ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Well, the streak died prematurely. Not a single question this week about why West Virginia doesn't get any respect. I guess the East Carolina loss really stung. But I expect the questions to revive if the Mountaineers beat Colorado on Thursday night.

Quick status update: I'll be going to the Kansas State-Louisville game on Wednesday night then taking in Iowa at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Any suggestions on places to eat in the Steel City (do people there really call it that?) or top tailgate spots around Heinz Field are greatly appreciated.

Now on to your questions, beginning (to no one's surprise) with lots of agitation in Syracuse.

Orenthal James from the Bronx writes: When will Syracuse end the Greg Robinson nightmare and restore some pride back to SU Football. Assuming it happens at the end of the year, any possibility Turner Gill moves over from Buffalo or maybe ex-assistant Major Applewhite?

Jerry from Oriskany Falls, N.Y. writes: Can Syracuse be saved? Who would be perfect to replace Robinson if they ever wise up and fire him?

Craig from Suffern, N.Y. writes: Brian, How much longer will the 'Cuse have to deal with Greg Robinson as their coach? Do you think he will last the whole season? Syracuse has become the laughing stock of college football and there are absolutely no signs of improvement. He needs to go.

Brian Bennett: Yes, Orange fans have been doing a whole lot of Suffer'n in New York -- to play off Craig's hometown. It's become nearly impossible to justify Robinson's continued employment at the school. He's now 7-31, though victory No. 8 should come this Saturday over winless FCS school Northeastern. If not ...

I think the move has to be made sooner rather than later. How many people will show up at the Carrier Dome this weekend? Athletic director Daryl Gross needs to do something to salvage the fan base and get a head start on recruiting.

Now, what kind of coach would be right for Syracuse? First of all, understand that this will not be an easy sell to any potential replacement. The program has great tradition, but make no mistake that this will require a major rebuilding job at a place where the recruiting pipeline has been hijacked by UConn, Rutgers and others. After failing with a guy who'd never been a head coach before, I think Gross would have a tough time hiring a career assistant or a pro guy again. And this team badly needs an infusion of energy and excitement, so it shouldn't be a retread or guy who's been out of coaching, a la Frank Solich or Larry Coker. I think Syracuse also needs an up-and-comer who's going to bring their offense out of the dark ages, embrace the spread and rock the Dome again like the good ol' days of McNabb, Harrison, etc.

Turner Gill is an interesting name that's been out there. He's done a fantastic job of rebuilding Buffalo into respectability, and he obviously knows the area. Here's the one problem: He lost to Syracuse last year. How would that fly with the faithful? "We've decided to fire Greg Robinson and hire the one coach Robinson could beat!" Al Golden at Temple is another coach on the rise without much of a record to show for it. I'm not saying these guys still wouldn't be great hires. It would just take some guts for Gross to pull it off.

Some other names that come to mind include Tulsa's Todd Graham, Ball State's Brady Hoke, Central Michigan's Butch Jones and Bowling Green's Gregg Brandon. And if Gross doesn't at least put in a call to SU alum Randy Edsall, he's crazy.

Alex from Syracuse writes: Brian, One name I have not heard anything about regarding the potential next Syracuse head coach is Ed Orgeron. I think he would be a great hire for a number of reasons. 1) He is known as a fantastic recruiter, while at USC he was the head recruiter and was responsible for the classes that included Leinart and Bush. Additionally while at Ole Miss, the Rebels consistently overachieved in terms of recruiting. 2) He already has Syracuse ties as he was the d-line coach here from 95 - 97. 3) He has college head coaching experience - admittedly Ole Miss wasn't very good but there is a large contingent of Ole Miss fans who feel he was unfairly fired and deserved another year to turn around the program as this year they finally have talent to compete in the SEC. 4) Being a Louisiana native he has ties to the South that would prove vital in attracting top talent to Syracuse. Also as I mentioned above Ed is a USC guy so presumably Gross has some level of comfort with him. What are your thoughts?

Brian Bennett: Yes, Orgeron has always been known as a great recruiter. But the question is, can he be a good head coach? In three years at Ole Miss, he never won more than four games and went winless in the SEC his final season. Can you imagine replacing the 7-31 Robinson with a guy who has a 10-25 record? I mean, I guess that's slight improvement, but I doubt there'd be a rush on season-ticket sales the following morning.

Ed from New York writes: I am extremely frustrated with Rutgers' need to throw the ball so much. Although they have great wideouts they need to find a running game and create some balance if they plan on being even semi-succesful this season. Jourdan Brooks averaged 6 yards per rush against UNC but the coaching staff continues to go back to Mason Robinson. What's wrong with going with what works and continuing to run the big guy?

Brian Bennett: Ed, I touched on this Sunday when I wrote that Rutgers lacks an identity. It seems the Scarlet Knights can't decide if they want to be an all-out passing team or keep the run-first mentality they had during the Ray Rice era. Certainly the coaching staff seems more comfortable running the ball, and Mike Teel has not looked like he can handle being the main guy, despite the weapons he has at wideout. I think focusing back on the running game as you said would be a good idea. The problem is, is the young offensive line good enough to do that?

Chris Wiles from Louisville writes: Hey Brian B, are you going to be at the UofL game Wednesday? How much impact will this game have on the Big East?

Brian Bennett: Yes. And none. Well, a win over a Big 12 team could certainly help the Big East. But this game is critical for Louisville's confidence and ability to get enough wins for bowl eligibility. Kansas State, the Kentucky game and next month's trip to Memphis all looked like swing games on the schedule, and the Cardinals have already dropped one of them. Lose two or three, and they'll have to accomplish a lot in the Big East to reach six or seven wins.

