I'm back from my week off, and I'm turning my attention now to the Week 1 matchups in the Big East. Today may be the first official day of summer, but we're also now just 11 weeks away from the start of football season.
Over the next several days, I'll be giving you a brief scouting report on each Big East team's opening opponent. We'll do this in reverse alphabetical order, starting with West Virginia:
Opponent: Coastal Carolina
Coach: David Bennett (45-23, eighth season)
2009 record: 5-6 (3-3 Big South Conference)
Returning starters: 17 (7 offense/10 defense)
About the Chanticleers: Coastal Carolina, which has fielded a football program for less than a decade, was a middle-of-the-pack team in the FCS Big South Conference last season and failed to win a road game. The Chanticleers' lone 2009 FBS opponent was Clemson, which rolled to a 49-3 rout. The team had trouble scoring last year, mustering just 18.6 points per game with an anemic passing attack. The defense also was one of the worst in the FCS against the run but brings almost every starter back.
Zach MacDowall and Jamie Childers battled for the starting quarterback job this spring and will face more competition this spring from South Carolina transfer Aramis Hillary, who can run and throw. Junior cornerback Josh Norman had eight interceptions a year ago. Tight end David Duran, who transferred from Michigan State, is an all-conference performer.
Random factoid: What's a Chanticleer? The correct pronunciation is SHON-ti-clear, and the nickname comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, specifically the story of "The Nun's Priest Tale." The Chanticleer was a proud rooster who ruled the barnyard. Chaucer wrote, "For crowing there was not his equal in all the land. His voice was merrier than the merry organ that plays in church, and his crowing from his resting place was more trustworthy than a clock."
My totally unscientific percentage chance that West Virginia wins this game: 99.7 percent. The Mountaineers have more starters back than any other Big East team, so they shouldn't suffer too many opening-week hiccups. And with the vast majority of its defense returning, West Virginia should shut down a fairly impotent FCS offense.
Over the next several days, I'll be giving you a brief scouting report on each Big East team's opening opponent. We'll do this in reverse alphabetical order, starting with West Virginia:
Opponent: Coastal Carolina
Coach: David Bennett (45-23, eighth season)
2009 record: 5-6 (3-3 Big South Conference)
Returning starters: 17 (7 offense/10 defense)
About the Chanticleers: Coastal Carolina, which has fielded a football program for less than a decade, was a middle-of-the-pack team in the FCS Big South Conference last season and failed to win a road game. The Chanticleers' lone 2009 FBS opponent was Clemson, which rolled to a 49-3 rout. The team had trouble scoring last year, mustering just 18.6 points per game with an anemic passing attack. The defense also was one of the worst in the FCS against the run but brings almost every starter back.
Zach MacDowall and Jamie Childers battled for the starting quarterback job this spring and will face more competition this spring from South Carolina transfer Aramis Hillary, who can run and throw. Junior cornerback Josh Norman had eight interceptions a year ago. Tight end David Duran, who transferred from Michigan State, is an all-conference performer.
Random factoid: What's a Chanticleer? The correct pronunciation is SHON-ti-clear, and the nickname comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, specifically the story of "The Nun's Priest Tale." The Chanticleer was a proud rooster who ruled the barnyard. Chaucer wrote, "For crowing there was not his equal in all the land. His voice was merrier than the merry organ that plays in church, and his crowing from his resting place was more trustworthy than a clock."
My totally unscientific percentage chance that West Virginia wins this game: 99.7 percent. The Mountaineers have more starters back than any other Big East team, so they shouldn't suffer too many opening-week hiccups. And with the vast majority of its defense returning, West Virginia should shut down a fairly impotent FCS offense.
Brian Bennett | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big Ten blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008
- Wrote for The Courier-Journal
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
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