Huskies - UConn lost five games in 2009, but it is certainly worth noting that all five of those losses came by four or fewer points. If the Huskies can find a way to turn those tough defeats into wins, they will be right in the Big East title hunt.
3. West Virginia Mountaineers - Noel Devin returns following a 1,400-yard, 13 touchdown season on the ground, but I feel strongly that the offense will miss QB Jarrett Brown. His departure, and the fact that WVU must play UConn and Pitt on the road figures to be enough to keep the Mountaineers from a Big East title.
4. Rutgers Scarlet Knights - Rutgers has the potential to win the Big East because of how solid it is defensively. The Scarlet Knights led the conference in both scoring and total defense in 2009. There are concerns about an offensive line which must replace three starters, and that's why I'm not sold on the Knights finishing higher. We can't forget that Rutgers finished dead last in the conference in total offense in 2009.
5. Cincinnati Bearcats - Cincy figures to give up the top spot in the conference that it has held the last two years, but it may not be too long before the Bearcats rise again. Butch Jones is a good hire, and I expect him to find lots of ways to put QB Zach Collaros in positions to make plays with his legs and his arm. We saw Cincy's defense really get pushed around down the stretch last season, and I don't see major improvement coming in 2010 on the defensive side of the ball.
6. South Florida Bulls - Skip Holtz is another great hire in the Big East, but he is going to need some time to rebuild a defense that lost NFL ends George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul.
7. Syracuse Orange - We can probably flip a coin to see if Syracuse or Louisville will bring up the rear, but I'm going to give the Orange the advantage because they get the Cardinals at home. Syracuse pulled off a couple wins against bowl teams in 2009, beating Northwestern and Rutgers, but it could take a small step back with all that was lost on the offensive side of the football.
8. Louisville Cardinals -It wasn't very long ago that Louisville was ranked in the top-10 nationally, and I'm not talking about basketball. A lot has changed the last few years, but good news appears to be on the way after hiring former Florida assistant Charlie Strong.
Take the college football odds makers to school this season with the help of Jimmy Boyd's expert football picks!
If you are also interested in seeing how I have all the other conferences playing out, be sure to check out my 2010 college football predictions preview.
