ESPN College Football

Over the next couple of days, I'll be asking you to give your opinion on a variety of burning questions in the Big East.

You'll get a chance to vote in a poll right here and let your voice be heard. We'll tally up the results and react to your decision once the vote it over.

To start off, I want your opinion on who will be the hardest players to replace in the Big East this season. I highlighted many of the candidates in my spring shoes to fill series. Here's a quick look at what I feel like are the top five nominees:

• Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: Todman ranked second nationally in rushing last year and was the Big East Offensive Player of the Year in 2010.
• Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville: Not many Big East backs have Powell's combination of strength, speed, vision and fearlessness.
• Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia: A bull in the middle of the Mountaineers' defensive line, Neild often occupied two blockers at a time.
• Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh: Sheard used his nonstop motor to fight off double-teams and pressure quarterbacks on his way to winning defensive player of the year honors in 2010.
• Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati: Led all Big East receivers in catches, yards and touchdowns last year and provided a great red zone target.

So there are your nominees. Now it's time to cast your vote.

• West Virginia defensive tackle Jorge Wright was arrested the day before the Mountaineers' spring game and still played Friday night. The WVU defense took a step backward in the spring game. Are beer sales at West Virginia home games a good idea?
• Rutgers needs more than just Savon Huggins to save the program. Brandon Coleman emerged as a possible star this spring.
• Cincinnati's draft results might tell us something about why the Bearcats finished 4-8.
• Jabaal Sheard was surprised to become a Cleveland Brown.
• Speaking of surprises, Anthony Sherman was the first UConn player drafted.

A lot of great people were born on this day. Ulysses S. Grant, Samuel Morse, Rogers Hornsby, Casey Kasem, Enos Slaughter. I feel like I'm forgetting somebody ...

• USF defended its Title IX practices after a New York Times story raised some red flags.
• Returning from an ankle injury, Scott Vallone continued to dominate defensively for Rutgers. But overall, Greg Schiano was not particularly pleased with Tuesday's scrimmage.
• An obscure high school play that hardly anyone saw at the time helped land Darwin Cook his scholarship at West Virginia. The Mountaineers aren't expressing big concern over their spring kicking game problems yet.
• Can Pitt's Jon Baldwin or Jabaal Sheard sneak into the first round of the NFL draft?
• A look at some of UConn's draft hopefuls, non-Jordan Todman division.
• If the Big East needs revenue-generating teams, well, there is this to consider.

If Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay are on the mark, it could be a slow start to the draft for Big East prospects.

Both Kiper and McShay have unveiled their new three-round mock drafts, and it takes some serious scanning to find Big East players involved.

Kiper's top Big East pick at this point is Pitt's Jabaal Sheard, the reigning defensive player of the year whom he has going in the second round, at No. 37 overall. Then there's a wait until the 74th pick, when Kiper has Sheard's former teammate, receiver Jonathan Baldwin. Kiper has South Florida defensive tackle Terrell McClain also in the third round, at No. 83. And that's it.

McShay has a few more league players in his mock draft. He picks Baldwin as his top Big East player off the board, but not until pick No. 61. He also has Louisville cornerback Johnny Patrick in the second round, two picks behind Baldwin. He has West Virginia cornerback Brandon Hogan in the third round at 71st overall and Sheard 74th. Then Pitt running back Dion Lewis is 79th, followed by McClain at No. 83 and Rutgers safety Joe Lefeged at No. 88.

Most mock drafters agree at this point that the Big East won't have a first-round pick this year.

Scouts Inc. has come up with comprehensive draft boards for every position as we draw ever closer to the 2011 NFL draft (and, hopefully, a 2011 NFL season).

