Big East: Big East stock report
One last regular-season stock report:
Stock up
1. Revolution No. 9: Whether the Big East does anything else after this, adding TCU as its ninth football member was a bold stroke that instantly enhances the league's reputation while concurrently crippling the Mountain West. The conference has forever been changed.
2. Bobby Eveld: How about a true freshman walk-on quarterback leading South Florida to victory at Miami? Amazing story, and I'll have more on Eveld later Wednesday.
3. Shawne Alston: The West Virginia running back is becoming more prominent as Noel Devine can't stay healthy, and Alston -- who had 71 yards on 16 carries at Pitt last week -- could be the featured ball-carrier for the Mountaineers next season.
4. Connecticut's turnover margin: The Huskies struggled with giving the ball away earlier in the season, but now they've flipped the script. In conference play, they lead the league with a plus-7 margin, including a Big East-best 14 takeaways. That's a major reason why the Huskies are in position to make a BCS game.
5. USF's tailbacks: Mo Plancher and Demetris Murray combined for 143 yards against Miami, and in three of the last four games one of them has eclipsed 100 yards. The Bulls' running game still doesn't blow you away, but it's vastly improved over last year. As a tandem, Plancher and Murray have combined for 1,153 yards this season.
6. Kick returners : Connecticut's Nick Williams got enough attempts to qualify for national rankings this week and took over as the No. 1 returner in the FBS. He's averaging an absurd 42.1 yards per attempt, aided by two long touchdowns. The Big East also has two other players in the top 13: Louisville's Victor Anderson (fifth) and South Florida's Lindsey Lamar (13th)
Stock down
1. Villanova's heel-dragging: Moving up to the FBS is a large undertaking and a difficult decision. But if Villanova doesn't make a call until April, that means the school will have taken seven months to give the league an answer. Throw in the three years before the Wildcats could actually join the Big East, and that's a long time to wait for a team that may or may not even be competitive right away.
2. Vidal Hazelton's Cincinnati contributions: You can't help but feel bad for Hazelton, the former USC transfer who had one year of eligibility with the Bearcats. The school has determined that he won't get a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, so the receiver who tore his ACL in the opener will try to play this Saturday against Pitt. (He dressed but did not play at UConn). Hazelton's entire on-the-field contribution at Cincinnati could wind up being little more than half a game.
3. Pittsburgh's cornerbacks: Pitt's corners seemed to have regressed late in the year Antwuan Reed and Ricky Gary were called for four penalties in the South Florida game, and West Virginia decided to test them last week. It worked, as Geno Smith threw three touchdown passes and three completions of more than 35 yards on just 12 attempts.
4. Rutgers' sacks allowed: The Scarlet Knights have already given up 55 sacks on the season, and that's before facing the powerful West Virginia defense this week. The most sacks any team has allowed in a season the last five years is 59 by Miami of Ohio in 2009. Rutgers could shatter that this weekend.
Stock up
1. Revolution No. 9: Whether the Big East does anything else after this, adding TCU as its ninth football member was a bold stroke that instantly enhances the league's reputation while concurrently crippling the Mountain West. The conference has forever been changed.
2. Bobby Eveld: How about a true freshman walk-on quarterback leading South Florida to victory at Miami? Amazing story, and I'll have more on Eveld later Wednesday.
3. Shawne Alston: The West Virginia running back is becoming more prominent as Noel Devine can't stay healthy, and Alston -- who had 71 yards on 16 carries at Pitt last week -- could be the featured ball-carrier for the Mountaineers next season.
4. Connecticut's turnover margin: The Huskies struggled with giving the ball away earlier in the season, but now they've flipped the script. In conference play, they lead the league with a plus-7 margin, including a Big East-best 14 takeaways. That's a major reason why the Huskies are in position to make a BCS game.
5. USF's tailbacks: Mo Plancher and Demetris Murray combined for 143 yards against Miami, and in three of the last four games one of them has eclipsed 100 yards. The Bulls' running game still doesn't blow you away, but it's vastly improved over last year. As a tandem, Plancher and Murray have combined for 1,153 yards this season.
6. Kick returners : Connecticut's Nick Williams got enough attempts to qualify for national rankings this week and took over as the No. 1 returner in the FBS. He's averaging an absurd 42.1 yards per attempt, aided by two long touchdowns. The Big East also has two other players in the top 13: Louisville's Victor Anderson (fifth) and South Florida's Lindsey Lamar (13th)
Stock down
1. Villanova's heel-dragging: Moving up to the FBS is a large undertaking and a difficult decision. But if Villanova doesn't make a call until April, that means the school will have taken seven months to give the league an answer. Throw in the three years before the Wildcats could actually join the Big East, and that's a long time to wait for a team that may or may not even be competitive right away.
2. Vidal Hazelton's Cincinnati contributions: You can't help but feel bad for Hazelton, the former USC transfer who had one year of eligibility with the Bearcats. The school has determined that he won't get a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, so the receiver who tore his ACL in the opener will try to play this Saturday against Pitt. (He dressed but did not play at UConn). Hazelton's entire on-the-field contribution at Cincinnati could wind up being little more than half a game.
3. Pittsburgh's cornerbacks: Pitt's corners seemed to have regressed late in the year Antwuan Reed and Ricky Gary were called for four penalties in the South Florida game, and West Virginia decided to test them last week. It worked, as Geno Smith threw three touchdown passes and three completions of more than 35 yards on just 12 attempts.
4. Rutgers' sacks allowed: The Scarlet Knights have already given up 55 sacks on the season, and that's before facing the powerful West Virginia defense this week. The most sacks any team has allowed in a season the last five years is 59 by Miami of Ohio in 2009. Rutgers could shatter that this weekend.
With the holiday week, I'm moving this up a day from its usual spot. Safe to say I'll be stocking up on turkey and stuffing, while my physical fitness will see its stock go down.
Stock up
1. Kendall Reyes: UConn has moved Reyes between defensive tackle and defensive end this year. He was inside against Syracuse and was highly disruptive, coming up with an interception and knocking the ball out of quarterback Ryan Nassib's hands to lead a dominant effort by the Huskies' front four.
2. Bruce Irvin: Last week, I wrote that West Virginia's defensive end was mostly just a specialist. Well, Irvin is putting the special in specialist with 10 sacks on the year. And he's starting to play a bigger role; normally just a third-down guy, he appeared on several second-down situations last week at Louisville.
3. Brandon Mills: The Cincinnati defensive tackle had 10 tackles, three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble against Rutgers to earn Big East defensive player of the week honors. Of course, going up against the Scarlet Knights' spotty offensive line when they were forced to pass every down in a 69-38 loss could make a lot of defensive players look good. But Butch Jones says Mills "is playing with a lot of energy right now."
4. West Virginia's third-down defense: The Mountaineers' last two opponents, Louisville and Cincinnati, have gone a combined 2-for-25 on third downs. West Virginia leads the FBS in third-down defense. Safety Robert Sands described third down thusly: "It's like a race to the quarterback."
5. Dontavia Bogan: The USF receiver had only four catches against Pitt, but he drew four pass interference or holding calls as Panthers cornerbacks -- especially Antwuan Reed -- struggled to contain him on the deep ball.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' defense: Remember when defense was the Scarlet Knights' calling card? Not so much after surrendering 661 yards and 69 points to Cincinnati. Rutgers has allowed more points in conference games than any Big East team. And it's not like their offense can pick up the slack.
2. Syracuse's offense: The Orange defense has been great most of the year, but it is not getting much help from the offense lately. Syracuse is averaging just 16.6 points per game in conference play and managed just one touchdown in its last two games combined.
3. Louisville's passing game: West Virginia blitzed to stop the run and dared the Cardinals to beat it with the passing game. They couldn't. Louisville hasn't had more than 146 yards passing in its last four games, and its offense has become far too one-dimensional.
4. South Florida's two-minute drill: The Bulls looked terrible earlier this year in trying to move the ball late in the first halves against West Virginia and Florida, leading to game-killing turnovers. Against Pitt, USF got the ball back with 1:31 left, needing to go 74 yards to tie the score. Quarterback B.J. Daniels didn't seem to have any idea how to manage the clock in that situation as valuable seconds drained away before a final heave was intercepted.
5. West Virginia's second-half offense: The Mountaineers have strangely scored just one touchdown after halftime in their five Big East games, and it came against Cincinnati's easily-punctured defense. Sometimes they seem more content with running out the clock than adding on points. Combine that with Pitt's first-half slow starts -- the Panthers have managed just 30 total points in their last four first halves -- and there could be some major momentum changes in this week's Backyard Brawl.
Stock up
1. Kendall Reyes: UConn has moved Reyes between defensive tackle and defensive end this year. He was inside against Syracuse and was highly disruptive, coming up with an interception and knocking the ball out of quarterback Ryan Nassib's hands to lead a dominant effort by the Huskies' front four.
2. Bruce Irvin: Last week, I wrote that West Virginia's defensive end was mostly just a specialist. Well, Irvin is putting the special in specialist with 10 sacks on the year. And he's starting to play a bigger role; normally just a third-down guy, he appeared on several second-down situations last week at Louisville.
3. Brandon Mills: The Cincinnati defensive tackle had 10 tackles, three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble against Rutgers to earn Big East defensive player of the week honors. Of course, going up against the Scarlet Knights' spotty offensive line when they were forced to pass every down in a 69-38 loss could make a lot of defensive players look good. But Butch Jones says Mills "is playing with a lot of energy right now."
4. West Virginia's third-down defense: The Mountaineers' last two opponents, Louisville and Cincinnati, have gone a combined 2-for-25 on third downs. West Virginia leads the FBS in third-down defense. Safety Robert Sands described third down thusly: "It's like a race to the quarterback."
5. Dontavia Bogan: The USF receiver had only four catches against Pitt, but he drew four pass interference or holding calls as Panthers cornerbacks -- especially Antwuan Reed -- struggled to contain him on the deep ball.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' defense: Remember when defense was the Scarlet Knights' calling card? Not so much after surrendering 661 yards and 69 points to Cincinnati. Rutgers has allowed more points in conference games than any Big East team. And it's not like their offense can pick up the slack.
2. Syracuse's offense: The Orange defense has been great most of the year, but it is not getting much help from the offense lately. Syracuse is averaging just 16.6 points per game in conference play and managed just one touchdown in its last two games combined.
3. Louisville's passing game: West Virginia blitzed to stop the run and dared the Cardinals to beat it with the passing game. They couldn't. Louisville hasn't had more than 146 yards passing in its last four games, and its offense has become far too one-dimensional.
4. South Florida's two-minute drill: The Bulls looked terrible earlier this year in trying to move the ball late in the first halves against West Virginia and Florida, leading to game-killing turnovers. Against Pitt, USF got the ball back with 1:31 left, needing to go 74 yards to tie the score. Quarterback B.J. Daniels didn't seem to have any idea how to manage the clock in that situation as valuable seconds drained away before a final heave was intercepted.
5. West Virginia's second-half offense: The Mountaineers have strangely scored just one touchdown after halftime in their five Big East games, and it came against Cincinnati's easily-punctured defense. Sometimes they seem more content with running out the clock than adding on points. Combine that with Pitt's first-half slow starts -- the Panthers have managed just 30 total points in their last four first halves -- and there could be some major momentum changes in this week's Backyard Brawl.
