Here's the sixth installment of a series examining the most crucial stretches of the schedule for each Big East team.
Key stretch: at West Virginia (Oct. 14), at Cincinnati (Oct. 22), Rutgers (Nov. 3)
Breakdown: Skip Holtz can endear himself to South Florida fans right away by doing one thing: winning Big East games when the calendar flips to October. That was Jim Leavitt's obstacle the past couple of years, and the Bulls don't get an easy path this October.
After opening conference play at home with Syracuse, Holtz's first team has to go to Morgantown and Cincinnati before welcoming Rutgers to Tampa. How the Bulls fare in this stretch should determine whether they're a contender or a pretender in the Big East. South Florida has had success against West Virginia of late, but Cincinnati had this team's number under Brian Kelly. Rutgers blew out the Bulls last year in Piscataway in a game that was never close.
Prediction: I expect Holtz to reverse USF's midseason trend -- eventually. It's going to be tough this year with such a young team. I see the Bulls going 1-2 at best in this stretch, with its best chance coming at home against the Scarlet Knights.
More key stretches:
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Connecticut
Key stretch: at West Virginia (Oct. 14), at Cincinnati (Oct. 22), Rutgers (Nov. 3)
Breakdown: Skip Holtz can endear himself to South Florida fans right away by doing one thing: winning Big East games when the calendar flips to October. That was Jim Leavitt's obstacle the past couple of years, and the Bulls don't get an easy path this October.
After opening conference play at home with Syracuse, Holtz's first team has to go to Morgantown and Cincinnati before welcoming Rutgers to Tampa. How the Bulls fare in this stretch should determine whether they're a contender or a pretender in the Big East. South Florida has had success against West Virginia of late, but Cincinnati had this team's number under Brian Kelly. Rutgers blew out the Bulls last year in Piscataway in a game that was never close.
Prediction: I expect Holtz to reverse USF's midseason trend -- eventually. It's going to be tough this year with such a young team. I see the Bulls going 1-2 at best in this stretch, with its best chance coming at home against the Scarlet Knights.
More key stretches:
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Connecticut
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.
BIG EAST SCOREBOARD
Saturday, 12/17
Final Temple 37 Wyoming 15 Final Ohio 24 Utah State 23 Final San Diego State 30 Louisiana-Lafayette 32
Tuesday, 12/20
Wednesday, 12/21
Final 18 TCU 31 Louisiana Tech 24
Thursday, 12/22
Saturday, 12/24
Final Nevada 17 21 Southern Miss 24
Monday, 12/26
Tuesday, 12/27
Final Western Michigan 32 Purdue 37 Final Louisville 24 North Carolina State 31
Wednesday, 12/28
Final Toledo 42 Air Force 41 Final California 10 24 Texas 21
Thursday, 12/29
Final Florida State 18 Notre Dame 14 Final Washington 56 12 Baylor 67
Friday, 12/30
Final Brigham Young 24 Tulsa 21 Final Rutgers 27 Iowa State 13 Final Mississippi State 23 Wake Forest 17 Final Iowa 14 14 Oklahoma 31
Saturday, 12/31
Final Texas A&M 33 Northwestern 22 Final/OT Georgia Tech 27 Utah 30 Final Illinois 20 UCLA 14 Final Cincinnati 31 Vanderbilt 24 Final Virginia 24 25 Auburn 43
Monday, 1/2
Final 19 Houston 30 22 Penn State 14 Final Ohio State 17 Florida 24 Final/3OT 17 Michigan State 33 16 Georgia 30 Final 20 Nebraska 13 9 South Carolina 30 Final 10 Wisconsin 38 5 Oregon 45 Final/OT 4 Stanford 38 3 Oklahoma State 41
Tuesday, 1/3
Final/OT 13 Michigan 23 11 Virginia Tech 20
Wednesday, 1/4
Final 23 West Virginia 70 15 Clemson 33
Friday, 1/6
Final 8 Kansas State 16 6 Arkansas 29
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