ESPN College Football

• Some burning questions facing each Big East team this spring. And here are priorities for each team.
• Pitt will be moving fast when it takes the practice field Tuesday. It's also pro day for the Panthers, and Dom DeCicco may have the most to prove.
• Breaking down UConn's spring practice.
• A Syracuse recruit was suspended for making inappropriate gestures to the crowd in a basketball game.

Detailed information about last week's NFLPA All-Star game was a little hard to come by, but colleague Adam Rittenberg did some good sleuthing to dig up the stats.

The game, formerly known as the Texas vs. The Nation game, featured a few Big East players. Most did not make a major statistical impact.

West Virginia receiver Jock Sanders had four catches for 57 yards and one run for a loss of 4 yards. Louisville tight end Cameron Graham had one reception that went for a loss. South Florida defensive end Craig Marshall recorded one tackle.

Cincinnati kicker Jake Rogers and Pittsburgh safety Dom DeCicco were also on the rosters, as was West Virginia's J.T. Thomas. The linebacker practiced in the week before the game but did not play. ESPN.com draft analyst Kevin Weidl listed Thomas as one of his "stock up" players after an early practice.

Thomas is an easy mover with lots of range and lateral quickness and he closed on the ball well. He showed the instincts to find the ball and diagnosed plays quickly.

He will get engulfed at the point of attack at times but Thomas is very good at slipping blocks and getting involved in the play, and he also showed good awareness in underneath zone coverage and matched up well in man coverage. He looks like a good fit as a weakside linebacker in the NFL where he can be covered up and allowed to run to the ball.

Chad Reuter of NFLDraftScout.com projected DeCicco and Graham as sixth-rounders in this year's NFL draft based on their performance in practice leading up to the game. Here's what he wrote on each:

DeCicco: A 6-3, 232-pound safety with enough athleticism to be a Will Herring-type reserve safety/linebacker prospect.

Graham: Not special in any one category, but has good hands and presents a nice target in the red zone.

National signing day is Wednesday, and every fan base will be excited about the guys their schools bring in.

But how much do star rankings and hype really correlate to future success? One way to find out is by working backwards. Let's take a look at this year's official All-Big East team and see where each player was ranked as a recruit coming into his program.

All information is based on ESPN.com's recruiting rankings.

Offense

QB: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati: Unranked as a recruit.

RB: Jordan Todman, Connecticut: Two-star recruit, ranked No. 118 among running backs in the Class of 2008.

RB: Bilal Powell, Louisville: Unranked as a recruit.

WR: Armon Binns, Cincinnati: Unranked as a recruit.

WR: Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh: Four-star prospect, ESPNU150 performer, No. 8 among wide receivers in the Class of 2008.

OT: Mike Ryan, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

OT: Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh: Four-star prospect and No. 13 defensive tackle in the Class of '06.

OG: Zach Hurd, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

OG: Mark Wetterer, Louisville: Two-star prospect and No. 70 offensive tackle in Class of '07.

C: Sampson Genus, South Florida: Three-star prospect and No. 12 center in the Class of '07.

TE: Cameron Graham, Louisville: Junior college transfer.

Defense

DL: Kendall Reyes, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

DL: Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh: Two-star prospect and No. 83 defensive end in the Class of '07.

DL: Terrell McClain, South Florida: Three-star prospect and No. 29 defensive tackle in Class of '07.

DL: Chris Neild, West Virginia: Three-star prospect and No. 17 tight end in Class of '06.

LB: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

LB: Doug Hogue, Syracuse: Three-star prospect and No. 84 running back in Class of '07.

LB: J.T. Thomas, West Virginia: Unranked as a recruit.

CB: Johnny Patrick, Louisville: Unranked as a recruit.

CB: Keith Tandy, West Virginia: One-star prospect and No. 207 quarterback in Class of '07.

S: Dom DeCicco, Pittsburgh: Two-star prospect and No. 126 wide receiver in Class of '07.

S: Robert Sands, West Virginia: Unranked as a recruit.

As you can see, it was almost as likely that a player without any stars attached to his name would develop into an All-Big East performer as those more highly regarded. There were some on-the-mark evaluations, such as Baldwin and McClain, Pinkston and Genus. And there were guys who flew way under the radar, like Binns and Powell, Ryan and Wilson.

It still, like always, comes down to proper evaluation by a staff, then to player development and an individual's own desire to be great. Something to keep in mind on signing day.