Stock up
1. Jeremy Deering: The Rutgers true freshman has been terrific lately and had 166 rushing yards out of the Wildcat last weekend, the most rushing yards by a Scarlet Knights player since Ray Rice left for the NFL. He's averaging 6.2 yards per carry his last two games.
Mark Zerof/US PresswireSouth Florida's Lindsey Lamar has established himself as a weapon on special teams.2. Lindsey Lamar: The South Florida sophomore has become the most dangerous kick returner in the league. He's averaging 30.8 yards per attempt -- third best in the FBS -- with two scores. His electric 100-yard return on Saturday against Louisville changed the dynamics of that game.
3. Andrell Smith: Louisville coaches have long liked the potential of the 6-foot-3 sophomore receiver. Smith is beginning to turn into a valuable target in the passing game, with touchdown catches in his last two games.
4. Marcus Sales: The Syracuse receiver came into Saturday's game with just five catches for 39 yards. He equaled his season total for receptions and gained 73 yards against Rutgers, with 20 of those yards coming on the game-winning drive. The Orange had been expecting more of Sales this season, but he finally delivered in a big spot with Alec Lemon hurt.
5. Shawne Alston: Pressed into service with Noel Devine ailing, Alston had 17 carries for 75 yards for West Virginia against Cincinnati.
Stock down
1. Louisville's special teams: In addition to giving up Lamar's kickoff return score, the Cardinals surrendered excellent field position (and a subsequent field goal) after a 22-yard shanked punt from their own end zone. Special teams cost Louisville the South Florida game far more than the failed fourth-and-1 call in overtime.
2. Pitt's kickoff teams: Speaking of special-teams blunders, Pitt gave up a 100-yard return to UConn's Nick Williams that completely changed the momentum of a game they seemingly had under control. Ray Graham later fumbled a return, setting up a Huskies touchdown. Take those two scores off the board, and the Big East race looks a lot different this week. Pittsburgh's special-teams mistakes also contributed heavily to last year's loss to Cincinnati with the BCS bid on the line.
3. Cincinnati's offense: The high-flying Bearcats attack has been grounded the last two games, scoring only 17 total points in losses to Syracuse and West Virginia. Yes, Zach Collaros was hurt in the Syracuse game, but this team can't beat anybody with that kind of pathetic point production.
4. Doak Walker Award voters: Leaving Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher at more than 2,000 yards, out of the 2008 finalists group was a disgrace I thought couldn't be topped. But the Doak voters outdid themselves by not including Jordan Todman on their list of 10 semifinalists. Todman is only the nation's No. 2 rusher despite missing a game with an injury. Someone mail the voters of this award a map of Connecticut and tell them the Huskies are in the FBS. Until then, rename it the Joke Walker Award.
5. Airheaded airplane ads: Some doofus hired a plane carrying a banner calling for Oliver Luck to fire Bill Stewart, and the plane circled Milan Puskar Stadium before the Cincinnati game. Not only was that banner a complete waste of money and air space, but the Mountaineers went on to win the game 37-10. If West Virginia wins the Big East, I hope there's an apology banner planned.
1. Jeremy Deering: The Rutgers true freshman has been terrific lately and had 166 rushing yards out of the Wildcat last weekend, the most rushing yards by a Scarlet Knights player since Ray Rice left for the NFL. He's averaging 6.2 yards per carry his last two games.
Mark Zerof/US PresswireSouth Florida's Lindsey Lamar has established himself as a weapon on special teams.3. Andrell Smith: Louisville coaches have long liked the potential of the 6-foot-3 sophomore receiver. Smith is beginning to turn into a valuable target in the passing game, with touchdown catches in his last two games.
4. Marcus Sales: The Syracuse receiver came into Saturday's game with just five catches for 39 yards. He equaled his season total for receptions and gained 73 yards against Rutgers, with 20 of those yards coming on the game-winning drive. The Orange had been expecting more of Sales this season, but he finally delivered in a big spot with Alec Lemon hurt.
5. Shawne Alston: Pressed into service with Noel Devine ailing, Alston had 17 carries for 75 yards for West Virginia against Cincinnati.
Stock down
1. Louisville's special teams: In addition to giving up Lamar's kickoff return score, the Cardinals surrendered excellent field position (and a subsequent field goal) after a 22-yard shanked punt from their own end zone. Special teams cost Louisville the South Florida game far more than the failed fourth-and-1 call in overtime.
2. Pitt's kickoff teams: Speaking of special-teams blunders, Pitt gave up a 100-yard return to UConn's Nick Williams that completely changed the momentum of a game they seemingly had under control. Ray Graham later fumbled a return, setting up a Huskies touchdown. Take those two scores off the board, and the Big East race looks a lot different this week. Pittsburgh's special-teams mistakes also contributed heavily to last year's loss to Cincinnati with the BCS bid on the line.
3. Cincinnati's offense: The high-flying Bearcats attack has been grounded the last two games, scoring only 17 total points in losses to Syracuse and West Virginia. Yes, Zach Collaros was hurt in the Syracuse game, but this team can't beat anybody with that kind of pathetic point production.
4. Doak Walker Award voters: Leaving Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher at more than 2,000 yards, out of the 2008 finalists group was a disgrace I thought couldn't be topped. But the Doak voters outdid themselves by not including Jordan Todman on their list of 10 semifinalists. Todman is only the nation's No. 2 rusher despite missing a game with an injury. Someone mail the voters of this award a map of Connecticut and tell them the Huskies are in the FBS. Until then, rename it the Joke Walker Award.
5. Airheaded airplane ads: Some doofus hired a plane carrying a banner calling for Oliver Luck to fire Bill Stewart, and the plane circled Milan Puskar Stadium before the Cincinnati game. Not only was that banner a complete waste of money and air space, but the Mountaineers went on to win the game 37-10. If West Virginia wins the Big East, I hope there's an apology banner planned.
Stock up
1. Jacquian Williams: The South Florida senior linebacker was named Big East defensive player of the week for his 11-tackle performance against Rutgers. He has been involved in key plays at the end of the last two Bulls' wins, sacking Chas Dodd on a fourth down last week and pressuring Chazz Anderson to seal the Cincinnati victory.
2. Jeremy Wright: The Louisville freshman took home offensive player of the week honors after running for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse in place of the injured Bilal Powell. "He's not very big, but he's a tremendous runner and he plays very hard," coach Charlie Strong says of the 5-foot-11, 199-pound Wright.
3. Maikon Bonani: Closing out our trio of player of the week honorees is Bonani, the USF kicker who has made 8-of-9 field goals since taking over for Eric Schwartz.
4. Brandon Dunn: The Louisville true freshman has started three straight games at defensive tackle and has helped solidify the Cardinals' run defense. Strong says Dunn has "tremendous strength and tremendous quickness" and gives "relentless effort."
5. Greg Romeus: The reigning Big East co-defensive player of the year has resumed practicing after September back surgery and could be back for Pittsburgh on Thursday night against Connecticut.
6. Paul Pasqualoni: After a staff shakeup, the former Syracuse head coach is the new defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, though he may not last long in that position.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' defense: We usually praise the Scarlet Knights' defense while lamenting the poor play by the offensive side of the ball. But Rutgers hasn't exactly been been stonewalling people lately, giving up 69 points in two straight Big East losses. The sack numbers and tackles for loss are way down, too.
2. Syracuse's passing game: The Orange are averaging just 140 yards through the air in Big East play, and their 54.6 completion percentage is seventh in the league. That's been good enough to win three conference games, but it needs to improve for Syracuse to get to a higher level.
3. Marcus Campbell: The UConn defensive end was given another chance this season by Randy Edsall after having to sit out 2009 because of academics. On Monday, Campbell -- who was already out for the season with a knee injury -- was arrested and charged with stealing a backpack and a laptop computer. Guys like Campbell and Cody Endres have not rewarded Edsall's faith in them.
4. Greg Robinson: The man who replaced Pasqualoni and sunk Syracuse to new depths may not last long in his current position. The scrutiny on Michigan's defensive coordinator didn't lessen after last week's win, as the Wolverines gave up 65 points to Illinois.
1. Jacquian Williams: The South Florida senior linebacker was named Big East defensive player of the week for his 11-tackle performance against Rutgers. He has been involved in key plays at the end of the last two Bulls' wins, sacking Chas Dodd on a fourth down last week and pressuring Chazz Anderson to seal the Cincinnati victory.
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AP Photo/Kevin RivoliLouiville's Jeremy Wright rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse.
AP Photo/Kevin RivoliLouiville's Jeremy Wright rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse.3. Maikon Bonani: Closing out our trio of player of the week honorees is Bonani, the USF kicker who has made 8-of-9 field goals since taking over for Eric Schwartz.
4. Brandon Dunn: The Louisville true freshman has started three straight games at defensive tackle and has helped solidify the Cardinals' run defense. Strong says Dunn has "tremendous strength and tremendous quickness" and gives "relentless effort."
5. Greg Romeus: The reigning Big East co-defensive player of the year has resumed practicing after September back surgery and could be back for Pittsburgh on Thursday night against Connecticut.
6. Paul Pasqualoni: After a staff shakeup, the former Syracuse head coach is the new defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, though he may not last long in that position.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' defense: We usually praise the Scarlet Knights' defense while lamenting the poor play by the offensive side of the ball. But Rutgers hasn't exactly been been stonewalling people lately, giving up 69 points in two straight Big East losses. The sack numbers and tackles for loss are way down, too.
2. Syracuse's passing game: The Orange are averaging just 140 yards through the air in Big East play, and their 54.6 completion percentage is seventh in the league. That's been good enough to win three conference games, but it needs to improve for Syracuse to get to a higher level.
3. Marcus Campbell: The UConn defensive end was given another chance this season by Randy Edsall after having to sit out 2009 because of academics. On Monday, Campbell -- who was already out for the season with a knee injury -- was arrested and charged with stealing a backpack and a laptop computer. Guys like Campbell and Cody Endres have not rewarded Edsall's faith in them.
4. Greg Robinson: The man who replaced Pasqualoni and sunk Syracuse to new depths may not last long in his current position. The scrutiny on Michigan's defensive coordinator didn't lessen after last week's win, as the Wolverines gave up 65 points to Illinois.
Stock up
1. Expansion madness: Expansion has been the No. 1 topic for Big East fans the past couple of years, and now it's finally a reality as the league has decided to go to 10 teams in football. It's the right move, and the next couple of months should be full of speculation about who's joining and who's not.
2. Linebackers against West Virginia: Syracuse's Doug Hogue won two national defensive player of the week awards for his performance in a win in Morgantown. Connecticut's Sio Moore did the same thing for his 17-tackle showing in last week's overtime take-down of the Mountaineers. West Virginia has gone from being a team that looks good on offense to one that makes others look good stopping it.
3. Syracuse's second-half road defense: In their last three road games, the Orange defense has pitched a shutout in the second half. The only team in that span to score after halftime was South Florida, which got a kickoff return for a touchdown.
4. Dom DeCicco: The Pittsburgh senior has really helped solidify the defense with his ability to shift between safety and linebacker. He had 11 tackles and an interception against Louisville, and Pitt is allowing fewer than 13 points per game in Big East play.
