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Time to wrap up our look back on the preseason Best Case/Worst Case scenarios for each team and how those stacked up to reality. Last but not least: West Virginia.

Best Case in a nutshell: A 12-0 regular season, BCS title and Heisman Trophy win for Noel Devine.

Worst Case in a nutshell: A 6-6 record and a trip to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.

Reality: The Mountaineers went 9-3 in the regular season and lost to NC State in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Analysis: West Virginia finished just about right in the middle of the Best and Worst Case outlooks, but it's hard not to think that the Mountaineers blew a chance of reaching the high end of that potential. Their three regular-season losses were all winnable -- including the one at LSU -- but they hurt themselves in each one with turnover and offensive ineptitude. Their defense played at a championship level the entire season. That's why, despite a nine-win season and a share of the Big East title, the school did what teams often do after a worst case-type season: it made significant coaching changes.

We're getting close to the end now of the Best Case/Worst Case rewind series. Let's see how Syracuse's preseason outlook jibed with its postseason reality:

Best Case in a nutshell: An 8-4 record capped by a trip to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

Worst Case in a nutshell: A 3-9 thud with only one Big East victory.

Reality: Syracuse went 7-5 in the regular season and then beat Kansas State in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Analysis: All things considered, the 2010 Orange season must be remembered in a Best Case sort of way. The team doubled its win total from the previous year and made its first bowl game since 2004. Though my Best Case win total looks pretty accurate, even I didn't think Syracuse would start 6-2 or win all four of its Big East road games. (Nor did I think it would lose all of its Big East home games). The best news about this Best Case is that the Orange are no longer a punching bag or a laughingstock in the league, thanks to Doug Marrone.

Time to roll on with a look back on each team's preseason Best Case/Worst Case scenarios and how those stacked up with reality. Today: South Florida.

Best Case in a nutshell: A 10-2 season, followed by an Orange Bowl win.

Worst Case in a nutshell: A 5-7 record marred by passing game problems.

Reality: The Bulls finished 8-5 with a win over Clemson in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Analysis: It sure looked like USF was headed toward the Worst Case projection the first half of the year, as B.J. Daniels struggled and the offense lacked playmakers in the passing game. The Bulls were 3-3 and 0-2 in the Big East after an Oct. 14 loss at West Virginia. But then they responded with three straight close wins and were playing about as well as any team in the league down the stretch. Given the team's youth and the coaching transition to Skip Holtz, an eight-win season -- including a victory over Miami -- was pretty close to a Best Case scenario.

Now that Pittsburgh has officially wrapped up its 2010 season, we can jump in the way-back machine and see how our Best Case/Worst Case scenarios for the Panthers matched up with reality:

Best Case in a nutshell: A 12-0 record and loss in the BCS title game

Worst Case in a nutshell: 6-6 and no bowl.

Reality: Pitt finished 7-5 in the regular season and won the BBVA Compass Bowl against Kentucky.

Analysis: My Worst Case outlook turned out to be almost eerily prescient. Pitt did indeed lose to Utah, Miami and Notre Dame and get beat by UConn and West Virginia after starting out 3-0 in Big East play. At least the Panthers did manage to beat Cincinnati in the finale to avoid a step-by-step disaster scenario. I also wrote that Dave Wannstedt would possibly retire in that prediction; instead, he was forced out. No way I could have seen the complete nightmare of a coaching search that followed. Pittsburgh may have won a share of the Big East title and a bowl game this year, but in many ways it was a Worst Case kind of year.

We've been going in alphabetical order for our look back on the Best Case/Worst Case scenarios for each team. That would put Pittsburgh up next, but since the Panthers have a game still to play (not to mention the fact that they've been living out their own worst-case coaching search scenarios), we'll skip Pitt for now and move along to Rutgers (just like Frank Cignetti and Jeff Hafley did):

Best Case in a nutshell: 10-2 and a berth in the Discover Orange Bowl.

Worst Case in a nutshell: A 5-7 record with only one league victory.

Reality: The Scarlet Knights finished 4-8, losing their final five games after the devastating injury to Eric LeGrand.

Analysis: Like Cincinnati, Rutgers managed to do even worse than the Worst Case scenario. Even in my worst outlook, I didn't see the Scarlet Knights losing to Tulane at home. But other than that, they hit all the low points. The offensive line was terrible, the defense collapsed down the stretch and the LeGrand injury took its toll on everyone. Greg Schiano has already begun to shake up his coaching staff, and Rutgers fans can only hope that leads to better things in 2011.

Time to keep going in our rewind of the preseason Best Case/Worst Case scenarios for every Big East team. Up now: Louisville

Best Case in a nutshell: 8-5 with a win over Kentucky in the opener and again in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

Worst Case in a nutshell: 3-9 with just one Big East victory

Reality: Louisville finished 7-6, winning the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl over Southern Mississippi. Charlie Strong was named co-Big East coach of the year.