Noel Devine measured in at just 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds at the Senior Bowl, and his NFL stock is dropping according to analyst Todd McShay.

Here's what McShay wrote about Devine:

On the plus side, Devine is the quickest back here. He's starting from a standstill and he reaches top speed so quickly and gets through the hole. He also caught the ball well.

But the biggest thing working against him is his size. ... On one play, Alabama QB Greg McElroy looked for him in the flat and couldn't see Devine because he's so short. Sometimes small backs get away with their lack of height because they have great balance, but that was one of the most concerning things about Devine's performance. His lack of balance showed during drills whenever a linebacker or safety would come to wrap up, he'd try to make a move and fall to the ground. At one point, he was one-on-one with OLB Von Miller in space and tried to shake him but lost his balance.

McShay concludes that Devine looks like a fourth- or fifth-round pick. He'll need to land with a team that's creative enough to find ways to use him, because Devine is still a big-time playmaker when he's healthy.

In other all-star news, several Big East players will participate in the NFL Players Association Game. The game, formerly known as the Texas vs. the Nation Game, will be held Feb. 5 in San Antonio, Texas.

Here's a list of which Big East players have been invited:

• Craig Marshall, DE, South Florida
• J.T. Thomas, LB, West Virginia
• Jake Rogers, K, Cincinnati
• Jock Sanders, WR/KR, West Virginia
• Dom DeCicco, S, Pittsburgh
• Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville

Let's put a final bow on bowl season with the Big East's All-Bowl team:

Offense

Quarterback: Ryan Nassib, Syracuse

Nassib, who struggled down the stretch of the regular season, took advantage of Kansas State's shaky defense to complete 13-of-21 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

Running backs: Delone Carter, Syracuse, and Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh

Carter ran 27 times for 198 yards and two scores in the Pinstripe Bowl. Lewis rumbled for 105 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in the BBVA Compass Bowl before declaring for the NFL Draft.

Wide receiver: Marcus Sales, Syracuse

Sales came almost out of nowhere to record five catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns against Kansas State. No other Big East receiver had even a fraction of his stats in the postseason.

Tight end: Cameron Graham, Louisville

The league's best tight in the regular season kept it up in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, catching three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Offensive line: Jacob Sims and Sampson Genus, South Florida; Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh; Mark Wetterer, Louisville; Justin Pugh, Syracuse.


Sims and Genus were part of a USF line that pushed back Clemson's talented defensive front in the Meineke Car Care Bowl; Sims in particular helped keep Da'Quan Bowers quiet, which is not an easy thing to do. Pinkston showed some fire in protecting his quarterback after Tino Sunseri was hit late, and the Panthers ran for 261 yards while surrendering zero sacks against Kentucky. Wetterer and Pugh helped open holes for their high-scoring postseason offenses.

Defense

Defensive line: Brandon Lindsey, Pittsburgh; Terrell McClain, South Florida; Bruce Irvin, West Virginia.


Lindsey stepped up his game in the regular season when Greg Romeus was hurt and did so again in the bowl with Jabaal Sheard out. McClain didn't record many stats but was his usual dominant self in the middle against Clemson. Irvin had two sacks and a forced fumble against NC State in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Linebackers: Derrell Smith, Syracuse; J.T. Thomas, West Virginia; Brandon Heath, Louisville; DeDe Lattimore, South Florida.


I went with a 3-4 look on defense to recognize the many strong performances by linebackers during bowl. Just about all of these guys had double-digit tackles and/or a couple TFLs.

Cornerbacks: Johnny Patrick, Louisville; Quenton Washington, South Florida

After getting burned on a play early, Patrick was all over the field. He forced a fumble and blocked a punt. Washington also blocked a punt and had a 45-yard interception return.

Safeties: Dom DeCicco, Pittsburgh, and Robert Sands, West Virginia

DeCicco had nine tackles and a forced fumble, while Sands had eight tackles and a sack.

Specialists

Punter: Cole Wagner, Connecticut

Wagner punted seven times for an average of 46.9 yards -- with a long of 52 yards -- against Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Placekicker: Chris Philpott, Louisville

Philpott only got the call once, but he made the game-winning 36-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Kick returners: Jeremy Wright, Louisville, and Robbie Frey, Connecticut

Both Wright and Frey returned kickoffs for touchdowns in their bowl games. Wright's was especially crucial, as it tied the score in the fourth quarter.