Let's start on the offensive side of the ball and take a look at where some Big East hopefuls are ranked. First, the skill positions:

• Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh: second round

• Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: third round

• Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: fourth round

• Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse: fourth round

• Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville: fifth round

• Anthony Sherman, FB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: sixth round

• Henry Hynoski, FB, Pittsburgh: seventh round

• Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati: seventh round

Now, the offensive linemen/tight ends:

• Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsbugh: fifth round

• Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville: sixth round

• Zach Hurd, OG, Connecticut: sixth round

• Ryan Bartholomew, C, Syracuse: seventh round

• Jason Kelce, C, Cincinnati: seventh round

Now let's move to the defensive side and see where Scouts Inc. rates some Big East defenders:

• Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida: second round

• Jabaal Sheard, DE/LB, Pittsburgh: second round

• Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville: third round

• Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: fourth round

• Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia: fourth round

• Robert Sands, S, West Virginia: fourth round

• Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Joe Lefeged, S, Rutgers: sixth round

• Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia: sixth round

• Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: sixth round

• J.T. Thomas, LB, West Virginia: sixth round

• Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse: sixth round

• Greg Lloyd, LB, Connecticut: seventh round

These projections aren't gospel by any means, but they should give you a pretty good idea of how Big East hopefuls are being viewed right now.

And then there were two. Time to announce the runner-up in our Big East top 25 player countdown, based on 2010 performance and impact ...

No. 2

Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh, Sr.

Preseason rank: No. 19

2010 numbers: Had 52 tackles, including 14.5 for loss and nine sacks. Also had 15 quarterback hurries and four forced fumbles.

Making the case for Sheard: The 2010 season had the potential to be a disastrous one for Sheard. First, he was arrested in a preseason altercation, earning a brief suspension. Then his friend and fellow defensive end, Greg Romeus, got injured, allowing teams to concentrate much of their focus on Sheard's side.

But Sheard stepped out of Romeus' shadow and won the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award, just as Romeus had won a share of it in 2009. Despite the presence of near-constant double teams, he finished second in the league in tackles for loss, third in sacks and tied for first in forced fumbles. He commanded so much attention that Brandon Lindsey developed into a star at Romeus' old spot.

Sheard succeeded with a high motor and relentless effort. At 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, he's probably best suited for an outside linebacker position in a 3-4 alignment on an NFL team. Any team interested in drafting him should consider how he responded to adversity in 2010 and how he turned himself into one of the Big East's best players.

Previously

No. 25: Zach Hurd, OG, Connecticut
No. 24: Dave Teggart, K, Connecticut
No. 23: Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse
No. 22: J.T. Thomas, LB, West Virginia
No. 21: Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville
No. 20: Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh
No. 19: Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
No. 18: Isaiah Pead, RB, Cincinnati
No. 17: Kendall Reyes, DL, Connecticut
No. 16: Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsburgh
No. 15: Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh
No. 14: Robert Sands, S, West Virginia
No. 13: Brandon Lindsey, DE, Pittsburgh
No. 12: Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse
No. 11: Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia
No. 10: Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida
No. 9: Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia
No. 8: Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut
No. 7: Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati
No. 6: Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse
No. 5: Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati
No. 4: Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
No. 3: Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville

Sports Illustrated and CBS News teamed up to do an extensive investigation into the criminal background of every player on SI's preseason top 25 from last year. Its findings shed Pittsburgh in a negative light.

According to the report posted online Wednesday, Pitt had more players on its roster with police records -- 22 -- than any of the schools surveyed. Cincinnati was 15th with five. Because no other schools in the Big East made SI's preseason Top 25, we don't know how those numbers compare with other league schools.

The story opens with details of the Panthers' many off-the-field problems in 2010, including the arrests of Jabaal Sheard, Jason Douglas, Keith Coleman and Jeff Knox. All but Big East defensive player of the year Sheard -- whom school officials insisted was trying to break up a fight -- were either dismissed or suspended indefinitely.

The investigation points out that college teams don't usually do very thorough background checks into the players they are recruiting and signing. Pittsburgh officials said they instituted a process for looking into players' backgrounds after last year's troubles.