Stock down
1. West Virginia return teams: For a team supposedly blessed with so much speed, the Mountaineers sure don't run past many people when the ball is kicked to them. They're last in the Big East in kickoff return yardage and second-to-last in punt returns. "It's absolutely terrible," head coach Bill Stewart said.
2. Cincinnati's running game: Opponents have decided that to stop the Bearcats, you must first stop Isaiah Pead. The junior was running wild for a stretch but had just 15 carries for 48 yards against South Florida and 23 yards on 11 attempts versus Syracuse.
3. Ryan Clarke's hands: The West Virginia running back fumbled twice at UConn, including in the overtime period as the Mountaineers were about to score. He also had a costly fumble at LSU that led to a touchdown in a six-point loss. Stewart said he's not blaming Clarke and will continue giving him the ball.
4. Saturday nights: Doesn't anybody like to play under the lights on the traditional day for college football? The last Saturday night home game in the Big East was Oct. 9 when Cincinnati hosted Miami of Ohio. The league has been playing a ton of weeknight games -- say hello to Wednesday football -- and plenty of afternoon kickoffs. Saturday night specials are becoming extinct. Heck, there's only one game in the Big East on Saturday at all this week.
1. Expansion madness: Expansion has been the No. 1 topic for Big East fans the past couple of years, and now it's finally a reality as the league has decided to go to 10 teams in football. It's the right move, and the next couple of months should be full of speculation about who's joining and who's not.
2. Linebackers against West Virginia: Syracuse's Doug Hogue won two national defensive player of the week awards for his performance in a win in Morgantown. Connecticut's Sio Moore did the same thing for his 17-tackle showing in last week's overtime take-down of the Mountaineers. West Virginia has gone from being a team that looks good on offense to one that makes others look good stopping it.
3. Syracuse's second-half road defense: In their last three road games, the Orange defense has pitched a shutout in the second half. The only team in that span to score after halftime was South Florida, which got a kickoff return for a touchdown.
4. Dom DeCicco: The Pittsburgh senior has really helped solidify the defense with his ability to shift between safety and linebacker. He had 11 tackles and an interception against Louisville, and Pitt is allowing fewer than 13 points per game in Big East play.
Stock down
1. West Virginia return teams: For a team supposedly blessed with so much speed, the Mountaineers sure don't run past many people when the ball is kicked to them. They're last in the Big East in kickoff return yardage and second-to-last in punt returns. "It's absolutely terrible," head coach Bill Stewart said.
2. Cincinnati's running game: Opponents have decided that to stop the Bearcats, you must first stop Isaiah Pead. The junior was running wild for a stretch but had just 15 carries for 48 yards against South Florida and 23 yards on 11 attempts versus Syracuse.
3. Ryan Clarke's hands: The West Virginia running back fumbled twice at UConn, including in the overtime period as the Mountaineers were about to score. He also had a costly fumble at LSU that led to a touchdown in a six-point loss. Stewart said he's not blaming Clarke and will continue giving him the ball.
4. Saturday nights: Doesn't anybody like to play under the lights on the traditional day for college football? The last Saturday night home game in the Big East was Oct. 9 when Cincinnati hosted Miami of Ohio. The league has been playing a ton of weeknight games -- say hello to Wednesday football -- and plenty of afternoon kickoffs. Saturday night specials are becoming extinct. Heck, there's only one game in the Big East on Saturday at all this week.
The stock report is kind of like Kenny Powers' career. One week you're on top of the sports world with a hit motivational audiobook. The next week, you're waving a gun around a disinterested crowd in Mexico.
Let's see who's hot and not in Week 8:
Stock up
1. Keith Tandy: Remember last year at South Florida, when Tandy got repeatedly burned by the Bulls' Carlton Mitchell? What a turnaround for the West Virginia cornerback, who was named Big East defensive player of the week for his 10-tackle performance on Thursday against the Bulls that included an interception and a fumble recovery. Tandy is one of the most improved players in the league.
2. Antonio Lowery: The Rutgers linebacker had a whopping 19 tackles against Army and is now leading the league with 10.8 stops per game.
3. Pittsburgh's linebackers: The Pitt linebackers did not play well much of the first half of the season, especially in pass coverage. Well, on Saturday at Syracuse, Tristan Roberts and Greg Williams both played as well as they had in their careers. Add in Dom DeCicco's contributions when he's not playing safety and this position could turn into a strength if they can keep it up.
4. Louisville crowds: Some doubted whether Louisville could consistently fill up an expanded Papa John's Cardinal Stadium as crowds dwindled at the end of the Steve Kragthorpe era. Charlie Strong asked fans to get in their seats earlier last week before the Cincinnati game. Well, fans delivered by contributing to a big-time atmosphere, and despite the loss, Louisville has already announced a sell out this week against UConn. Louisville is second in the Big East in home attendance behind West Virginia.
5. Goodwill: If there's anything good to come out of Eric LeGrand's injury, it's the goodwill shown by other conference schools in their support for the Rutgers players. It's reminiscent of how the league came together last year following the Jasper Howard killing. Let's hope the positive energy and support can help LeGrand in his recovery efforts.
Stock down
1. West Virginia's running game: The Mountaineers are just seventh in the league in rushing at 149 yards per game and have been held to under 100 yards rushing twice this season. That's unusual for a team that was once used to regular 200- and even 300-yard running days. Blame some of it on Noel Devine's foot injury and part of it on the renewed passing game. Either way, some big plays in the running game will be needed during Big East play.
2. Rutgers O-line: I didn't think the stock could get any lower on the Scarlet Knights' offensive front. Eight sacks allowed against Army proved me wrong. Greg Schiano called the problem "an epidemic." Is there any cure?
3. Syracuse's pass defense: The Orange like to bring pressure, but on Saturday they paid for it by being torched by the Pittsburgh passing game in a 45-14 loss. Syracuse got away with it in the South Florida game because B.J. Daniels couldn't make the right reads. If they continue to put their secondary in difficult positions, they're going to get burned again.
4. South Florida's late first-half offense: Daniels threw an interception against Florida late in the first half that helped turn the tide. He threw another one in the final minute before intermission at West Virginia that led to a Mountaineers score and a 17-3 deficit. It could have been worse against Syracuse, when Mo Plancher fumbled deep in his own territory in the final 90 seconds of the first half, but Plancher managed to get the ball back. Perhaps taking a knee before the first-half horn sounds would be a good idea in the future.
5. Cincinnati's turnovers: Turnovers kept the Bearcats from beating now No. 1 Oklahoma, and Cincinnati lost the turnover battle 3-0 at Louisville, nearly losing the game because of it. Butch Jones' team is minus-6 and last in the Big East in turnover margin after last year's team rarely coughed it up. That is no way to succeed in league play going forward.
Let's see who's hot and not in Week 8:
Stock up
1. Keith Tandy: Remember last year at South Florida, when Tandy got repeatedly burned by the Bulls' Carlton Mitchell? What a turnaround for the West Virginia cornerback, who was named Big East defensive player of the week for his 10-tackle performance on Thursday against the Bulls that included an interception and a fumble recovery. Tandy is one of the most improved players in the league.
2. Antonio Lowery: The Rutgers linebacker had a whopping 19 tackles against Army and is now leading the league with 10.8 stops per game.
3. Pittsburgh's linebackers: The Pitt linebackers did not play well much of the first half of the season, especially in pass coverage. Well, on Saturday at Syracuse, Tristan Roberts and Greg Williams both played as well as they had in their careers. Add in Dom DeCicco's contributions when he's not playing safety and this position could turn into a strength if they can keep it up.
4. Louisville crowds: Some doubted whether Louisville could consistently fill up an expanded Papa John's Cardinal Stadium as crowds dwindled at the end of the Steve Kragthorpe era. Charlie Strong asked fans to get in their seats earlier last week before the Cincinnati game. Well, fans delivered by contributing to a big-time atmosphere, and despite the loss, Louisville has already announced a sell out this week against UConn. Louisville is second in the Big East in home attendance behind West Virginia.
5. Goodwill: If there's anything good to come out of Eric LeGrand's injury, it's the goodwill shown by other conference schools in their support for the Rutgers players. It's reminiscent of how the league came together last year following the Jasper Howard killing. Let's hope the positive energy and support can help LeGrand in his recovery efforts.
Stock down
1. West Virginia's running game: The Mountaineers are just seventh in the league in rushing at 149 yards per game and have been held to under 100 yards rushing twice this season. That's unusual for a team that was once used to regular 200- and even 300-yard running days. Blame some of it on Noel Devine's foot injury and part of it on the renewed passing game. Either way, some big plays in the running game will be needed during Big East play.
2. Rutgers O-line: I didn't think the stock could get any lower on the Scarlet Knights' offensive front. Eight sacks allowed against Army proved me wrong. Greg Schiano called the problem "an epidemic." Is there any cure?
3. Syracuse's pass defense: The Orange like to bring pressure, but on Saturday they paid for it by being torched by the Pittsburgh passing game in a 45-14 loss. Syracuse got away with it in the South Florida game because B.J. Daniels couldn't make the right reads. If they continue to put their secondary in difficult positions, they're going to get burned again.
4. South Florida's late first-half offense: Daniels threw an interception against Florida late in the first half that helped turn the tide. He threw another one in the final minute before intermission at West Virginia that led to a Mountaineers score and a 17-3 deficit. It could have been worse against Syracuse, when Mo Plancher fumbled deep in his own territory in the final 90 seconds of the first half, but Plancher managed to get the ball back. Perhaps taking a knee before the first-half horn sounds would be a good idea in the future.
5. Cincinnati's turnovers: Turnovers kept the Bearcats from beating now No. 1 Oklahoma, and Cincinnati lost the turnover battle 3-0 at Louisville, nearly losing the game because of it. Butch Jones' team is minus-6 and last in the Big East in turnover margin after last year's team rarely coughed it up. That is no way to succeed in league play going forward.
Each Wednesday during the season, we'll gauge whose stock is up and whose is falling while also examining the state of the conference award races. Since there are no games, the stock portion this week will be pretty light.
Stock up
1. Bilal Powell: Louisville coach Charlie Strong called the senior running back "the face of the program" because of how hard Powell works and how humbly he does it. Powell even seems to have supplanted Victor Anderson as the Cardinals' No. 1 back.
2. Greg Lloyd: From a redshirt season to starting middle linebacker against Michigan in one fall camp. I'd say the UConn senior's stock is on the rise.
3. Stedman Bailey: The redshirt freshman receiver has drawn raves during West Virginia's fall practices for his hands and route running. Doesn't hurt that Geno Smith was his high school quarterback, either.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' receiver health: Tim Wright is out for the season. Quron Pratt is sidelined for four weeks. J.T. Tartacoff went down with a leg injury. Mark Harrison got dinged in the head again. Talk about your deadliest catch.
2. The Doak Walker Award: Including Powell on the preseason watch list was nice. But excluding Delone Carter and Isaiah Pead? The award that inexplicably snubbed Donald Brown in 2008 got it wrong again.
3. South Florida's running game: Skip Holtz said he would probably play four running backs in the opener against Stony Brook. Then he acknowledged something Bobby Bowden used to say: "If I have four tailbacks, it just means I don't have one great difference-maker."
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pitt: As "The Wire" once explained it: "The king stay the king."
2. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: The No. 1 challenger to Lewis.
3. Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: Should put up crazy numbers.
4. Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh: Best receiver in the league, maybe the country.
5. Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: Don't underestimate potential of No. 1 back in UConn's offense.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Greg Romeus, DE, Pitt: The co-king stays the co-king?
2. Robert Sands, S, West Virginia: Most dominating defensive back in the league.
3. Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: Had 140 tackles last year, but fellow linebacker Scott Lutrus is back and will take some of those.
4. Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: Was incredibly disruptive before injury in '09.
5. Lutrus.
I'll also rotate other categories each week throughout the year. And I'll be following some individual battles, like Lewis vs. Devine and Tom Savage vs. B.J. Daniels. I'm also thinking of having a last-turnover pool for each team and quarterback.
So let the games begin.
Stock up
1. Bilal Powell: Louisville coach Charlie Strong called the senior running back "the face of the program" because of how hard Powell works and how humbly he does it. Powell even seems to have supplanted Victor Anderson as the Cardinals' No. 1 back.
2. Greg Lloyd: From a redshirt season to starting middle linebacker against Michigan in one fall camp. I'd say the UConn senior's stock is on the rise.
3. Stedman Bailey: The redshirt freshman receiver has drawn raves during West Virginia's fall practices for his hands and route running. Doesn't hurt that Geno Smith was his high school quarterback, either.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' receiver health: Tim Wright is out for the season. Quron Pratt is sidelined for four weeks. J.T. Tartacoff went down with a leg injury. Mark Harrison got dinged in the head again. Talk about your deadliest catch.
2. The Doak Walker Award: Including Powell on the preseason watch list was nice. But excluding Delone Carter and Isaiah Pead? The award that inexplicably snubbed Donald Brown in 2008 got it wrong again.
3. South Florida's running game: Skip Holtz said he would probably play four running backs in the opener against Stony Brook. Then he acknowledged something Bobby Bowden used to say: "If I have four tailbacks, it just means I don't have one great difference-maker."
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pitt: As "The Wire" once explained it: "The king stay the king."
2. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: The No. 1 challenger to Lewis.
3. Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: Should put up crazy numbers.
4. Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh: Best receiver in the league, maybe the country.
5. Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: Don't underestimate potential of No. 1 back in UConn's offense.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Greg Romeus, DE, Pitt: The co-king stays the co-king?
2. Robert Sands, S, West Virginia: Most dominating defensive back in the league.
3. Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: Had 140 tackles last year, but fellow linebacker Scott Lutrus is back and will take some of those.
4. Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: Was incredibly disruptive before injury in '09.
5. Lutrus.
I'll also rotate other categories each week throughout the year. And I'll be following some individual battles, like Lewis vs. Devine and Tom Savage vs. B.J. Daniels. I'm also thinking of having a last-turnover pool for each team and quarterback.
So let the games begin.
'Tis the season to hang stockings. 'Tis always time for a stock report.
Stock up
1. Robert Sands: The Big East's defensive player of the week for his game against Pittsburgh (seven tackles, interception, three pass breakups). The West Virginia safety now leads the Big East in passes defended and interceptions.
2. UConn's offense: No longer one dimensional, the Huskies have been on a tear of late, scoring 45 at Cincinnati, 33 at Notre Dame and 56 against Syracuse. They're now second in the Big East in scoring at 32.4 points per game and are -- get this -- second in the league in passing yards.
3. Alec Lemon: The Syracuse freshman had nine catches for 140 yards and a touchdown in the loss at UConn. The Orange need big-time wideouts after Mike Williams' defection, and Lemon announced himself as an early candidate for that role in 2010.
4. Ben Guidugli: Just when you think Cincinnati can't possibly have any more weapons, the junior tight end exploded for seven catches, 149 yards and two scores against Illinois. What can't this offense do?
5. Tyler Bitancurt: The West Virginia kicker is making Mountaineers fans forget Pat McAfee. Bitancurt has made 12 of 13 kicks this season, including all four -- and the game-winner -- against Pitt.
Stock down
1. Produce pelting: One of the most memorable moments last season came when Cincinnati fans threw oranges on the field in the win over Pitt, which helped lock up an Orange Bowl bid. The Big East title is on the line between these two teams again this week, but what are fans supposed to do? Cincinnati will likely go to the Sugar Bowl with a win, so I guess visiting Bearcats fans could toss sugar packets. Pitt's destination is less certain with a win -- perhaps a sugary orange drink?
2. South Florida's consistency: The Bulls haven't won back-to-back games since Sept. 26 and Oct. 3. Their last five games have gone like this, in order: Lose by 27, win by 11, lose by 31, win by 12, lose by 21. They are clearly one of the more maddening teams in the country.
3. Dan Hutchins: The Pitt kicker has not made Panthers fans forget Conor Lee of late. After a strong start to the season, Hutchins has missed five field-goal attempts in the past five games, including two at West Virginia (though, to be fair, the 53-yarder he was asked to try was nearly impossible).
4. Brian Kelly's tightening access: With the biggest game of the season looming this week at Pitt, Kelly closed down practice and made only two players -- and none of the team's stars -- available to the media. Kelly remains the best quote in the league among coaches, but insiders will tell you he's put more and more restrictions on his players since the Bearcats started winning at a higher rate. Not allowing players to talk is a decidedly small-time move for a program that's aspiring to the big time, and it makes you wonder how Kelly might handle the white-hot glare at Notre Dame.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Wasn't his fault that Pitt lost to West Virginia, as he piled up 155 yards and set the Big East freshman rushing record. He now has 1,446 yards and 13 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Had seven catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns and returned a kick for a score against Illinois. The Big East's leader in all-purpose yards, with 187 yards per game.
3. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: His 88-yard touchdown run against Pitt was a turning point. He's got 1,232 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.
4. Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Brown is leading the league in receiving yards per game (95.5) and yards per catch (20.6) while going over 1,000 yards.
5. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: Threw two costly interceptions against West Virginia in one of his rare off performances this year. He is still the Big East's leading passer, though Tony Pike is creeping up on him in yardage despite missing most of four games.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: The clubhouse leader for some time. The Cincinnati game could decide things.
2. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Ditto.
3. Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers: The league's top cornerback.
4. Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: Leads the league with 130 tackles and is third nationally with 11.82 stops per game.
5. Sands: See above.
Stock up
1. Robert Sands: The Big East's defensive player of the week for his game against Pittsburgh (seven tackles, interception, three pass breakups). The West Virginia safety now leads the Big East in passes defended and interceptions.
2. UConn's offense: No longer one dimensional, the Huskies have been on a tear of late, scoring 45 at Cincinnati, 33 at Notre Dame and 56 against Syracuse. They're now second in the Big East in scoring at 32.4 points per game and are -- get this -- second in the league in passing yards.
3. Alec Lemon: The Syracuse freshman had nine catches for 140 yards and a touchdown in the loss at UConn. The Orange need big-time wideouts after Mike Williams' defection, and Lemon announced himself as an early candidate for that role in 2010.
4. Ben Guidugli: Just when you think Cincinnati can't possibly have any more weapons, the junior tight end exploded for seven catches, 149 yards and two scores against Illinois. What can't this offense do?
5. Tyler Bitancurt: The West Virginia kicker is making Mountaineers fans forget Pat McAfee. Bitancurt has made 12 of 13 kicks this season, including all four -- and the game-winner -- against Pitt.
Stock down
1. Produce pelting: One of the most memorable moments last season came when Cincinnati fans threw oranges on the field in the win over Pitt, which helped lock up an Orange Bowl bid. The Big East title is on the line between these two teams again this week, but what are fans supposed to do? Cincinnati will likely go to the Sugar Bowl with a win, so I guess visiting Bearcats fans could toss sugar packets. Pitt's destination is less certain with a win -- perhaps a sugary orange drink?
2. South Florida's consistency: The Bulls haven't won back-to-back games since Sept. 26 and Oct. 3. Their last five games have gone like this, in order: Lose by 27, win by 11, lose by 31, win by 12, lose by 21. They are clearly one of the more maddening teams in the country.
3. Dan Hutchins: The Pitt kicker has not made Panthers fans forget Conor Lee of late. After a strong start to the season, Hutchins has missed five field-goal attempts in the past five games, including two at West Virginia (though, to be fair, the 53-yarder he was asked to try was nearly impossible).
4. Brian Kelly's tightening access: With the biggest game of the season looming this week at Pitt, Kelly closed down practice and made only two players -- and none of the team's stars -- available to the media. Kelly remains the best quote in the league among coaches, but insiders will tell you he's put more and more restrictions on his players since the Bearcats started winning at a higher rate. Not allowing players to talk is a decidedly small-time move for a program that's aspiring to the big time, and it makes you wonder how Kelly might handle the white-hot glare at Notre Dame.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Wasn't his fault that Pitt lost to West Virginia, as he piled up 155 yards and set the Big East freshman rushing record. He now has 1,446 yards and 13 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Had seven catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns and returned a kick for a score against Illinois. The Big East's leader in all-purpose yards, with 187 yards per game.
3. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: His 88-yard touchdown run against Pitt was a turning point. He's got 1,232 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.
4. Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Brown is leading the league in receiving yards per game (95.5) and yards per catch (20.6) while going over 1,000 yards.
5. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: Threw two costly interceptions against West Virginia in one of his rare off performances this year. He is still the Big East's leading passer, though Tony Pike is creeping up on him in yardage despite missing most of four games.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: The clubhouse leader for some time. The Cincinnati game could decide things.
2. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Ditto.
3. Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers: The league's top cornerback.
4. Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: Leads the league with 130 tackles and is third nationally with 11.82 stops per game.
5. Sands: See above.
Trying to write about stock while thinking about stuffing. This is a time to be grateful, so there's more ups than downs.
Stock up
1. UConn's corners: Especially freshmen Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Dwayne Gratz. Yeah, Notre Dame rolled up a lot of yards in the passing game, but the two young guys who got torched against Cincinnati made some big plays when they were needed to help the Huskies win.
2. Doug Hogue: Stepping up for the injured Derrell Smith, the Syracuse linebacker had 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks against Rutgers. How big was Hogue's day? He's now leading the Big East in tackles for loss. Not bad for a converted running back.
3. Randy Edsall: Those who didn't know much about the Connecticut coach before had to be impressed with his heartfelt tribute to Jasper Howard's family after the Notre Dame win. Oh yeah, and the guy can coach a little, too.
4. Trent Guy: The Louisville senior had a punt return for a touchdown at South Florida, a week after his big return set up the game-winning score against Syracuse. Guy may be the Cardinals' best weapon; why teams continue to kick to him, I have no idea.
5. A.J. Love: Needing someone to replace Carlton Mitchell's yards, the Bulls got a big day from Love against Louisville. He had four catches for a career-best 121 yards.
6. The Big East's bowl lineup: Thanks to UConn's win, the Big East should get the Gator Bowl back and have six teams to fill six slots. That would ease a lot of headaches and avoid the possible embarrassment of a top 10 league runner up playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' offensive line: Sacks aren't always the line's fault. Sometimes a running back doesn't pick up his protection, sometimes the quarterback doesn't make the right check. Still, nine sacks against Syracuse is nine sacks against Syracuse. The line we all thought would be dominant has been anything but that most of the season.