Punt returner: Terrence Mitchell, South Florida

Mitchell had a 34-yard punt return against Clemson.

Earlier today, I presented you with my picks for the All-Big East team, which you can find here. Not long after, the official league awards and first and second teams came out, which you can find here.

The Big East official teams are voted on by the league's eight head coaches, who know a heck of a lot more about football than me. But that doesn't mean they always make the right choices. Let's take a look at each position and go over some of the reasoning behind the picks, starting with what seems to me like the most egregious error.

Quarterback

The league coaches chose Cincinnati's Zach Collaros as the unanimous pick, which is just shocking to me. Don't get me wrong, Collaros is a fantastic player who can put up crazy numbers. But I don't see how Collaros was chosen over West Virginia's Geno Smith. Smith led the Big East in passing efficiency and had a 23-6 touchdown to interception ratio. He had one bad game against Syracuse and was terrific just about every other game. Collaros threw 26 touchdowns but with a whopping 14 interceptions. His completion percentage was 58.7 compared to Smith's to 65.8.

In conference play, Collaros had 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Smith had 11 touchdowns and four interceptions in league play, not to mention that the Mountaineers were co-champions while Cincinnati finished 4-8.

The coaches, frankly, blew this one.

Running back

Jordan Todman and Bilal Powell were the easy calls here. What's amazing is that neither Noel Devine nor Dion Lewis made the first or second team. No one saw that coming before the year.

Wide receiver and tight end

Armon Binns and Jon Baldwin were the obvious calls at receiver. Louisville's Cameron Graham was the most productive tight end in the league.

Offensive line

Here's where the coaches' expertise should come into play. It's really hard just watching from TV or even from a press box to tell who's playing well on the interior of an offensive line, especially if you don't know what the blocking assignments are supposed to be. I made sure to get some input from coaches on this one and was pleased to see my choices of Sampson Genus at center and Zach Hurd and Mark Wetterer at guard were echoed by the coaches. We also agreed on Jason Pinkston at tackle, though the coaches had UConn's Mike Ryan at the other tackle, while I had Louisville's Byron Stingily. Both are fine choices, since Louisville and UConn had the best offensive lines in the league.

Defensive line

Very little question here with Jabaal Sheard, Terrell McClain and Chris Neild up front. The second defensive end spot was a tricky one for me. The coaches chose Kendall Reyes, who had an excellent year. I picked West Virginia's Julian Miller, who was a beast in conference play and part of the Mountaineers' unbelievable defense. When in doubt at one of these defensive positions, I went with a West Virgina player. I also strongly considered Chandler Jones, Brandon Lindsey and Jesse Joseph for that spot.

Linebacker

Linebacker is one of the deepest positions in the Big East this year. Lawrence Wilson was a definite, and the coaches and I agreed on J.T. Thomas. They chose Doug Hogue while I went with his Syracuse teammate, Derrell Smith. Can't argue too much either way and I would have put all four of them on there if there were enough spots.

Defensive back

Here's another place where I sharply disagree with the coaches' pick. They had West Virginia's Keith Tandy and not Brandon Hogan. I'm not sure even Tandy would agree with that. Tandy had the better interception and tackle numbers, but as he told me in a late-season interview, most of that was because teams wouldn't throw Hogan's way. The coaches I talked to all said Hogan was easily the best cornerback in the Big East. I had him and Johnny Patrick, who was also an official pick, though I heard some support for and strongly considered South Florida's Mistral Raymond.

At safety, Robert Sands was a no-brainer. The other safety spot was my most difficult choice on the entire list. Safety was not a strong position for the Big East this year. The coaches picked Dom DeCicco, who had a solid year. But I felt like he played some his best while working at linebacker for Pitt this year. I went instead with West Virginia's Sidney Glover, a rock-solid senior who fit my "when in doubt pick a Mountaineer" strategy. I liked Rutgers' Joe Lefeged earlier in the year but thought he faded along with his whole team. One coach who played Rutgers late in the season said they picked on Lefeged in the passing game.

So there you have it. How do you feel about the all-conference picks? Do you think, like I do, that Smith and Hogan were the biggest snubs?

As Pittsburgh sat in the driver's seat for the Big East title in early November, one stat always jumped out at me: the Panthers were shooting for their first-ever outright Big East title.