Analysis: The Cardinals weren't far off from my best-case outlook. In fact, had they managed to beat Kentucky, or hold on in overtime against South Florida, they would have matched the record. Just as the best case stated, they lost to Cincinnati but beat Connecticut and Syracuse. Strong got Louisville as close to reaching its full potential as you could ask from any first-year coach. That's why he won the Big East award.

We continue to look back at our preseason best- and worst-case scenarios for each team and see where reality ended up. Let's review Connecticut:

Best case in a nutshell: The Huskies go 11-1 and then win the Discover Orange Bowl.

Worst case in a nutshell: UConn goes 5-7.

Reality: Connecticut went 8-5, won a share of the Big East title and claimed the BCS bid before losing to Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Analysis: What a weird year. In many ways, the Huskies followed my worst-case scenario. In that one, I said the team would lose to Michigan and Temple, go through quarterback problems and then lose coach Randy Edsall to another school. But it also fulfilled two key points of the best-case scenario, making a BCS bowl and beating West Virginia. There was little way to predict an 8-5 BCS season that ended with a coaching change. UConn experienced the best and worst in 2010.

As we wind down the final bowl games and put a final bow on 2010 season, it's time to take a look back at my preseason Best Case/Worst Case scenarios for each team and find out where the reality was. We'll do this in alphabetical order, so first up is Cincinnati.

Best case in a nutshell: The Bearcats don't miss much of a beat under Butch Jones, going 11-1 and winning the Fiesta Bowl over Ohio State.

Worst case in a nutshell: The coaching transition, schedule and lack of defense are too much to overcome as Cincinnati finishes 5-7, including losses to Fresno State, NC State and Oklahoma.

Reality: Cincinnati finished 4-8 and won just two Big East games.

Analysis: The Bearcats managed to do worse than even my worst-case scenario. In fact, had I not predicted them to beat Syracuse, my worst-case scenario would have been eerily close to coming true. It was about as bad a season as Cincinnati could have had in Jones's first season.

Wrapping up our review of each team's preseason Best case/Worst case scenarios with West Virginia.

Original post is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 11-1 and Orange Bowl.

Worst case in a nutshell: 5-7.

Reality: 9-3 and Konica Minolta Gator Bowl.

That's just crazy talk: "Pat White, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you. West Virginia's newfangled offensive line isn't able to protect [Jarrett] Brown and he gets hurt early and often. Inexperienced backups [Geno] Smith and Coley White are thrown into the fire but are not ready, and Bradley Starks shows why he's a receiver. Defenses no longer have to respect the pass and load up against [Noel] Devine and the running game, which still can't convert short-yardage downs.

Not too far off: "Early in the season, West Virginia exacts revenge on East Carolina and Colorado ... Winning on the road at Auburn is too much to ask."

What really happened: The Mountaineers have far too much pride to fall all the way to a worst-case scenario, though they were drifting closer to that after a loss at Cincinnati left them at 7-3 with two tough games remaining. But while the offense never regained its early-season firepower, the defense made enough plays to help the team close the year strong, beating rival Pitt and winning at Rutgers in the finale. You could say West Virginia isn't truly great at any one thing. But the program has enough talent and depth to be playing in a New Year's Day bowl game with a chance at 10 wins. If that's not a best-case outcome, it's only because the bar is so high in Morgantown.

Original post is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 11-1 and Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Worst case in a nutshell: 6-6 and International Bowl

Reality: 12-0 and Sugar Bowl

That's just crazy talk: "There's a lot of hype over the offense, but these are basically the same players who scored seven points in the Orange Bowl. [Tony] Pike, [Mardy] Gilyard and Co. are solid, but not some unstoppable machine. And that's a problem, because the revamped defense misses Mike Mickens, Connor Barwin, DeAngelo Smith and all the other stars and springs more leaks than the BALCO investigation."

Not too far off: "Blessed with a healthy returning quarterback for the first time in years, [Brian] Kelly unleashes the full fury of his offense ... [as] the Bearcats average more than 30 points per game. The defense just keeps chugging on despite the loss of 10 starters from 2008 ... The new-look Bearcats roll into Rutgers on Labor Day and outscore the Scarlet Knights, who are still piecing together their quarterback and receiver situations. Two weeks later, Cincinnati wins at Oregon State to move into the Top 20."

What really happened: Cincinnati is the rare team that actually outperformed even my best-case scenario. The most optimistic of fans probably couldn't have predicted a 12-0 season, especially once Pike got hurt again in the South Florida game. But everything worked to the best possible outcome for the Bearcats, including their thrilling late-season wins over UConn, West Virginia and especially Pittsburgh. The only negative was losing Kelly to Notre Dame before the Sugar Bowl.

Original take is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 11-1 and Sugar Bowl.

Worst case in a nutshell: 5-7

Reality: 7-5 and International Bowl

That's just crazy talk: "October arrives, but this time it's full of cheer, as South Florida beats Syracuse, Cincinnati, Pitt and West Virginia to equal its most Big East victories ever. At 8-0, the Bulls move into the Top 10 for the third straight year."