"This evaluation is not a legal criminal background check," the school said in a statement released to SI. "Rather, it is a checklist of questions that attempts to gain greater knowledge of the behavior and citizenship of an individual prospect from a variety of people."

Off-the-field problems played a big part in Dave Wannstedt's forced resignation in December. Pitt officials stressed the need for discipline and then touted that with the hiring of Miami (Ohio's) Mike Haywood -- who was subsequently arrested himself and then fired. Current coach Todd Graham has said discipline will be a major focus of his program.

Later in the article, the writers suggest that not performing simple background checks can leave schools unprepared for high-risk players, and they cite current Cincinnati freshman linebacker and Florida native Antwan Darling as an example.

On March 22, 2010, Darling was arrested for burglarizing a residence in Miami. That day, 17-year-old Kimberly Lewis was home alone from school sick when she heard two men prowling around the outside of her house, locked herself in a room and called 911 ...

Miami police responded quickly and Darling was arrested at gunpoint and charged with felony burglary of an occupied dwelling. He subsequently entered a pretrial intervention program and the charge was dropped, clearing the way for him to accept a scholarship to Cincinnati.

The story says Darling has also been charged with a felony count of firing a weapon and possession of marijuana.

A Cincinnati official told SI he was unaware of the burglary arrest, while coach Butch Jones spoke only in general terms:

"When recruiting a prospective student-athlete, we do our due diligence in exhausting all avenues looking into an individual's background," he said.

The story also cites the case of Cincinnati receiver Kenbrell Thompkins, whom the story says was arrested seven times in his youth, as an example of someone who has turned his life around. Thompkins will be eligible this season after transferring from junior college last summer.

Keep in mind that only two Big East teams were a part of this survey. I'd bet just about every team in the country has to deal with these kinds of issues.

On Monday, I looked at the results posted by Big East offensive linemen, running backs, receivers, tight ends and preliminary numbers for the linebackers. Let's check in now on some more updates by top performers for the defensive guys from the league (performance ranks are listed by position).

Defensive line

Pittsburgh's Jabaal Sheard had the fifth-fastest 40-yard dash time at 4.69 seconds. He was 12th in the broad jump.

Linebackers

Scott Lutrus put up strong numbers, finishing first in vertical leap (38 inches) second in the 60-yard shuttle, third in the three-cone drill, fourth in the 20-yard shuttle, tied for fifth in the broad jump and tied for seventh in the 40 at 4.68 seconds. Here's what our Scouts Inc. team wrote about Lutrus's performance:

"Lutrus (6-2½, 241) far exceeded expectations based on what we've seen on film. ... We now have to go back to the tape to see if we missed something during our initial evaluation and figure why his explosiveness and lateral quickness are so much better at this point."

Syracuse's Doug Hogue was fifth in the 40 at 4.63 seconds. He tied for fifth in the broad jump, tied for sixth in vertical leap and was 12th in the three-cone drill.

West Virginia's J.T. Thomas tied for seventh in the 40, tied for 10th in the 20-yard shuttle, and tied for 13th in the 60-yard drill.

Connecticut's Greg Lloyd tied for 14th in the three-cone drill.

UConn's Lawrence Wilson tied for 13th in both the vertical leap and 40-yard dash. Would you have guessed Lutrus would beat teammate Wilson in the 40?

Safeties

West Virginia's Robert Sands showed off his array of skills. He tied for second with a 35-inch vertical leap and had the best broad jump at 10 feet, four inches. His 40 time of 4.57 seconds was third.

Cornerbacks

Rutgers' Joe Lefeged, a safety in college who was listed with the cornerbacks at the combine, tied for the fifth-best 40 time at 4.43 seconds. He also tied for 11th in the vertical leap and 14th in the broad jump.

West Virginia's Brandon Hogan tied for 10th on the bench press with 19 reps at 225 pounds.

The NFL combine officially began on Wednesday, as players arrived in Indianapolis and started interviews with team officials.