I realize that Miami and Virginia Tech dominated much of the late 1990s and early 2000s, but it's crazy that Pitt, with all of its tradition and advantages, has never won a league title in the clear. In fact, the Panthers own only two co-championships, and they both came in multi-way ties during arguably the worst two years the league has ever seen (2004 and 2010).

Pittsburgh is an excellent school located in a talent-rich area. Though the Panthers will always play second fiddle to the Steelers in their own city (and probably the Penguins, too), there are some advantages to being in a pro town. Pitt piggybacks off the Steelers' facilities and shares training space with the NFL team. Imagine the treat it must be for college players to walk by guys like Troy Polamalu on a daily basis.

There's absolutely no reason that Cincinnati should have two more outright Big East titles than Pitt, or that Connecticut has earned as many BCS bids as the Panthers. Now that the program has pulled the plug on the Dave Wannstedt era, it needs to find the right coach who can take this team to the next level.

It figures to be a wide open search, with no obvious heir apparent. We are going to hear a lot of names in this one, including NFL guys like Russ Grimm the former Pitt player and current Arizona Cardinals assistant, and Marvin Lewis, a Pennsylvania native and former Pitt assistant who may be on his last legs with the Cincinnati Bengals. Dreamers will probably even toss Bill Cowher's name into the mix.

But the Panthers -- and especially athletic director Steve Pederson -- should have learned a vital lesson by now. They need to hire a college guy.

Pederson's last big hire, of course, was at Nebraska when he brought Bill Callahan in from the Oakland Raiders. Both of them were fired a couple of years later. While Wannstedt had some success in six seasons, it took him a while to adjust to the college game early in his tenure.

This is a job best suited for an up-and-coming assistant at a major college program or someone who has established themselves as a head coach. Louisville and South Florida both hit home runs by going that route -- the Cardinals with a talented coordinator (Charlie Strong) and USF with a head coach (Skip Holtz).

The next coach's most immediate task will be trying to hold together a recruiting class that ESPN.com currently ranks 21st in the nation. Wannstedt had already secured 18 commitments. But there is always going to be talent in the Pennsylvania/Ohio region, and Pitt should be well stocked for 2011. Though the Panthers lose Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard at defensive end, offensive tackle Jason Pinkston, starting linebacker/safety Dom DeCicco and most likely junior receiver Jon Baldwin to the NFL draft, they have a lot of talent coming back. The new coach can work with Dion Lewis and Ray Graham at tailback, Mike Shanahan and Devin Street at receiver, Brandon Lindsey at defensive end and plenty of young players ready to emerge. Tino Sunseri has a full year of starting at quarterback under his belt, and redshirting freshman Mark Myers has a world of potential.

What do Pitt fans want? A guy who's not as conservative as Wannstedt in his offensive game plans would rank high on that list. Wannstedt's pro-style, running-based power offense matched the blue-collar ethic of the Steel City, but it often seemed as if he still had the 1990s NFL coaching approach of simply avoiding mistakes and hoping to win on field position. That's the opposite of where the college game is heading; just look at the two incredibly wide-open offenses that are playing for the BCS title this year.

Pitt claims nine national titles, but it has been nearly 30 years since the Panthers were in that discussion. This program needs to focus on winning an undisputed Big East title, something that should not be that difficult. Pittsburgh is one of the better jobs in the conference, and the right coach who understands the college game can do some great things.

West Virginia's Jock Sanders openly questioned why Pittsburgh was picked as the preseason favorite during Big East media day in August. The Panthers saw that but never publicly responded.

"They can say that all they want," Pitt's Dom DeCicco said Monday. "They have a chance to prove it Friday. If they didn't think we are the number one team, they have a chance to prove it."

The Panthers have lived up to preseason billing as Big East favorites so far. They still are the only team left that controls its own destiny.

They've been the targets for everybody since the summer and especially after racing out to a 3-0 start in conference play. They have had to try to stay focused each week instead of staring at the standings and thinking about a BCS game.

"One game and it can be all over," fullback Henry Hynoski said. "As far as we're concerned, we're tied with everybody in the conference. We've got to play like we're down in the conference to keep our edge."

Keeping that edge shouldn't be a problem this week. In last year's Backyard Brawl, Pitt knew the outcome really didn't matter as far as the Big East race. The title was going to be decided the following week against Cincinnati regardless. Not to say the Panthers weren't fired up against West Virginia, because they always are, but they also weren't terribly upset about losing in Morgantown.