Not too far off: "[George] Selvie, whose numbers haven't been the same since the first five games of his sophomore year, gets contained by double teams again. ... October arrives and it's like Groundhog Day from the past two years. They beat Syracuse but lose to Cincinnati [and] Pittsburgh ... and November starts the same way with a loss at Rutgers. ... South Florida closes the year by losing in the snow at Connecticut."

What really happened: Is there such thing as a same-case scenario? The Bulls started 5-0 and got everybody's hopes up by winning at Florida State, even with star quarterback Matt Grothe lost to a season-ending injury. But South Florida couldn't hold its own in league play, as redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels was electric but erratic and the defense suffered key breakdowns. Cincinnati, Pitt, Rutgers and Miami all delivered blowout defeats.

In the end, it was the same old Bulls, and they got shipped off to Toronto after barely qualifying for the postseason.

Original post is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 10-2 and Orange Bowl.

Worst case in a nutshell: 4-7.

Reality: 7-5 and Papajohns.com Bowl

That's just crazy talk: "The running game can't replace Brown's 2,000 yards. The offense averages 18 points a game. ... The Notre Dame game is a rout, as a national TV audience scoffs at the contrast in tradition between the two programs."

Not too far off: "The running game barely misses a beat despite losing Donald Brown, thanks to the 1-2 combo of Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon."

What really happened: The new no-huddle offense got off to a shaky start but rounded into form as the Huskies averaged 32.1 points a game, third best in the Big East. The dominant storyline, of course, was the Jasper Howard tragedy and how many close losses UConn incurred. But the team finally broke through at Notre Dame with a dramatic overtime victory and won its final three games.

The defense carried the team early, but the offense -- behind Dixon and Todman -- helped the Huskies win some shootouts late. While 7-5 isn't reason to celebrate on a lot of campuses, UConn goes into its bowl game against South Carolina as one of the best stories of the 2009 season.

Original post is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 11-1 and Fiesta Bowl.

Worst case in a nutshell: 5-7

Reality: 9-3 and Meineke Car Care Bowl.

That's just crazy talk: "The offense, never all that pretty in its best days under [Dave] Wannstedt, regresses with the loss of [LeSean] McCoy. [Bill] Stull struggles early, and [Tino] Sunseri and [Pat] Bostick show why Wannstedt stuck with Stull for so long. Unable to keep defenses honest against the pass, and with two freshmen backs who miss assignments and fumble the ball, points are harder to come by than winning seasons for the Pirates."

Not too far off: "The dynamic running game opens things up for the passing game ..."

What really happened: The two biggest concerns in the preseason -- quarterback and running back -- turned into major strengths thanks to the improvement made by Stull and the heroics of freshman tailback Dion Lewis. After an early-season stumble against NC State, Pitt was in line for one of its best seasons ever at 9-1 and ranked in the top 10.

But the offense failed in a loss at West Virginia, the defense couldn't hold onto a big lead in the finale against Cincinnati, and the Panthers finished with the same 9-3 record as a year ago. There was nothing resembling a worst-case scenario here, but what's painful for Pitt fans is how close the team came to realizing its best-case possibilities.

Original post is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 8-4 and St. Petersburg Bowl

Worst case in a nutshell: 2-10

Reality: 4-8

That's just crazy talk: "The Cardinals' offense starts to hum along like the old days, with Victor Anderson leading the Big East in rushing and quarterbacks Justin Burke and Adam Froman guiding the team down the field with a short but precise passing game. ... [Steve] Kragthorpe's popularity soars and season tickets for the expanded stadium in 2010 become a hot commodity."

Not too far off: "Kragthorpe still doesn't have enough talent or depth to get the ship turned around. The offensive line is a mess and the quarterbacks can't stretch the field with deep throws ..."

What really happened: The Cardinals stayed in many games and at least had chances to win while on the road against Kentucky, Utah, West Virginia and Connecticut. But they could never get the offense going with any consistency -- ranking last in the Big East in scoring -- and were especially bad in the red zone. The lack of top-line talent across the board was evident and impossible to overcome, and Kragthorpe was fired at season's end. A 4-8 record was right about in line with what this team should have reasonably expected in 2009.

Looking back on our preseason Best case/Worst case scenarios for each team. It's Syracuse's turn.

Original post is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 6-6 and International Bowl

Worst case in a nutshell: 2-10.

Reality: 4-8.

That's just crazy talk: "The defense lacks answers at defensive end, linebacker and defensive back and is as porous as it was in the lowest point of the Greg Robinson era."

Not too far off: "The lack of depth on the roster -- 18 scholarship players have left the program since Marrone took over -- begins to exact a heavy toll as injuries mount."

What really happened: The Orange got off to a solid start, upsetting Northwestern and sitting at 2-2 after four games. The came a long losing spiral, the low point of which was a 10-9 loss at Louisville. Greg Paulus had his ups and downs at quarterback, struggling with turnovers, and receiver Mike Williams quit the team in October. A string of injuries and departures left the roster painfully thin. But the defense was solid all year, and Syracuse bounced back with a late-season upset of Rutgers to end the year with a little bit of positive vibrations in Doug Marrone's first season at the helm.