Bobby from West Warwick, R.I. writes: How good is UConn's defense?

Brian Bennett: That's an excellent question, Bobby. Only seven teams in the country have given up fewer points than Connecticut, which has allowed just one touchdown in three games. But, those three games came against Hofstra, Temple (in a near-monsoon) and offensively-inept Virginia. So give credit to the Huskies for taking care of business, but don't start any parades just yet. A slightly better test will come Friday night against Baylor. But I don't think we'll really know until UConn sees the league's best offenses in West Virginia, South Florida and Cincinnati. What I think: the Huskies' 'D' is very solid and well-coached, and will be tough for anybody to plow through.

James from High Point, N.C., writes: UCo
nn looked impressive to say the least in their victory against Virginia on Saturday night. Granted Virginia is not very good, but UConn plays a ball-control offense, so scoring 45 points against anyone is a pretty big accomplishment for them. Anyways, do you think UConn will challenge for the Big East Title along with West Virginia and South Florida?

Brian Bennett: James, I admit I had a few doubts early on, but now I'm sold on UConn as being a legit contender for this league title. And seeing your hometown reminds me that Connecticut at North Carolina on Oct. 4 is suddenly a sneakily intriguing game.

C. Smith from Provo, Utah, writes: Mr. Brian Bennett, I noticed your Heisman candidate watch list does not include Max Hall out of BYU. Max Hall leads a team that has the current longest wining streak in the nation. Hall's stats are just as good if not better than some of those on your "expert's" watch list. My question is: are your experts biased? Is this process mainly political? If the school does not send out DVDs of their candidates' highlights to market him, are they then not considered at all by the "experts"? Do you not feel he has demonstrated enough skill to at least be on the watch list? Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Brian Bennett: First of all, thanks for the formal introduction. (You can call me Brian in the future). Secondly, props to Mr. Smith for writing this before Hall tossed seven touchdown passes against UCLA. That was enough for me to put Hall No. 5 on my ballot this week (and let's be real: Heisman ballots don't mean much right now). I don't think having the nation's longest winning streak means much when you're including last year, because this award is based on this season only. And I've never been impressed enough with any of the promotional materials to influence my voting (Now if someone wanted to send me a Max Hall plasma TV ... just kidding, of course). I think it's tough for guys outside the mainstream conferences and media markets to gain a lot of notice in an award that has become reserved mostly for the best skill players on the nation's top teams. BYU will need to go undefeated and Hall will have to put up eye-popping numbers to garner serious consideration. That's just how it works.

Mike from San Mateo, Calif., writes: Brian, I am beginning to wonder about the AD in Morgantown. Why on earth sign your new coach to six-year deal, after the team looked overmatched, outwitted and generally pathetic against ECU ? Any clue as to what Ed P.'s was smoking yesterday ?

Brian Bennett: I wouldn't read too much into the contract, Mike. It's basically the same contract Stewart was offered when he was hired last January. He just finally signed it (and probably a good idea to do it now, just in case). Let's give Stewart a little more time, OK? The man has coached three games, and one of them was a Fiesta Bowl win. And as West Virginia fans surely know, contracts are made to be broken.

Tim from Parkersburg, W. Va. writes: Your pic plastered next to your ridiculous shows you to be the green behind the ears kid I thought you were. Don't you research your articles before putting out such nonsense? First of all, the BCS bowl auto bids are part of a contract that stretches out into 2013 I think with the Big East champ locked in (provided they have 9 wins). Second, the Big East is 3-0 in the past three years against the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 in succession. Two years ago the best three teams in the country were arguably Lville, WVU, and Rutgers. The three did not lose to anyone but each other that year. Finally, if you had been old enough to remember that conference domination comes in cycles. Right now the SEC is on top, but I can still remember the '76-85 era of college football when the Big East schools dominated the college football landscape (3 NC's and many other major bowl wins). A sleeping giant (Big East football) is still alive and well and someday soon WILL dominate again. The talent pool in PA, NJ, NY, MD, WV, etc. is too good not to be great again. The one intelligent point you made, the coaching will have to improve to mine the talent pool.

Brian Bennett: Hey, Tim, thanks for the compliment about my appearance. I'm glad I still look young. Believe it or not, I remember the 1970s, too (so you can do the math about how old I must be).

Tim's referring to my blog post Monday about defining the Big East this year. I wrote that the league has taken a step back so far, which I think is inarguable. At the end we were supposed to present a best case/worst case scenario, and in my worst case, I said that critics would question why the Big East had a BCS bid instead of an overachieving league like the Mountain West.

Apparently Tim took that to mean I think the Big East will lose its BCS bid. That's neither what I wrote nor what I believe. That bid is safe for the next few years no matter what. But if you think that there won't be critics questioning the conference if this turns out to be a bad year, you're fooling yourself. Do you not remember 2005? Or how about the national reaction in 2006 when West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers rose so high in the polls? (Oh, and to say those three teams were the best in the country is stretching the truth by a mile. I think Florida, Ohio State and USC fans would get a kick out that, though). The Big East is always going to have critics. That's just the nature of the beast.

Bill from Bethel Park, Penn., writes: Hi Brian - The Big East can't reasonably expect WVU to pull upsets every year in the BCS. With the poor performances mounting, other non BCS schools posting better records against FBS schools, and the lack of a fan base that "travels well", do you think there is a chance that the major bowl sponsors will push for the Big East to be out of the BCS in favor of other at large bids?

Brian Bennett: Hey, Bill, how old are you?