2. Louisville's stat factory: Remember when the Cardinals used to put up video-game numbers on offense every year? Seems like a long time ago. Louisville will likely end the season without a quarterback throwing for 1,500 yards, without a running back surpassing 600 yards and without a receiver topping 850 yards. Yes, injuries have played a role, but the old Cards offense ain't what she used to be.
3. Gator Bowl officials: Reps from the Jacksonville game still might take Notre Dame if the Irish somehow beat Stanford, even though they would then be just 7-5 with a lame-duck coach. "Then we'll have a good discussion," Gator Bowl selection committee chairman Brian Goin told the Florida Times-Union. Here's the discussion they should have: Notre Dame is a bad team. Let's take the Big East runner-up.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading rusher with 1,291 yards on 224 attempts (5.8 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: The Big East's leader in total receiving yards, with 68 catches for 930 yards and eight touchdowns.
3. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading passer, he has completed 66.3 percent of his attempts for 2,115 yards and 18 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
4. Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Brown has three fewer yards receiving and one less touchdown than Gilyard on 24 fewer catches.
5. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has rushed for 1,098 yards on 192 attempts this season with 10 touchdowns.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: Has been my leader for several weeks. Will he get my final vote? Depends on the next two games.
2. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Two Pitt D-linemen top the list. Yeah, they're pretty good.
3. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: The Haitian sensation has 12.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
4. Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers: Not his fault Rutgers lost 31-13 to Syracuse, but setback doesn't help his candidacy.
5. Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse: May not have been consistent all year long, but it's hard to ignore 16.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
Stock up
1. UConn's corners: Especially freshmen Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Dwayne Gratz. Yeah, Notre Dame rolled up a lot of yards in the passing game, but the two young guys who got torched against Cincinnati made some big plays when they were needed to help the Huskies win.
2. Doug Hogue: Stepping up for the injured Derrell Smith, the Syracuse linebacker had 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks against Rutgers. How big was Hogue's day? He's now leading the Big East in tackles for loss. Not bad for a converted running back.
3. Randy Edsall: Those who didn't know much about the Connecticut coach before had to be impressed with his heartfelt tribute to Jasper Howard's family after the Notre Dame win. Oh yeah, and the guy can coach a little, too.
4. Trent Guy: The Louisville senior had a punt return for a touchdown at South Florida, a week after his big return set up the game-winning score against Syracuse. Guy may be the Cardinals' best weapon; why teams continue to kick to him, I have no idea.
5. A.J. Love: Needing someone to replace Carlton Mitchell's yards, the Bulls got a big day from Love against Louisville. He had four catches for a career-best 121 yards.
6. The Big East's bowl lineup: Thanks to UConn's win, the Big East should get the Gator Bowl back and have six teams to fill six slots. That would ease a lot of headaches and avoid the possible embarrassment of a top 10 league runner up playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Stock down
1. Rutgers' offensive line: Sacks aren't always the line's fault. Sometimes a running back doesn't pick up his protection, sometimes the quarterback doesn't make the right check. Still, nine sacks against Syracuse is nine sacks against Syracuse. The line we all thought would be dominant has been anything but that most of the season.
2. Louisville's stat factory: Remember when the Cardinals used to put up video-game numbers on offense every year? Seems like a long time ago. Louisville will likely end the season without a quarterback throwing for 1,500 yards, without a running back surpassing 600 yards and without a receiver topping 850 yards. Yes, injuries have played a role, but the old Cards offense ain't what she used to be.
3. Gator Bowl officials: Reps from the Jacksonville game still might take Notre Dame if the Irish somehow beat Stanford, even though they would then be just 7-5 with a lame-duck coach. "Then we'll have a good discussion," Gator Bowl selection committee chairman Brian Goin told the Florida Times-Union. Here's the discussion they should have: Notre Dame is a bad team. Let's take the Big East runner-up.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading rusher with 1,291 yards on 224 attempts (5.8 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: The Big East's leader in total receiving yards, with 68 catches for 930 yards and eight touchdowns.
3. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading passer, he has completed 66.3 percent of his attempts for 2,115 yards and 18 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
4. Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Brown has three fewer yards receiving and one less touchdown than Gilyard on 24 fewer catches.
5. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has rushed for 1,098 yards on 192 attempts this season with 10 touchdowns.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: Has been my leader for several weeks. Will he get my final vote? Depends on the next two games.
2. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Two Pitt D-linemen top the list. Yeah, they're pretty good.
3. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: The Haitian sensation has 12.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
4. Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers: Not his fault Rutgers lost 31-13 to Syracuse, but setback doesn't help his candidacy.
5. Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse: May not have been consistent all year long, but it's hard to ignore 16.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
Take it from Gordon Gecko. Don't get emotional about stock.
Stock up
1. Devin McCourty: You'll notice Rutgers' McCourty appearing in the defensive player of the year race Top 5 today. He's probably the best cornerback in the league and also might be the Big East special teams player of the year. I should have had him in the race earlier, but it was hard to tell how strong his season was against such low-caliber competition. Not anymore.
"I don’t know if there is a defense or special teams player playing better than him in the entire country,” Greg Schiano said Monday.
2. Isaiah Pead: The Cincinnati back has been a big part of the offense all season, but he became a featured runner for the first time against West Virginia and responded with career bests of 18 carries and 175 yards. And Brian Kelly says the Bearcats need to run the ball more in the final two weeks.
3. Chris Campa: The hard-hitting Louisville linebacker was named Big East defensive player of the week after recording 15 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble against Syracuse.
4. Ryan Clarke: Not since Owen Schmitt has West Virginia had a big, bruising back like Clarke. He rumbled for 60 yards against Cincinnati, including a 37-yard touchdown.
5. Dave Wannstedt: Five years after it looked like Charlie Weis would coach circles around him, Wannstedt has a Top 10 team that has beaten Notre Dame two straight years, while Weis is perhaps on his last legs. Credit Wannstedt for adjusting his style to the college game, something Weis has yet to master.
Stock down
1. B.J. Daniels on the Big East road: One reason for South Florida's struggles has been the play of Daniels lately on the road. In the Pitt and Rutgers games, he was a combined 11-of-25 passing for 183 yards, four interceptions and no touchdowns.
2. Syracuse's receivers: How badly do the Orange miss Mike Williams? In the two games since he selfishly quit the team, Syracuse wideouts have a total of 15 catches. Only three of those receptions have gone for 10 yards or more.
3. Bill Stewart's fourth-down play-calling: Against Cincinnati, Stewart opted to go for it on fourth-and-8 from the Bearcats' 24. Incomplete pass. West Virginia lost by three points. At South Florida, trailing by a score in the third quarter, Stewart elected to punt on fourth-and-8 from the Bulls' 33. The punt netted only 13 yards as it went in for a touchback. South Florida then drove for a field goal.
Welcome to the world of coaching, where if a call works you're a genius, and if it doesn't you're an idiot. Ask Bill Belichick.
4. The campus experience for home games: Cincinnati just moved its 2012 "home" game with Virginia Tech to FedEx Field in Washington, D.C., which will be quite a walk from the dorms for students. Rutgers will play a home game in Giants Stadium. Syracuse and UConn have been in talks to play Notre Dame at neutral pro stadiums. South Florida and Pitt already play in NFL buildings, while UConn plays several miles the actual university.
It's just reality in the Big East, but something is lost when games are not on campus.
5. Replay officials: For obvious reasons.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading rusher with 1,291 yards on 224 attempts (5.8 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: The Big East's leader in total receiving yards, with 68 catches for 930 yards and eight touchdowns.
3. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading passer, he has completed 66.3 percent of his attempts for 2,115 yards and 18 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
4. Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Brown leads the league in receiving yards per game with 860 yards on 40 catches. He has six touchdowns and is averaging 21.5 yards per reception.
5. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has been slowed of late with injuries, but he has rushed for 1,098 yards on 192 attempts this season with 10 touchdowns.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: Leads the league with 13 tackles for loss and was part of a wrecking-crew defensive line against Notre Dame.
2. Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers: See above.
3. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Has 7.5 sacks, an interception and forced key fumble against Notre Dame.
4. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: The Bulls may have fallen off a bit, but Pierre-Paul remains a force with 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.
5. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Holding on here as the Bearcats' defensive leader, but Cincinnati has shown a few cracks on that side of the ball.
Coach of the year race
1. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati: For leading the Bearcats to a 10-0 start.
2. Dave Wannstedt, Pitt: For guiding the Panthers to a 9-1 start and Top 10 ranking.
3. Greg Schiano, Rutgers: For overcoming early problems, throwing young players into the fire and still being 7-2.
4. Randy Edsall, Connecticut: For his leadership through the Jasper Howard tragedy and keeping UConn very competitive.
Stock up
1. Devin McCourty: You'll notice Rutgers' McCourty appearing in the defensive player of the year race Top 5 today. He's probably the best cornerback in the league and also might be the Big East special teams player of the year. I should have had him in the race earlier, but it was hard to tell how strong his season was against such low-caliber competition. Not anymore.
"I don’t know if there is a defense or special teams player playing better than him in the entire country,” Greg Schiano said Monday.
2. Isaiah Pead: The Cincinnati back has been a big part of the offense all season, but he became a featured runner for the first time against West Virginia and responded with career bests of 18 carries and 175 yards. And Brian Kelly says the Bearcats need to run the ball more in the final two weeks.
3. Chris Campa: The hard-hitting Louisville linebacker was named Big East defensive player of the week after recording 15 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble against Syracuse.
4. Ryan Clarke: Not since Owen Schmitt has West Virginia had a big, bruising back like Clarke. He rumbled for 60 yards against Cincinnati, including a 37-yard touchdown.
5. Dave Wannstedt: Five years after it looked like Charlie Weis would coach circles around him, Wannstedt has a Top 10 team that has beaten Notre Dame two straight years, while Weis is perhaps on his last legs. Credit Wannstedt for adjusting his style to the college game, something Weis has yet to master.
Stock down
1. B.J. Daniels on the Big East road: One reason for South Florida's struggles has been the play of Daniels lately on the road. In the Pitt and Rutgers games, he was a combined 11-of-25 passing for 183 yards, four interceptions and no touchdowns.
2. Syracuse's receivers: How badly do the Orange miss Mike Williams? In the two games since he selfishly quit the team, Syracuse wideouts have a total of 15 catches. Only three of those receptions have gone for 10 yards or more.
3. Bill Stewart's fourth-down play-calling: Against Cincinnati, Stewart opted to go for it on fourth-and-8 from the Bearcats' 24. Incomplete pass. West Virginia lost by three points. At South Florida, trailing by a score in the third quarter, Stewart elected to punt on fourth-and-8 from the Bulls' 33. The punt netted only 13 yards as it went in for a touchback. South Florida then drove for a field goal.
Welcome to the world of coaching, where if a call works you're a genius, and if it doesn't you're an idiot. Ask Bill Belichick.
4. The campus experience for home games: Cincinnati just moved its 2012 "home" game with Virginia Tech to FedEx Field in Washington, D.C., which will be quite a walk from the dorms for students. Rutgers will play a home game in Giants Stadium. Syracuse and UConn have been in talks to play Notre Dame at neutral pro stadiums. South Florida and Pitt already play in NFL buildings, while UConn plays several miles the actual university.
It's just reality in the Big East, but something is lost when games are not on campus.