“It was definitely different last year knowing that a week later was the more meaningful game," Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt said. "We were coming off of a big win against Notre Dame at home and West Virginia was really sandwiched in between there. You would really like this to be the last game of the year. But the way the scheduling falls, that’s not possible."

Pitt has another game after this one -- a grudge match at Cincinnati -- but this feels like it's for all the marbles. Which is the way it should be with this rivalry.

"Everyone is just thrilled right now," Hynoski said. "This is why you play college football, for rivalries like this. It's something you think about every day at all hours. I was in class [Monday] thinking about the game. You can't avoid it."

Despite standing in first place since Big East play began, the Panthers haven't had a truly overwhelming performance since their league opener at Syracuse. They sputtered in the first half against Rutgers, slogged through a win over Louisville, flopped at Connecticut and eked past South Florida last week. They are not playing with the crispness you'd expect from a conference champion.

"I don't think we've played our best football as a team yet," DeCicco said. " This would be the week for us to pull it out. But if we don't, then that's OK if it's like last week. As long as we win, it doesn't matter how ugly it is."

As long as they win, they'll still be in first place. And West Virginia won't have anything left to say.

Not too many changes in the player races after just two games last week.

Player of the year race: Offense

1. Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville: Powell didn't play last week because of injury after a subpar performance at Pitt. But no one did anything to overtake him, either.

2. Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: Todman should go over 1,000 yards for the season Thursday night against Pitt. A big game -- and a UConn win -- could push him back to the top of this race.

3. Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: Collaros should be back this week at West Virginia after missing the Syracuse game. He'll be facing the league's best defense in Morgantown.

4. Tino Sunseri, QB, Pittsburgh: Sunseri will take his excellent conference-only stats into a big showdown Thursday night in East Hartford.

Player of the year race: Defense

1. Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh: Sheard is tied for third nationally in sacks and 13th in tackles for loss.

2. Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville: Leads league in passes defended and is fourth in interceptions. The senior has anchored the Cardinals' secondary.

3. Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: Smith still leads Syracuse in tackles, but Orange 'D' took a hit against Louisville over the weekend.

4. Dom DeCicco, LB/S, Pittsburgh: Has 50 tackles and three interceptions.

Coach of the year race

1. Charlie Strong, Louisville: I was ready to call this for Doug Marrone last week, but Strong led his team to victory at the Carrier Dome and has delivered more than anyone could have asked for.

2. Doug Marrone, Syracuse

3. Skip Holtz, South Florida

Rookie of the year

1. Chas Dodd, QB, Rutgers Will likely start his fifth straight game this week, though he'll need to pick up some wins soon to keep the job.

2. Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville: Redshirt freshman leads team with 60 tackles.

3. Jeremy Deering, WR, Rutgers: My preseason pick has rushed for 213 yards and caught 12 passes for 149 yards.

4. Josh Bellamy, WR, Louisville: Junior-college import has 20 catches for 304 yards and four touchdowns.

5. DeDe Lattimore, LB, South Florida: Has 40 tackles as a starter for the Bulls.

Player of the year race: Offense

1. Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville: Powell had only 64 yards versus Pittsburgh but still has done more outstanding work than anyone else so far. If he misses this week's game against Syracuse, however, his candidacy would suffer.

2. Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: Todman needed 33 carries to gain 113 yards against West Virginia, but he regained the rushing yards per game lead in the league. He needs 46 more yards for 1,000 on the season.

3. Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: Anyone doubting his worth shouldn't any more after the Bearcats scored just seven points without an injured Collaros versus Syracuse.

4. Tino Sunseri, QB, Pittsburgh: It's true. Sunseri leads all Big East quarterbacks in passing yards (237 per game), touchdowns (seven) and completion percentage (68 percent) in league contests.

Player of the year race: Defense

1. Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh: Sheard has taken his game to a new level this year and leads the Big East in sacks and tackles for loss despite commanding a lot of extra attention each game.

2. Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: Smith didn't have to do too much work for his big interception against Cincinnati since it was thrown right to him. But he continues to lead a balanced defense that is shutting down every opponent not named Pittsburgh.

3. Dom DeCicco, LB/S, Pittsburgh: As discussed earlier in the stock report, DeCicco has been a stabilizing force for the Panthers defense and now has 50 tackles and three interceptions.

4. Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse: Smith's running partner at linebacker has been just as valuable as any Orange defender. (And it's no coincidence that Pitt and Syracuse players dominate this category this week, as they are the teams playing the best).

Player of the year race: Special teams

1. Joe Lefeged, Rutgers: Lefeged is one of the best kick returners in the league and has also blocked two punts.

2. Rob Long, P, Syracuse: Long has been instrumental in helping the Orange use field position to its advantage in its Big East wins.

3. Dan Hutchins, P/K, Pittsburgh: Hutchins leads the league in punting average and boomed a 71-yarder last week against Louisville. But you'd like to see him be a little more consistent on field goals, where he's just 14-of-19 and only 1-of-4 outside 40 yards.

Coach of the year race

1. Doug Marrone, Syracuse: Balloting is closed on this one until further notice. Start etching Marrone's name in the hardware.

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.

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.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- For Pittsburgh, thankfully, it's in with the new. For Syracuse, depressingly, it was on with the old.

Both teams came into Saturday's game in unexpected places. The Panthers, after being picked to win the Big East almost unanimously, were 2-3 and teetering on the brink of collapse. The Orange stood at a surprising 4-1 and had the Carrier Dome jumping at kickoff in anticipation of a breakthrough win.

Before halftime even arrived, roles had reverted back to normal. Pitt blasted Syracuse 45-14 in a game all too familiar to long-suffering Orange fans. Many of the 40,168 hopeful headed for the exits midway through the third quarter. By the final 10 minutes, the place looked like a ghost town from the Greg Robinson days.

It was the kind of lopsided result you might have expected before the season, but not after the way the Panthers bumbled through the nonconference portion of their schedule. They saved their most complete performance for the start of Big East play after coach Dave Wannstedt preached all week about beginning a new season.

"We knew it was a tale of two seasons all along," quarterback Tino Sunseri said. "We had a tough out-of-conference schedule, but we still have all of our goals ahead of us. The Big East championship is ahead of us. We wanted to come out fast today and let the Big East know that we can play."

Sunseri looked like one of the team's weak links earlier in the year, never more than when he struggled so badly against Miami that many fans called for backup Pat Bostick. But the sophomore has progressed since then, and on Saturday the game plan revolved around him.

Wannstedt said when he arrived in the team hotel on Friday night, he flipped on the TV and saw Syracuse coach Doug Marrone's show. Marrone, he said, "must have said the word 'physical' 10 times during the course of the show." Wannstedt also saw how the Orange brought pressure against South Florida last week, daring Bulls quarterback B.J. Daniels to burn them with big plays.

Daniels couldn't. But Sunseri could. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns. Pitt's first play from scrimmage was a short pass that Devin Street took 79 yards for a touchdown. Sunseri also made third-down touchdown throws to Ray Graham and Mike Shanahan as he stood in against the blitz.

"That was probably his most complete game," Wannstedt said. "He has showed little spurts, signs of getting better. But today I thought from start to finish, he maintained a consistency he had to have."

Pitt's improvement has coincided with its shuffling of the offensive line, moving Lucas Nix inside, Jordan Gibbs to tackle and replacing Greg Gaskins. Dion Lewis (15 carries for 80 yards) and Ray Graham (11 for 54) both found running room against a good Syracuse run defense. But neither went off, and Jon Baldwin finished with only one catch, yet the Panthers scored 45 points.

"Everybody thinks it's just Ray, Dion and JB," Graham said. "But Tino spread it out, and that's what is great."

The defense also played its best game, holding star back Delone Carter to just 38 yards before Syracuse was forced to throw nonstop in catch-up mode. The Panthers created four turnovers, including cornerback Ricky Gary's 80-yard pick-six, while moving pieces around. Shane Gordon got his first start at strongside linebacker, Dom DeCicco went back to safety and Tristan Roberts returned to start at the weakside linebacker spot.

Wannstedt was hesitant to use the "new season" theme, lest his team forget its mistakes of the past. But it was hard not to think that this looked like a different Pitt, one that could compete with West Virginia for the Big East title if it maintains this level of execution.

"We should be unstoppable," defensive end Jabaal Sheard said. "We have great athletes and tremendous talent everywhere on the field. If we play like we did today, with everybody stepping up to make big plays, we'll be all right."

If Pitt looked renewed, Syracuse appeared to relapse.