There are more interviews Thursday, along with measurements and medical examinations. Workouts start on Friday, and here is the schedule for position groups:

Friday: Specialists
Saturday: Offensive linemen, tight ends
Sunday: Quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs
Monday: Defensive linemen, linebackers
Tuesday: Defensive backs

It will be fun to follow the Big East players as they strut their stuff for scouts. Who will be the top player drafted from the league? My money is still on Pittsburgh receiver Jon Baldwin, whom I expect to put up dazzling numbers in his combine workouts.

Here again is the full list of Big East players scheduled to participate in Indianapolis:

Cincinnati (3)

Armon Binns, WR

Jason Kelce, OL

Jake Rogers, K

Connecticut (6)


Zach Hurd, OL

Anthony Sherman, FB

Jordan Todman, RB

Lawrence Wilson, LB

Greg Lloyd, LB

Scott Lutrus, LB

Louisville (3)


Cameron Graham, TE

Johnny Patrick, CB

Bilal Powell, RB

Pittsburgh (6)

Jon Baldwin, WR

Henry Hynoski, FB

Dion Lewis, RB

Jason Pinkston, OL

Greg Romeus, DE

Jabaal Sheard, DE

Rutgers (1)


Joe Lefeged, S

South Florida (1)

Terrell McClain, DT

Syracuse (4)

Ryan Bartholomew, OL

Doug Hogue, LB

Delone Carter, RB

Derrell Smith, LB

West Virginia (6)

Noel Devine, RB

Brandon Hogan, CB

Chris Neild, DT

Jock Sanders, WR

Robert Sands, S

J.T. Thomas, LB

The official invitation list to the NFL combine is out, and 30 Big East players will be showing off their skills at the premiere pre-draft event.

The following league players are scheduled to participate in the set of drills before scouts from Feb. 23 to March 1 in Indianapolis:

Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh

Ryan Bartholomew, OL, Syracuse

Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati

Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse

Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia

Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville

Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia

Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse

Zach Hurd, OL, Connecticut

Henry Hynoski, FB, Pittsburgh

Jason Kelce, OL, Cincinnati

Joe Lefeged, S, Rutgers

Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh

Greg Lloyd, LB, Connecticut

Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut

Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida

Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia

Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville

Jason Pinkston, OL, Pittsburgh

Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville

Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh

Jake Rogers, K, Cincinnati

Jock Sanders, WR, West Virginia

Robert Sands, S, West Virginia

Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh

Anthony Sherman, FB, Connecticut

Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse

J.T. Thomas, LB, West Virginia

Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut

Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut

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.

What were some of the highs and lows from the Big East bowl season? Glad you asked:

Best moment(s): It's a tie between two similar scenes staged on baseball fields. Syracuse's Doug Marrone and Louisville's Charlie Strong both addressed adoring throngs of fans after their teams won bowl games. It had been a long time since either team could celebrate a bowl victory, especially Syracuse, and Marrone and Strong could both get elected mayor in their respective cities right now.

Worst moment: The excessive celebration penalty on Kansas State's Adrian Hilburn after he caught a touchdown pass with 1:13 left and then saluted the crowd. Maybe the Wildcats don't get the two-point conversion to tie the game anyway, and maybe Syracuse drives down and kicks a winning field goal before regulation ends. But the officials left both sides with a bad taste in their mouths by taking the game away from the players, and they deserved a Bronx cheer. An excessive one.

Best performance against a future multi-millionaire: South Florida's offensive line, particularly Jacob Sims, held Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers without a sack in the Meineke Car Care win. Bowers, who led the nation in sacks this season, could go in the top two picks in this spring's NFL Draft.

Best job of coping with turmoil: Pittsburgh fired two head coaches before the BBVA Compass Bowl and was missing two key assistants off the staff while the search for a new head coach continued. Big East defensive player of the year Jabaal Sheard missed the game with an injury, and Dave Wannstedt didn't inform the players until Monday before the game that he wasn't going to Birmingham. So what? Pitt had one of its best performances of the season in a 27-10 win over Kentucky.

