ESPN College Football

Happy Halloween, everybody. I'll be spending mine in Hartford, and many thanks to those of you who offered suggestions on places to visit. I'm looking forward to my first "Rent" check.

I've got to catch a plane shortly, but first I want to answer some of your emails. I received many good responses on my question earlier this week about whether Pat White is the best Big East player of all time. We'll revisit that next week. And remember, we're looking for the best single player ever, not just suggestions on guys who were very, very good.

On to the mail.

Ken from Philadelphia writes: People are making a big deal about UConn throwing 42 times last week. That is a lot for them, but to me 38 of them were quick outs or hooks. I saw one pass downfield actually caught. Don't you think they need to go downfield more?

Brian Bennett: Well, Ken, don't forget that was Cody Endres' first start and first real significant action. I'm sure the coaching staff wanted to make sure he was in a position to succeed and not make mistakes. Going forward, yes, I do think the Huskies need more of a downfield passing game, and I think that's something Zach Frazer can excel at, whenever he's healthy. But the receiving corps still needs a lot of improvement.

Brian from Knoxville writes: How can Donovan McNabb be the Big East all-time leader in career yards with 9,950 if Brian Brohm has 9,956 passing yards?

Brian Bennett: I received a few questions about this. The answer is Brohm had negative rushing stats for his career, putting him just behind McNabb in total offense. Of course, Brohm had nearly 900 yards passing as a freshman, but Louisville was not in the Big East at the time.

M. Bulino from Saint Clair writes: Brian, Please! WVU beat Auburn because of their inept offense. Any defense subjected to constant three-and-outs and bad field position is suspect to failure. WVU did nothing spectacular in their victory. They exploited the physically and emotionally exhausted Auburn defense. They haven't passed the real test yet. As for Pitt, let's not abandon ship so fast. Yes, the secondary broke down and gave up three long passes that accounted for the bulk of the passing yards and scores. However, I submit that in spite of that, the Pitt team sprung back and was in a position to take the lead in the 3rd quarter with a 34-31 score. Had the receiver not fumbled the punt after the second three and out by Rutgers the game could have been turned around. All this analysis is getting very boring when solely based on stats. Start to dissect the reality of the two or three plays that ultimately decide games and let the rest of the lame analysis die. Thanks

Brian Bennett: Well, I've got to respectfully disagree with you. Everything we'd heard about Auburn was that it had a high-caliber SEC defense. And West Virginia simply shredded it and looked much tougher and faster. I was very impressed, though I do agree that the Mountaineers need to do it again to be considered absolute favorites in the league. As for Pitt, let's assume for a minute you're right about there being "only" three long pass plays. OK, that's 21 points. Where did the other 33 Rutgers points come from? This was a team that had been averaging about 16 points per game against major competition. Any way you want to slice it, or lamely analyze as you put it, the Pittsburgh defense got smoked by what had been an absolutely inept offense

Will McBurney from Morgantown, W. Va. writes: I'm a West Virginia University computer science major (Yes, there are computers in West Virginia. We even have electricity and indoor plumbing!) and I was wondering how you felt on the issue of the obscene t-shirts springing up in Morgantown. I personally wish they would ban the shirt from all WVU sporting events. I know that when the Mountaineer Maniacs travel to away games, including UConn this weekend, we ban the shirts from the trip. What is your take on this shirt, and would you like to see it banned?

Brian Bennett: Will, I'm not familiar with the shirt you're talking about, but I'll say this: any time you wear your school's colors or logo, you're representing that university and, in the case of West Virginia, an entire state. So be careful about what image you want to project to the world.

Todd from Sydney, Australia, writes: Brian, a hypothetical for you if you have the time. Leaving aside Big East basketball for right now, where do you see the eight footballing schools ending up if the Big East were to suddenly disband? Do you see NCAA allowing 14 teams into a conference like the Big 12/ACC or would there be a whole lot of Independents? If this did happen, I'm unsure where WVU would end up as they're practically in the middle of 3 conferences (12/10/ACC), and while I'd like to see them in the Big 10 I am not sure that they would take us over Pitt and Syracuse. Thoughts?

Brian Bennett: Australia! The blog hits another corner of the world. Well, Todd, I'm not sure why the Big East would disband, but I do like hypotheticals. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see some major conference realignments in the near future, perhaps with some geographically-based "superconferences" of 16 to 18 teams. The Big East has a lot of teams that don't quite fit anywhere else. Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse would be the most natural fits for the Big Ten. I think West Virginia, South Florida and Louisville would fit in the ACC (Louisville mostly because of its basketball tradition). Cincinnati and Connecticut are kind of wild cards to me. If you were truly going to realign conferences, it seems to me an Eastern-based grouping of schools like UConn, Pitt, Penn State, Syracuse, Boston College and Rutgers would make the most sense. But don't worry. The Big East will be around in its current form for a while.

Brian from Boston writes: Thanks for picking West Virginia to beat UConn this weekend. Considering you've picked the last three UConn games wrong (UConn to beat UNC and Rutgers and lose to Cincy), hopefully you can make your streak four in a row. Go Huskies!!

Brian Bennett: Glad to help. I also picked South Florida last night, so I'm off to another roaring start this week. I am available to pick against your 401k and to deliver a speech at your wedding saying it will never last. For a small fee, of course.

NCAA Fan Kevin writes: All right, you haven't answered any of my questions, but I've got one for you. Assume everything goes USF's way from here on out. They beat WVU for the title in December. Assume FSU wins the ACC title. Will they meet up in the Orange Bowl? Or will Bobby Bowden decline to play us once again? I know it's a stretch to assume this, but the way the Big East has been rolling, can you completely write this off?

Brian Bennett: I could answer your question, Kevin, but after last night's game, you probably wouldn't like my answer.