With the Big East Media Day set for Tuesday, I figured I need to get out ahead with my predictions for the upcoming season.  At least when these picks go totally south, I won’t be able to blame the coaches for influencing my picks.

As everyone knows, this season is going to be a wide open one with likely 6 teams in the mix for the conference title.  Alot of teams need some aspect of their roster to fall into place in order for them to rise to the top.  Also even though I have to rate everyone 1-8, the reality is that it likely could be a whole bunch of ties up top as teams jockey for position in the final standings.

So without further adieu, let’s reveal.

#1 Pittsburgh – The Panthers here really?  Yes, really.  I have to convince myself of this even as I type this.  I really like their defense and they just need Bill Stull to be serviceable.  The schedule favors them as well, as Cincy and USF must travel to Pitt.  Toughest road test will be at Rutgers; they’ve already proven to be able to go to Morgantown and that game will be a war.

#2 Cincinnati – Last year’s champs were picked 5th in the media poll last year.  I think they catch a break getting Rutgers in Week One.   They will be very good offensively with Tony Pike chucking to Mardy Gilyard.    The defense needs to retool and will suffer with road tests at USF and Pitt.  Still I expect another solid year out of Brian Kelly’s crew.

#3 South Florida – Matt Grothe’s final run will give the Bulls a chance to run at the title.   What may hold them back is their offensive line.  Defense will not be an issue either with George Selvie leading the front 4.  Still landmine games at Pitt, Rutgers and even UConn in December will make a title run difficult.

#4 Rutgers – Now here is a team with a favorable schedule.   Their road games are UConn, Syracuse and Louisville, likely the bottom 3 teams in the league.  The problem is that we have no idea who is running the show.  Domenic Natale looks the Day One starter (unless Tom Savage really excels once camp opens), but Day One is against Cincy and that could be a problem.  Still they have a stellar line and a good chunk of defense returning.  Some sites have reached for Rutgers to win.  I’m tepid at this point, but they have a real shot.

#5  West Virginia – I know that some ‘eer fans will be screaming over this.  But not since Tee Martin and the Volunteers has a team lost a qb with the stature of Pat White and gotten better.  Jarrett Brown does have experience and the defense will be formidable, but in the end the final 3 games at Cincy, home to Pitt, and at Rutgers could end 0-3.  And if the Oline struggles with some of these top defenses like USF and Pitt, a 3-4 conference mark is possible.

#6 Connecticut -  Replacing First team AA Donald Brown and QB Tyler Lorenzen will be key to the Huskies season.  They will have a great defense led by the best LB unit in the BE.  Still road games against Pitt, WV and Cincy is not the recipe for challenging in Big East this season.  Throw in some tough OOC games vs NC, Baylor and ND and this team may struggle to reach .500.

#7 Syracuse - Doug Marrone has his hands full in season one.  First off is the QB spot where Redshirt frosh Ryan Nassib will be pressed by Greg Paulus.   Mike Williams return will help the passing game.  The deck chairs were shuffled a bit at LB.  And while the schedule sets up nicely, this team will be more concerned with leaving the triple digits in offensive and defensive rankings versus securing Ws.  Look for improved play, but a lot of work to do.

#8 Louisville – The Cards appear to be in real trouble.  No QB was named starter out of spring, how long before Steve Kragthorpe announces a winner.   If a qb is found and can play, the offense could be good with Victor Anderson running and Scott Long/Doug Beaumont receiving.  The defense is in shambles.  If they cannot find a way to gel it will be a long season.  Road games against UConn, Cincy, WV and USF will make wins hard to come by.

So there you have it.  Anyone brave enough to lay their picks out here?  We will take a look back and see who came closest – maybe I’ll throw in a guest spot in the blogger chair or interview to the winner.

Thanks to Rivals for the logos.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 1st, 2009 at 9:07 am by LvilleOrange . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.