5. Replay officials: For obvious reasons.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading rusher with 1,291 yards on 224 attempts (5.8 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: The Big East's leader in total receiving yards, with 68 catches for 930 yards and eight touchdowns.
3. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading passer, he has completed 66.3 percent of his attempts for 2,115 yards and 18 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
4. Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Brown leads the league in receiving yards per game with 860 yards on 40 catches. He has six touchdowns and is averaging 21.5 yards per reception.
5. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has been slowed of late with injuries, but he has rushed for 1,098 yards on 192 attempts this season with 10 touchdowns.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: Leads the league with 13 tackles for loss and was part of a wrecking-crew defensive line against Notre Dame.
2. Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers: See above.
3. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Has 7.5 sacks, an interception and forced key fumble against Notre Dame.
4. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: The Bulls may have fallen off a bit, but Pierre-Paul remains a force with 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.
5. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Holding on here as the Bearcats' defensive leader, but Cincinnati has shown a few cracks on that side of the ball.
Coach of the year race
1. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati: For leading the Bearcats to a 10-0 start.
2. Dave Wannstedt, Pitt: For guiding the Panthers to a 9-1 start and Top 10 ranking.
3. Greg Schiano, Rutgers: For overcoming early problems, throwing young players into the fire and still being 7-2.
4. Randy Edsall, Connecticut: For his leadership through the Jasper Howard tragedy and keeping UConn very competitive.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Stock up
1. Pitt: At 8-1 and a Top 10 ranking in November for the first time since 1982, the Panthers are at their highest point in a quarter-century. And Notre Dame is coming to town for a sold-out game at Heinz Field. Can the Panthers continue their climb?
2. Julian Miller: The West Virginia defensive end was named Big East defensive player of the week for his three-sack performance against Louisville. The Mountaineers weren't sure about their defensive line outside of Chris Neild and Scooter Berry going into the year (remember the Tevita Finau saga?) Miller has shored that up with team bests of 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
3. UConn's grit: We knew the Huskies were tough the way they hung in there after the Jasper Howard death. To come back from 20 points down in the second half on the road against a Top 5 team and nearly pull off the victory was an amazing feat.
4. Darius Ashley: The Louisville freshman running back wasn't used much early in the season, then hurt his shoulder against Pitt. With Vic Anderson and Bilal Powell sidelined Saturday, Ashley carried the ball a whopping 33 times for 164 yards.
5. Adrien Robinson: With Ben Guidugli still slowed from a concussion at Syracuse, Robinson took on a bigger role as Cincinnati's tight end against UConn. He had two catches for 74 yards, including a ridiculous 54-yard grab off a batted ball that set up an important field goal at the end of the first half.
Stock down
1. Syracuse's depth: Already battling roster problems -- the Orange had just 55 scholarship players available for the Pitt game -- Syracuse lost star defensive lineman Arthur Jones and starting offensive lineman Jonathan Meldrum to season-ending knee injuries this week. It could be a struggle to find enough bodies to finish the season at this point.
2. UConn's defense: Credit the Huskies for never quitting, but they should use the bye week to figure out what's wrong with the defense. They have given up big plays at the end of games to lose and got stomped for 711 total yards by Cincinnati. The secondary is a major question mark.
3. Noel Devine: Stock is down only relevant to where he was two weeks ago, when we were calling Devine a Heisman Trophy contender. Since then, Devine has run for 42 yards at South Florida and 56 versus Louisville before being sidelined with an ankle sprain. The Mountaineers must have a vintage Devine performance on Friday at Cincinnati.
4. Cincinnati's defense: From third in the country in scoring defense, allowing an an average of a little more than 12 points a game, to surrendering 45 to a Connecticut team not known for being explosive. Yep, that stock has gone down. Is it a one-week blip in the market, or a more problematic long-term concern?
5. The Big East's bowl hopes: Notre Dame's loss to Navy took the Irish off the BCS table, which means the Irish are firmly pointing toward taking the Big East's spot in the Gator Bowl and moving the No. 2 league team to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Big East should root for Pitt and UConn to beat Notre Dame the next two weeks, and then hope Stanford takes care of business Thanksgiving weekend to make the Irish ineligible at 6-6.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading rusher at 1,139 yards on 203 attempts, with 12 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: The Big East's leader in receiving yards, with 65 catches for 908 yards and eight touchdowns.
3. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leader in passing yards and pass efficiency; he's has completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 1,879 yards and 17 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
4. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Fallen back a bit after the past two games. He has rushed for 1,010 yards on 167 attempts this season, with 10 touchdowns.
5. Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: Yes, that's right. Collaros not Pike. If you credit Collaros with the South Florida win -- the game was very much in doubt when he came in after Pike's injury -- Collaros has won four Big East games and will start a fifth this week. For the season, he has completed 76 percent of his passes for 1,229 yards and 10 touchdowns, with only one interceptions. He's also run for 288 yards and four scores.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: Leads the league with 13 tackles for loss, has three sacks and has forced three fumbles.
2. Kion Wilson, LB, South Florida: Leads the Bulls with 61 tackles. Had some strong comments before the Rutgers game and needs to back them up Thursday night.
3. Julian Miller, DE, West Virginia: See above.
4. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Has three interceptions and 42 tackles.
5. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Has 7.5 sacks and and an interception.
Newcomer of the year
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pitt: See above.
2. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: Has 9.5 sacks, and interception and a forced fumble.
3. Tom Savage, QB, Rutgers: Has completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,341 yards and and eight touchdowns with one interception.
4. Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers: has 32 catches for 291 yards and has run 10 times for 55 yards.
5. Darius Ashley, RB, Louisville: See above.
Stock up
1. Pitt: At 8-1 and a Top 10 ranking in November for the first time since 1982, the Panthers are at their highest point in a quarter-century. And Notre Dame is coming to town for a sold-out game at Heinz Field. Can the Panthers continue their climb?
2. Julian Miller: The West Virginia defensive end was named Big East defensive player of the week for his three-sack performance against Louisville. The Mountaineers weren't sure about their defensive line outside of Chris Neild and Scooter Berry going into the year (remember the Tevita Finau saga?) Miller has shored that up with team bests of 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
3. UConn's grit: We knew the Huskies were tough the way they hung in there after the Jasper Howard death. To come back from 20 points down in the second half on the road against a Top 5 team and nearly pull off the victory was an amazing feat.
4. Darius Ashley: The Louisville freshman running back wasn't used much early in the season, then hurt his shoulder against Pitt. With Vic Anderson and Bilal Powell sidelined Saturday, Ashley carried the ball a whopping 33 times for 164 yards.
5. Adrien Robinson: With Ben Guidugli still slowed from a concussion at Syracuse, Robinson took on a bigger role as Cincinnati's tight end against UConn. He had two catches for 74 yards, including a ridiculous 54-yard grab off a batted ball that set up an important field goal at the end of the first half.
Stock down
1. Syracuse's depth: Already battling roster problems -- the Orange had just 55 scholarship players available for the Pitt game -- Syracuse lost star defensive lineman Arthur Jones and starting offensive lineman Jonathan Meldrum to season-ending knee injuries this week. It could be a struggle to find enough bodies to finish the season at this point.
2. UConn's defense: Credit the Huskies for never quitting, but they should use the bye week to figure out what's wrong with the defense. They have given up big plays at the end of games to lose and got stomped for 711 total yards by Cincinnati. The secondary is a major question mark.
3. Noel Devine: Stock is down only relevant to where he was two weeks ago, when we were calling Devine a Heisman Trophy contender. Since then, Devine has run for 42 yards at South Florida and 56 versus Louisville before being sidelined with an ankle sprain. The Mountaineers must have a vintage Devine performance on Friday at Cincinnati.
4. Cincinnati's defense: From third in the country in scoring defense, allowing an an average of a little more than 12 points a game, to surrendering 45 to a Connecticut team not known for being explosive. Yep, that stock has gone down. Is it a one-week blip in the market, or a more problematic long-term concern?
5. The Big East's bowl hopes: Notre Dame's loss to Navy took the Irish off the BCS table, which means the Irish are firmly pointing toward taking the Big East's spot in the Gator Bowl and moving the No. 2 league team to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Big East should root for Pitt and UConn to beat Notre Dame the next two weeks, and then hope Stanford takes care of business Thanksgiving weekend to make the Irish ineligible at 6-6.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leading rusher at 1,139 yards on 203 attempts, with 12 touchdowns.
2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: The Big East's leader in receiving yards, with 65 catches for 908 yards and eight touchdowns.
3. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: The Big East's leader in passing yards and pass efficiency; he's has completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 1,879 yards and 17 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
4. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Fallen back a bit after the past two games. He has rushed for 1,010 yards on 167 attempts this season, with 10 touchdowns.
5. Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: Yes, that's right. Collaros not Pike. If you credit Collaros with the South Florida win -- the game was very much in doubt when he came in after Pike's injury -- Collaros has won four Big East games and will start a fifth this week. For the season, he has completed 76 percent of his passes for 1,229 yards and 10 touchdowns, with only one interceptions. He's also run for 288 yards and four scores.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: Leads the league with 13 tackles for loss, has three sacks and has forced three fumbles.
2. Kion Wilson, LB, South Florida: Leads the Bulls with 61 tackles. Had some strong comments before the Rutgers game and needs to back them up Thursday night.
3. Julian Miller, DE, West Virginia: See above.
4. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Has three interceptions and 42 tackles.
5. Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: Has 7.5 sacks and and an interception.
Newcomer of the year
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pitt: See above.
2. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: Has 9.5 sacks, and interception and a forced fumble.
3. Tom Savage, QB, Rutgers: Has completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,341 yards and and eight touchdowns with one interception.
4. Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers: has 32 catches for 291 yards and has run 10 times for 55 yards.
5. Darius Ashley, RB, Louisville: See above.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Stock it to me.
Stock up
1. Tim Brown: You had to wonder if a guy as small as Brown could become a true No. 1 receiver. He's answered that question resoundingly with a terrific season, catching 37 passes for 811 yards and five touchdowns for Rutgers. He had two scores, including the last-minute, 81-yard game-winner against UConn last week. Imagine his numbers if he had a more experienced quarterback all year.
2. Eric Schwartz: There's no other way to say it: South Florida's kicking was flat-out brutal during the middle of the year. But ever since he drilled a wholly unexpected 50-yarder to end the half against Cincinnati, Schwartz has been money in the bank. The junior walk-on has made six straight, including all three against West Virginia.
3. Cincinnati's hands: The Bearcats are the only team in the country that has not lost a fumble this year, amazingly. They have committed only four turnovers the entire season.
4. Mo Plancher: South Florida's running game aside from B.J. Daniels had stalled in recent weeks. Plancher helped fix that with 86 yards on 18 carries against West Virginia, creating many yards after first contact and setting a tone for that game.
5. Gallows humor: We criticized Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe's weird postgame comments about wanting to play against Tony Pike last week. This week, we credit the coach for his surprisingly funny press conference opening line about talking to Jon Gruden. Here's hoping that if this is indeed the final month of the Kragthorpe tenure, we get to see more of the guy's personality in the final days.