Worst job of coping with turmoil: West Virginia coach Bill Stewart tried publicly to keep his team's focus on its Champs Sports Bowl matchup against NC State, but all anyone wanted to talk about was the coaching situation. Then Stewart bizarrely canceled several practices leading up to the bowl, and the Mountaineers came out flat in a 23-7 loss.

Best out-of-nowhere performance: Syracuse receiver Marcus Sales caught five passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Kansas State. Sales had only one touchdown catch and 242 receiving yards the entire regular season. It was the best performance by a catcher in Yankee Stadium since Bengie Molina's home run in the ALCS.

Worst disappearing act: Connecticut coach Randy Edsall sneaked out of Arizona after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, taking a separate flight from the official team charter so he could go accept the Maryland job. He never told the players face to face and instead informed them later via a telephone conference call. Edsall's excuse later that the job offer came out of the blue rang a false and insulting note.

Best answer, Part I: Kentucky and Pittsburgh got into a second-quarter shoving match when Ridge Wilson hit quarterback Tino Sunseri late following a false start penalty. The large Wildcats contingent at Legion Field shouted "SEC! SEC!" while the scrum occurred. The game was tied 3-3 at that time, but the Panthers went on to score a field goal on that drive as part of 17 unanswered points. That's how you make a point.

Best answer, Part II: Seconds after Southern Miss took a 28-21 lead in the fourth quarter against Louisville in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, freshman Jeremy Wright took the kickoff 95 yards for a tying touchdown. The Cardinals controlled things from that moment on.

Best offensive efficiency: South Florida had only 279 yards of total offense but squeezed 31 points out of it, going 9-for-14 on third downs.

Worst offensive inefficiency: UConn had 335 total yards of offense against Oklahoma but posted no offensive touchdowns. The Huskies were just 5-for-20 on third and fourth downs.

Instant analysis of the BBVA Compass Bowl, which Pittsburgh won 27-10 against Kentucky:

How the game was won: Despite the coaching turmoil swirling around the team for the past month, Pittsburgh came out focused and determined to play well in its final game. The Panthers were able to overpower the Kentucky defensive line with their running game, and their defense hung tough every time the Wildcats threatened. Kentucky, which suspended starting quarterback Mike Hartline for this game, was unable to generate many big plays behind sophomore signal caller Morgan Newton. Pitt, missing two key defensive starters and three coaches off its staff, showed plenty of mental and physical toughness in its best nonconference win of the season.

Turning point: Late in the second quarter, Andrew Taglianetti blocked a punt from Kentucky's Ryan Tydlacka that Kolby Gray recovered at the Wildcats' 10. Three plays later, the Panthers scored the game's first touchdown and took a 13-3 lead into halftime.

Player(s) of the game: Dion Lewis and Ray Graham. Playing in probably his final college game -- the draft-eligible sophomore is expected to go pro -- Lewis finished strong with 22 carries for 105 yards and a score. His backfield mate, Graham, had 90 yards on 17 carries.

Stat of the game: Pitt ran for 262 yards on 46 carries while passing for only 96 yards. The 262 yards was the third-highest rushing total by the Panthers this season. Kentucky had only 104 rushing yards on 32 attempts.

Unsung hero: Brandon Lindsey. The defensive end forced a fumble from Newton in the first half, made a fourth-down tackle for loss in the second half and helped Pitt make up for the loss of defensive player of the year Jabaal Sheard.

What it means: The victory brings a little bit of optimism to a program that hasn't had much reason to smile for the past nine days, and sends out the current staff -- especially defensive coordinator/interim head coach Phil Bennett -- on a high note. Pittsburgh (8-5) still has to hire a new head coach, and that will be more important than anything that happened on the field Saturday. But at least the team showed it has talent and potential to do good things with the right coach in place. The Big East, despite losing its top two bowl games, finished a very respectable 4-2 in the postseason and has now beaten an SEC team in Birmingham for the second straight year.

