ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Hey, everybody. Is it just me, or does this week feel like the calm before the storm with next week's Cincinnati-South Florida game looming? Of course, there are two big league games this week. I'll be at Connecticut-Pitt this weekend.

Let's get to some of your emails.

Dave from Syracuse, N.Y., writes: Brian, love the blog, keep up the good work! I was wondering if the winner of next week's matchup between Cincinnati and South Florida has any chance of running the table in conference play? Who, if anyone, do you think is more likely to succeed and does the winner have any shot at a National Championship game?

Brian Bennett: A chance? Sure, there's a chance. I maintain my opinion that no team in this league will go undefeated, because I think the Big East is too balanced. But of the two, I would have to say Cincinnati has the better chance of running the table after this game. After this week, the Bearcats have only two road games left -- at Syracuse and at Pitt in the season finale. They match up pretty well with both of those teams. West Virginia has to come to Nippert Stadium. Cincinnati should be favored in every one of its remaining games if it wins next Thursday.

Things would be much more difficult for South Florida. The Bulls still have to go to Pitt, Rutgers and UConn and play a really good Miami team at home. Cincinnati is already in a good position, in the Top 10 of both polls, to make a run at the BCS title game. South Florida would have to leapfrog a lot more teams, but beating Miami in November would make a statement.

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Jason from Charleston, W.Va., writes: Noel Devine had crazy numbers Thursday ... 220 yards and averaged 10 yards per carry. Bill Stull didn't even hit the 300-yard mark on the day. Usually 100 yards is the benchmark for a standout day rushing and 300 yards is the benchmark for a standout day passing. Noel went crazy ... Stull went average. I am not discounting his three touchdown passes, but come on, a guy can throw three TDs and not have bad passing numbers. But 220 yards rushing is 220 yards rushing anyway you look at it, and Devine even had a longer scoring play (77 yard TD) than Stull's longest play (71 yard TD pass).

Brian Bennett: Jason is referring to the fact that Stull was named the Big East player of the week and not Devine. The league office likes to spread the honors around whenever possible, but I admit I was stunned by that decision. I named Devine as my Big Man on Campus this week and can't see how anyone would say he didn't have the more impressive week. No offense to Stull, but Louisville's pass defense is putrid.

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Daniel from Walkersville, Md., writes: I was at the WVU-Colorado game on Thursday night and aside from being heartbroken over the constant fumbling, I was in disbelief of how many empty back sets that WVU ran. Is there a reason Jeff Mullen feels the need to take the best offense weapon WVU has off the field in second and third down situations? His play calling makes the offense way too predictable.

Brian Bennett: While I understand your desire to see more Devine, Daniel, he did get 23 touches against Colorado. It's hard for me to see much reason to criticize Mullen, because the Mountaineers are averaging 465 yards per game, just three fewer than league leader Cincinnati. That's good for 13th nationally. If not for all the turnovers, this offense would be averaging 40 points a game, easily.

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Allen from Syracuse, N.Y., writes: I think you need to actually watch the Syracuse vs. South Florida game. South Florida did NOT dominate SU in any way (other than turnovers maybe). The game primarily hinged on two big plays in the first three minutes of the second half. Hats off to USF to make the plays, but I don't think anyone (even USF) would say that there was a big talent/speed differential on the field today.

Brian Bennett: Well, Allen, I watched the entire game, and I never wrote that that South Florida dominated Syracuse. In fact, I praised the Orange's game plan. I came away pretty impressed by how Syracuse was able to move the ball, and I thought Mike Williams was maybe the best player on that field. The difference was South Florida's defensive line, which is dominant.

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Brad B. from Bethel Park, Penn., writes: Did you notice that once Pitt got their penalty frenzy under control in the second half Friday night, that they were able to put it all together and gel as a football team? Penalties have been one of the biggest downfalls of this Pitt team (other than their suspect defense). The score would have been even worse for The Ville if Oderick Turner's TD was not called back in the first half. Do you think that if Pitt can get their discipline back and be able to buckle down on defense that they can win the Big East?

Brian Bennett: Pitt was definitely a different team in the second half than it had been in the first or even the second half at NC State. Penalties have been a major problem, you're right. So too has the defense. What I liked was that the Panthers finally got back to exploiting their advantages on both lines and took some shots down the field to their big-player receivers. Pitt definitely has enough talent to contend for the Big East and gets both Cincinnati and South Florida at home, but first it must shore up that defense.

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Mike Parks (Deployed in Afghanistan): When do you think that USF will address their kicking problem? Another missed field goal and extra point vs. Syracuse. Delbert Alvarado has struggled for a while now and it seems the kicker they replaced him with hasn't done any better. Surely there must be someone in Tampa who would be willing to strap on a Bulls uniform and give the offense a hand every once in a while.

Brian Bennett: First and foremost, Mike, thanks for all you do and be safe over there. Now, onto your question. You're right, kicking is the Achilles' heel that no one is talking a lot about for the Bulls. Alvarado lost his job after going just 1-for-4 on field goals, and then Eric Schwartz replaced him. Schwartz, though is just 2-for-5. Schwartz is a walk-on who was asked to come back to the team.

I'm not sure who else the Bulls could turn to at this point. Maikon Bonani's amusement park injury in the summer left the team shorthanded. I wonder, if the Bulls keep winning and Bonani heals, if he and Jim Leavitt would consider coming back late in the year. You hate to waste most of a season of eligibility, but it might be worth it if this shapes up as a special season. I don't know if Bonani would even be able to do it physically, but it's something to keep an eye on.