The Orange benefited from a soft early schedule, and now they face consecutive road games at West Virginia and Cincinnati that could turn that 4-1 start to a 4-4 crossroads. They don't have another home game until November, and by then the excitement they built up may have significantly eroded.

"What I feel bad about is for the people who came out to watch the game," Marrone said. "Their expectations were high, and so were ours. My expectations were high for these players to get over the this hump."

Not quite yet. What's old is new again, and vice versa.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Pittsburgh is making some lineup changes. Freshman Shane Gordon will start at linebacker over Greg Williams, while Brock DeCicco will start at tight end over Mike Cruz. Both are performance based.

Dom DeCicco will be back at safety after two games at weakside linebacker, with Tristan Roberts starting there. Andrew Taglianetti (knee) is not expected to play. Also, defensive end Brandon Lindsey is banged up and may be limited today. Expect to see true freshman Bryan Murphy to get his first playing time of the season. He had a foot injury in the preseason, but coaches raved about him before the injury.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto is in the house, so you know it's a big game.

Pittsburgh's Dom DeCicco was an All-Big East safety last year. Last week, he was moved down to linebacker to help out that unit and shore up the defense overall. I spoke with the Panthers senior this week as he and his teammates prepared for Notre Dame:

What has the move to linebacker been like for you so far?

Dom DeCicco: It's different to go from a position you know so well at safety to something that's kind of new to you. But I think it's a way for our team to get our best 11 guys on the field. Jason Hendricks stepped up [at safety] and lot of teams play the spread now so you need an extra DB. And me with my size, it's an obvious fit. It's been going pretty well so far.

How different is it, really, since you've been in pass coverage a lot at that linebacker spot anyway?

DD: It's just taking on more blocks from linemen. It's different from safety because at safety you see everything in front of you. At linebacker, that nickel spot, you play with your back to receivers a lot, which is different. But the more you practice it, the more it becomes natural. I've liked it so far and all the linebackers and all the coaches have been helping me out.

Ever play linebacker before?

DD: No, I just played corner and safety in high school. Never linebacker until now.

You're known as a good tackler. How much does that help you with the move?

DD: Starting out in college, I struggled at first a little bit in tackling. But as the years went on, that became one of the strongest parts of my game. That helps going down there because you have to do so much of it, so that helps with the transition.

There have been a lot of moves at linebacker recently, plus the injury to Dan Mason. What's the state of that unit in your mind?


DD: I definitely think it's getting better. Max [Gruder] in the middle is real smart and can make all the calls, and Greg [Williams] is getting better every game. So the linebacker corps is going to come on stronger every game. If we can get to where the secondary and the D-line is, our defense is going to be pretty good.

You're facing former Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly this week at Notre Dame. Are you seeing a lot of the same things that Cincinnati used to run now with the Irish?

DD: Yeah, definitely. You see a lot of similarities. They're pretty much the exact same as [Cincinnati] last year but with different players plugged in. They just have a lot of talent at Notre Dame at the tight end spot, wide receiver and running backs. You can play against a spread, but this is a more talented team than we've seen running the spread.

What are the challenges of trying to defend guys like Kyle Rudolph and Theo Riddick?

DD: The guy I didn't know as much about was Theo Riddick. I knew about Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph because we played against them, but Riddick adds a whole different element to their offense as a great slot receiver. And Armando Allen looks better than he ever has running the ball. So they're dangerous everywhere, and I think Riddick is really the guy you have to watch out for.

Does it help you guys that you've seen this scheme the last couple of years?

DD: I've seen it so many times playing against Cincinnati, and they do similar stuff. So the third or fourth time you're playing against it becomes, not second nature, but it's familiar to me and the guys. So I think that helps a bit.

Do you see this as a revenge game against Kelly at all for the losses to Cincinnati the last couple of years?

DD: Yeah, you know he's really had our number since I've been here. He's beaten us two times and we've really struggled playing against him and he ended our BCS hopes the last two years. That's not easy to forget and it's always in the back of your mind when you see him across the sideline. But we just have to go out and worry about playing against Notre Dame and getting a win against them.

Most of you guys have played in Notre Dame Stadium before, so does that help with not being intimidated by the atmosphere?

DD: We've played there before, but to be honest I don't think any place for us is going to be worse than playing at West Virginia. But Notre Dame, with all the prestige, the Touchdown Jesus, Rudy and all that, it is pretty neat and you could get caught up in it. But coach gets us focused and makes sure we have our eyes on what we need to do on Saturday.