Stock down
1. Syracuse and Louisville crowds: The Orange drew only an announced 33,802 fans to Saturday's game against Cincinnati, a number that was probably inflated. Louisville had a stadium-record low 21,497 turn out for Arkansas State. Pathetic all around. Cardinals fans at least had somewhat of an excuse with the bad opponent, apathy for Kragthorpe's team and a game that spilled into Halloween trick-or-treating time. The Orange were playing the No. 5 team in the country at noon and offered free tickets to students. What's the deal with that?
2. Mike Williams: For quitting on his team. Don't be surprised if he comes back before the season is over, but that wouldn't make his decision-making any less boneheaded.
3. West Virginia's pass defense: Cornerback Keith Tandy got burned a lot against South Florida, but he wasn't the only culprit. The Mountaineers rank seventh in the league against the pass and have allowed big days through the air to Connecticut, Colorado and Auburn. That needs to get fixed before the Mountaineers take on Cincinnati and Pitt.
4. Overtime: The very first game of the year, Syracuse's loss to Minnesota, went to an extra period. Since then, the Big East hasn't given us an free football. Come on guys, put in a few overtime hours.
5. Instant replay: Maybe it's just me, but it seems like a lot of the Big East games I've seen this year have been bogged down by endless replay reviews that take far too long to resolve. I'm all for getting the call right, but the countless breaks in the action kill any kind of flow to the game.
Stock it to me.
Stock up
1. Tim Brown: You had to wonder if a guy as small as Brown could become a true No. 1 receiver. He's answered that question resoundingly with a terrific season, catching 37 passes for 811 yards and five touchdowns for Rutgers. He had two scores, including the last-minute, 81-yard game-winner against UConn last week. Imagine his numbers if he had a more experienced quarterback all year.
2. Eric Schwartz: There's no other way to say it: South Florida's kicking was flat-out brutal during the middle of the year. But ever since he drilled a wholly unexpected 50-yarder to end the half against Cincinnati, Schwartz has been money in the bank. The junior walk-on has made six straight, including all three against West Virginia.
3. Cincinnati's hands: The Bearcats are the only team in the country that has not lost a fumble this year, amazingly. They have committed only four turnovers the entire season.
4. Mo Plancher: South Florida's running game aside from B.J. Daniels had stalled in recent weeks. Plancher helped fix that with 86 yards on 18 carries against West Virginia, creating many yards after first contact and setting a tone for that game.
5. Gallows humor: We criticized Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe's weird postgame comments about wanting to play against Tony Pike last week. This week, we credit the coach for his surprisingly funny press conference opening line about talking to Jon Gruden. Here's hoping that if this is indeed the final month of the Kragthorpe tenure, we get to see more of the guy's personality in the final days.
Stock down
1. Syracuse and Louisville crowds: The Orange drew only an announced 33,802 fans to Saturday's game against Cincinnati, a number that was probably inflated. Louisville had a stadium-record low 21,497 turn out for Arkansas State. Pathetic all around. Cardinals fans at least had somewhat of an excuse with the bad opponent, apathy for Kragthorpe's team and a game that spilled into Halloween trick-or-treating time. The Orange were playing the No. 5 team in the country at noon and offered free tickets to students. What's the deal with that?
2. Mike Williams: For quitting on his team. Don't be surprised if he comes back before the season is over, but that wouldn't make his decision-making any less boneheaded.
3. West Virginia's pass defense: Cornerback Keith Tandy got burned a lot against South Florida, but he wasn't the only culprit. The Mountaineers rank seventh in the league against the pass and have allowed big days through the air to Connecticut, Colorado and Auburn. That needs to get fixed before the Mountaineers take on Cincinnati and Pitt.
4. Overtime: The very first game of the year, Syracuse's loss to Minnesota, went to an extra period. Since then, the Big East hasn't given us an free football. Come on guys, put in a few overtime hours.
5. Instant replay: Maybe it's just me, but it seems like a lot of the Big East games I've seen this year have been bogged down by endless replay reviews that take far too long to resolve. I'm all for getting the call right, but the countless breaks in the action kill any kind of flow to the game.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
The Wall Street Journal has nothing on this stock report. Let's see who's up, who's down and who's leading the big races (bonus category: top assistant coach) as we enter Week 9 of the Big East marathon:
Stock up
1. West Virginia fans: The Mountaineers' fans get a bad rap sometimes, especially from the outside press that wants to label them as couch-burners from the backwoods. They're a passionate bunch, to be sure, and they showed a lot of class and dignity last week with the tributes to Connecticut and Jasper Howard. Today we applaud you, fans.
2. Delone Carter: The Syracuse senior had a career day against Akron, rushing for 170 yards and three touchdowns. That's 33 more yards and three more scores than he had in all of an injury-plagued 2008.
3. Marcus Easley: The UConn senior and former walk-on has become the Huskies' big-play guy. He had an 88-yard touchdown catch that gave Connecticut its final lead in the fourth quarter at West Virginia and is averaging 26.1 yards per catch with three scores this year.
4. Mike Shanahan: No, not the former Broncos coach. The redshirt freshman receiver has become a weapon for Pitt in the last few games and now has seven catches for 88 yards on the season. He's 6-foot-5 with sure hands and gives Bill Stull yet another target.
5. Mark Harrison: The true freshman Rutgers receiver has overcome an early-season groin injury and is taking on a bigger role in the offense. Fellow wideout Tim Brown told The Star-Ledger that the 6-foot-3 Harrison could be the next Kenny Britt.
Stock down
1. George Selvie: I hate to say it, because Selvie is one of the nicest guys in the league and a real talent, but his stock is down after the last two games. Cincinnati's Jeff Linkenbach and Pitt's Jason Pinkston slowed him down to a crawl. Yes, they had help often, but even in one-on-one situations, Selvie was not the force we've seen him be in the past.
2. Steve Kragthorpe's reasoning: The Louisville coach said after his team's 41-10 loss to Cincinnati that he was hoping to see Tony Pike instead of Zach Collaros because Pike was one-dimensional. Um, OK. The Courier-Journal's Eric Crawford blisters Kragthorpe for that comment in this column.
3. Jerome Murphy: Two very tough games in a row for the talented South Florida senior cornerback. He had a mistake-filled night against Cincinnati and was burned repeatedly in the Pitt game. Jim Leavitt hinted at personnel changes this week, and most people looked immediately to Murphy, who will be under fire against West Virginia's passing game.
4. The BCS standings: What kind of system drops Cincinnati from No. 5 to No. 8 after it beats a conference rival by 31 points without its star quarterback?
5. Anyone but Mohamed Sanu or Tom Savage at quarterback for Rutgers: Sanu has made the Wildcat package work much better than Jabu Lovelace or Kordell Young. The Scarlet Knights even had punter Teddy Dellaganna attempt a pass. I know they're searching of offense, but sometimes too much trickery is not a treat.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati: Has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns, with three interceptions. Missed last week's game against Louisville with an injured left forearm.
2. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has rushed for 912 yards on 137 attempts, with 10 touchdowns. Ranks third in the FBS in rushing yards per game.
3. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Has run for 1,029 on 185 attempts, with 11 touchdowns. Ranks fourth n the FBS in rushing yards per game
4. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Has 47 catches for 674 yards and eight touchdowns.
5. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: Has completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 1,654 yards and 16 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: This category changes wildly from week to week, as no one seems to want to take control. I'm going this week with Williams, who leads the league with 12.5 tackles for loss and is second in forced fumbles with three.
2. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: He's second in the nation in sacks, with 10.5.
3. Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: He leads the nation in forced fumbles and is tied for second in the Big East with 6.5 sacks.
4. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Has three interceptions and is the leader of the defense for the Big East's top-ranked team and stingiest 'D'.
5. Lawrence Wilson, LB, UConn: Leads the Big East in tackles.
Assistant coach of the year
1. Bob Diaco, Cincinnati: All the first-year defensive coordinator has done is switch to a 3-4 scheme, replace 10 senior starters and make the Bearcats the top scoring defense in the league with 13.7 points allowed per game.
2. Frank Cignetti, Pittsburgh: Cignetti deserves a lot of credit for the improvement by Stull and for utilizing all the weapons at his disposal as Pitt's offensive coordinator. The Panthers are averaging 34.2 points per game
3. Jeff Mullen, West Virginia: Mullen came under fire in his first year as offensive coordinator in Morgantown while trying to implement more of a passing game. Things are clicking now, as West Virginia is averaging 31.3 points and has the second-best passing offense in the league.
The Wall Street Journal has nothing on this stock report. Let's see who's up, who's down and who's leading the big races (bonus category: top assistant coach) as we enter Week 9 of the Big East marathon:
Stock up
 | |
| John Korduner/Icon SMI | |
| West Virginia fans showed a lot of class Saturday when the Mountaineers played UConn. |
2. Delone Carter: The Syracuse senior had a career day against Akron, rushing for 170 yards and three touchdowns. That's 33 more yards and three more scores than he had in all of an injury-plagued 2008.
3. Marcus Easley: The UConn senior and former walk-on has become the Huskies' big-play guy. He had an 88-yard touchdown catch that gave Connecticut its final lead in the fourth quarter at West Virginia and is averaging 26.1 yards per catch with three scores this year.
4. Mike Shanahan: No, not the former Broncos coach. The redshirt freshman receiver has become a weapon for Pitt in the last few games and now has seven catches for 88 yards on the season. He's 6-foot-5 with sure hands and gives Bill Stull yet another target.
5. Mark Harrison: The true freshman Rutgers receiver has overcome an early-season groin injury and is taking on a bigger role in the offense. Fellow wideout Tim Brown told The Star-Ledger that the 6-foot-3 Harrison could be the next Kenny Britt.
Stock down
 | |
| Cliff Welch/Icon SMI | |
| USF’s George Selvie's stock is down after two poor games. |
2. Steve Kragthorpe's reasoning: The Louisville coach said after his team's 41-10 loss to Cincinnati that he was hoping to see Tony Pike instead of Zach Collaros because Pike was one-dimensional. Um, OK. The Courier-Journal's Eric Crawford blisters Kragthorpe for that comment in this column.
3. Jerome Murphy: Two very tough games in a row for the talented South Florida senior cornerback. He had a mistake-filled night against Cincinnati and was burned repeatedly in the Pitt game. Jim Leavitt hinted at personnel changes this week, and most people looked immediately to Murphy, who will be under fire against West Virginia's passing game.
4. The BCS standings: What kind of system drops Cincinnati from No. 5 to No. 8 after it beats a conference rival by 31 points without its star quarterback?
5. Anyone but Mohamed Sanu or Tom Savage at quarterback for Rutgers: Sanu has made the Wildcat package work much better than Jabu Lovelace or Kordell Young. The Scarlet Knights even had punter Teddy Dellaganna attempt a pass. I know they're searching of offense, but sometimes too much trickery is not a treat.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati: Has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns, with three interceptions. Missed last week's game against Louisville with an injured left forearm.
2. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has rushed for 912 yards on 137 attempts, with 10 touchdowns. Ranks third in the FBS in rushing yards per game.
3. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Has run for 1,029 on 185 attempts, with 11 touchdowns. Ranks fourth n the FBS in rushing yards per game
4. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Has 47 catches for 674 yards and eight touchdowns.
5. Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh: Has completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 1,654 yards and 16 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: This category changes wildly from week to week, as no one seems to want to take control. I'm going this week with Williams, who leads the league with 12.5 tackles for loss and is second in forced fumbles with three.
2. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: He's second in the nation in sacks, with 10.5.
3. Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: He leads the nation in forced fumbles and is tied for second in the Big East with 6.5 sacks.
4. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Has three interceptions and is the leader of the defense for the Big East's top-ranked team and stingiest 'D'.
5. Lawrence Wilson, LB, UConn: Leads the Big East in tackles.
Assistant coach of the year
1. Bob Diaco, Cincinnati: All the first-year defensive coordinator has done is switch to a 3-4 scheme, replace 10 senior starters and make the Bearcats the top scoring defense in the league with 13.7 points allowed per game.
2. Frank Cignetti, Pittsburgh: Cignetti deserves a lot of credit for the improvement by Stull and for utilizing all the weapons at his disposal as Pitt's offensive coordinator. The Panthers are averaging 34.2 points per game
3. Jeff Mullen, West Virginia: Mullen came under fire in his first year as offensive coordinator in Morgantown while trying to implement more of a passing game. Things are clicking now, as West Virginia is averaging 31.3 points and has the second-best passing offense in the league.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
If my rap's soup, my beats is stock.
In other words, it's time for the Big East weekly stock report. There has been some serious shuffling in defensive player of the year race as we reach midseason. But that derby is still wide open.
Stock up
1. Dion Lewis: His stock was already high, but after the Pitt true freshman running back accumulated 180 yards and two touchdowns against Rutgers, it's through the roof. Lewis even appeared on a couple of Heisman Watch ballots this week (including mine).
2. Lawrence Wilson: It's time to recognize the job the UConn linebacker is doing this season. He's leading the league in tackles and had 16 stops against Louisville on Saturday. With Scott Lutrus missing most of the year, Wilson has picked up the slack.
3. Backup quarterbacks: Zach Collaros and Geno Smith each stepped in and led his team to victory after Tony Pike and Jarrett Brown went down with injuries this week, respectively. Adam Froman, who started the season as a backup to Justin Burke, had a solid game for Louisville at UConn.
4. Compassion: If anything good can come of the Jasper Howard tragedy, it's the camaraderie and compassion shown by the entire Big East toward Connecticut. I've always thought the league was unusually close-knit, due in large part to its small size, and that showed in how coaches and players responded to this difficult situation
Stock down
1. Home-field advantage: Visiting teams have won six of the first eight Big East conference games. The lone exceptions were Pitt's win over UConn and the Huskies' win over Louisville. What is going on here? Didn't anybody see that "We Must Protect This House" commercial?
2. Quarterback health: Matt Grothe, Tony Pike, Jarrett Brown, Justin Burke, Zach Frazer, Tom Savage. All have gotten hurt and had to miss significant time at some point this season. The only quarterback to start and finish every game this year has been Pitt's Bill Stull.
3. South Florida on Thursday night: For the third straight year, the Bulls lost a big Thursday night game. Two years ago, it was at Rutgers. Last year, Pitt. Last week, Cincinnati. Next time the Big East office calls with a Thursday night offer, I suggest the Bulls say, "You know what, our DVR is on the fritz and we want to watch 'The Office' and '30 Rock.' So we're going to pass. But thanks.'"
4. Rutgers' run defense: The Scarlet Knights came into last week's game ranked sixth in the nation in rush defense, allowing just 2.3 yards per carry. Lewis and Pitt showed that those stats were largely a product of Rutgers' easy schedule.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati: Has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns. May miss this week's game with an injured left forearm.
2. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Leads the Big East and is second nationally with 918 rushing yards, plus nine touchdowns.
3. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Averaging 6.4 yards per carry and has 734 rushing yards and nine scores.
4. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Has 43 catches for 592 yards and seven touchdowns.
5. Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse: Has 45 catches for 712 yards and six touchdowns.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: Even though he's only been in a starting role for about four games, he's had a huge impact with 8.5 tackles for loss.
2. Lawrence Wilson, LB, UConn: See above.
3. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: The leader of the Bearcats defense, he had his third interception at South Florida and returned it 83 yards.
4. Nate Allen, S, South Florida: Leads the league in passes defended and is second in interceptions, while ranking 14th in tackles.
5. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: Back on track last week, he now has a league-best 9.5 sacks, which ranks second nationally.
If my rap's soup, my beats is stock.
In other words, it's time for the Big East weekly stock report. There has been some serious shuffling in defensive player of the year race as we reach midseason. But that derby is still wide open.
Stock up
1. Dion Lewis: His stock was already high, but after the Pitt true freshman running back accumulated 180 yards and two touchdowns against Rutgers, it's through the roof. Lewis even appeared on a couple of Heisman Watch ballots this week (including mine).
2. Lawrence Wilson: It's time to recognize the job the UConn linebacker is doing this season. He's leading the league in tackles and had 16 stops against Louisville on Saturday. With Scott Lutrus missing most of the year, Wilson has picked up the slack.
3. Backup quarterbacks: Zach Collaros and Geno Smith each stepped in and led his team to victory after Tony Pike and Jarrett Brown went down with injuries this week, respectively. Adam Froman, who started the season as a backup to Justin Burke, had a solid game for Louisville at UConn.
4. Compassion: If anything good can come of the Jasper Howard tragedy, it's the camaraderie and compassion shown by the entire Big East toward Connecticut. I've always thought the league was unusually close-knit, due in large part to its small size, and that showed in how coaches and players responded to this difficult situation
Stock down
1. Home-field advantage: Visiting teams have won six of the first eight Big East conference games. The lone exceptions were Pitt's win over UConn and the Huskies' win over Louisville. What is going on here? Didn't anybody see that "We Must Protect This House" commercial?
2. Quarterback health: Matt Grothe, Tony Pike, Jarrett Brown, Justin Burke, Zach Frazer, Tom Savage. All have gotten hurt and had to miss significant time at some point this season. The only quarterback to start and finish every game this year has been Pitt's Bill Stull.
3. South Florida on Thursday night: For the third straight year, the Bulls lost a big Thursday night game. Two years ago, it was at Rutgers. Last year, Pitt. Last week, Cincinnati. Next time the Big East office calls with a Thursday night offer, I suggest the Bulls say, "You know what, our DVR is on the fritz and we want to watch 'The Office' and '30 Rock.' So we're going to pass. But thanks.'"
4. Rutgers' run defense: The Scarlet Knights came into last week's game ranked sixth in the nation in rush defense, allowing just 2.3 yards per carry. Lewis and Pitt showed that those stats were largely a product of Rutgers' easy schedule.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati: Has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns. May miss this week's game with an injured left forearm.
2. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Leads the Big East and is second nationally with 918 rushing yards, plus nine touchdowns.
3. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Averaging 6.4 yards per carry and has 734 rushing yards and nine scores.
4. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Has 43 catches for 592 yards and seven touchdowns.
5. Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse: Has 45 catches for 712 yards and six touchdowns.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: Even though he's only been in a starting role for about four games, he's had a huge impact with 8.5 tackles for loss.
2. Lawrence Wilson, LB, UConn: See above.
3. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: The leader of the Bearcats defense, he had his third interception at South Florida and returned it 83 yards.
4. Nate Allen, S, South Florida: Leads the league in passes defended and is second in interceptions, while ranking 14th in tackles.
5. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: Back on track last week, he now has a league-best 9.5 sacks, which ranks second nationally.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Time to stock up on some Big East status reports. OK, my stock is now down for that stupid pun. Anyway, here's this week's stock report, with this week's bonus category of most improved player (hat tip to Adam from Pittsburgh for the suggestion):
Stock up
1. Scott Long: Plenty of people thought I was crazy for including Long in my preseason Big East Top 30 list and, yeah, I probably ranked him too high. But Long has shown he's one of the league's top playmakers, especially after his 92-yard touchdown pass against Southern Miss.
2. Jarrett Brown: Some people got down on Brown after his turnover spree at Auburn. But since the second half of the Colorado game, he's been nearly flawless, including an efficient 22-of-30, 244-yard, no turnover performance at Syracuse.
3. Pitt's offensive line: They buckled down and paved the way for the comeback against UConn, helping the Panthers run for more than 200 yards against one of the Big East's best run defenses. And they keep protecting Bill Stull well, giving up only four sacks all year.
4. Marcus Easley: The former UConn walk-on earned a scholarship this spring and caught a 79-yard touchdown pass in the Pitt game.
5. Rutgers' defense: The Scarlet Knights have eight interceptions and four defensive scores this season. Now let's see if they can do it against Big East competition.
Stock down
1. Greg Paulus: Hard to knock the guy too much considering all he's done under difficult circumstances, but Paulus does have six interceptions in his past six quarters. If he doesn't improve, he might lose his starting job like he did at Duke last season.
2. UConn's fourth quarters: The Huskies have been outscored 40-21 in the fourth quarter against FBS foes this year, including blown leads against Pitt and North Carolina. It's fair to at least ask at this point whether the no-huddle offense is contributing to fatigue for a team that's not especially deep.
3. Justin Burke: Through no real apparent fault of his own, Burke has lost the starting quarterback job at Louisville to Adam Froman, who was handpicked out of junior college by head coach Steve Kragthorpe.
4. Pitt's home field advantage: Despite having a 4-1 team, a crucial Big East game and a lovely fall afternoon, the Panthers drew only an announced crowd of 44,893 to Heinz Field. Many of those fans booed the home team during the game and fled in droves once it fell behind 21-6. They missed the big comeback -- and proved that Pitt doesn't have much of a home-field advantage.
5. Jeff Mullen critics: West Virginia fans loved to criticize their offensive coordinator last year and parts of this season. Well, the Mountaineers have scored at least 30 points in each of their first five games for the first time ever. Not even Rich Rodriguez ever accomplished that. Time to give Mullen some credit.
Player of the year race: Offense
1. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati: Has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,493 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions.
2. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has rushed 95 times for 631 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
3. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Has 38 catches for 517 yards and seven touchdowns.
4. Dion Lewis, RB, Pitt: Has rushed 131 times for 738 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
5. Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse: Has 45 catches for 712 yards and six touchdowns.
Player of the year race: Defense
1. George Selvie, DE, South Florida: Does he deserve the top spot? We'll find out Thursday night.
2. Greg Romeus, DE, Pitt: Has seven sacks on the season, including one that forced a fumble against UConn.
3. Nate Allen, S, South Florida: Leads the Bulls with 29 tackles and has two interceptions.
4. JK Schaffer, LB, Cincinnati: Has three interceptions and 31 tackles on the year.
5. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: Still leads the league with eight sacks but has been quiet of late, including loss at Pitt.
Most improved player of the year
1. Bill Stull, QB, Pitt: After struggling mightily at the end of last season, Stull has picked his game up. He leads the league in pass efficiency and is tied for the Big East lead with 13 touchdown passes.
2. Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati: The junior had two career catches in 16 games coming into this season, when he has 22 catches for 279 yards and a touchdown.
3. Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pitt: This senior had 14 career receptions before this year, when he has 21 catches for 232 yards and seven touchdowns.
4. Carlton Mitchell, WR, South Florida: He's nearly matched last year's totals already with 22 catches for 377 yards and has tripled his touchdown production to three. He's become the Bulls' long bomb specialist.
5. Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: Smith had 73 tackles, seven for loss last year. At middle linebacker this season, he already has collected 55 tackles (6.5 for loss) and 4.5 sacks.
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.