Three keys for Pittsburgh in Saturday's BBVA Compass Bowl against Kentucky:

1. Come together, right now: Maybe that Beatles tune should be playing on the team bus ride to Birmingham's Legion Field. Pitt has been through an extraordinarily odd time the past month. Occasionally, that can help a team rally together -- see Ohio State's performance in the Allstate Sugar Bowl after the controversial suspensions of five players. Of course, the Buckeyes were 11-1 and playing in a BCS game; Pitt is coming off a vastly disappointing 7-5 season and playing in a underwhelming bowl in what will likely have a catatonic atmosphere in the stands. But the Panthers need to use the off-the-field problems as an us-against-the-world mentality, because if they play up to their capability they can still win this game. And they can bring some respect back to a program that has suffered a national embarrassment.

2. Point the Compass south: As in, downhill running with Dion Lewis and Ray Graham. (A lame play off the bowl's name, but I bet most of you have no idea what the sponsor company does. It's a bank.). Kentucky couldn't win many big SEC games this year because of its inability to stop the run. Pitt's running game with Dion Lewis and Ray Graham is still its strength, especially as the offensive line improved during the course of the season. The Wildcats are far better against the pass, so the Panthers' game plan should be to try and stuff it down their throats as much as possible.

3. Get pressure on Morgan Newton, but contain him: Newton, a sophomore, will make his first start of the season at quarterback after Kentucky suspended senior Mike Hartline. He played some last year but still should have some rust. That rust could create holes in the Wildcats offense if Pitt can force him to make bad decisions. The bad news is that Big East defensive player of the year Jabaal Sheard and tackle Myles Caragein are out of this game with injuries. So guys like Brandon Lindsey and Chas Alecxih need to have big games. Newton is also more mobile than Hartline, so the Panthers must be sure not to break contain when they rush him. Superstar Randall Cobb will likely be heavily involved in the game plan and figures to line up in the Wildcat formation a lot (though when your mascot is the Wildcats, aren't they all Wildcat formations?). He'll get his yards, but Pitt can still control things by making Newton's day miserable.

With all the coaching turmoil surrounding Pittsburgh this past month, it could be easy to forget the Panthers still have a game to play. They'll kick it off in one of the last bowl games of the season Saturday in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., vs. Kentucky. A Pitt victory would give the Big East a winning record in the postseason, as the league is currently 3-2. Here's a quick preview:

WHO TO WATCH: Pittsburgh wide receiver Jon Baldwin. It's all but assuredly the junior's final college game before he goes to the NFL, and Pitt's offense usually only excels when he's fully involved in the game. Kentucky is not a great defensive team but does have a decent secondary, as the Wildcats finished No. 20 in pass defense this season. It will also be interesting to see how Baldwin is used after he publicly complained about his role in the offense following Dave Wannstedt's forced resignation last month.

WHAT TO WATCH: How focused and organized the Panthers are. The last month has been incredibly strange, with not one, but two head coaches being dismissed. The players weren't even sure who would coach them in the bowl game until Wannstedt announced Monday he would not be going to Birmingham. The program might have a new coach in place before kickoff. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett will be serving as interim head coach, but the staff is missing defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who both went to work for Rutgers. Where the players' heads are is anybody's guess, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Pitt struggle after all this dysfunction. Then again, maybe playing a game will serve as a major relief.

WHY WATCH: If for no other reason than to see the soap opera unfold on national TV. In strictly football terms, there will be a lot of playmakers on the field, like Kentucky's Randall Cobb. But the Wildcats have their own problems, starting with the loss of suspended starting quarterback Mike Hartline. Still, it's a team that nearly beat Auburn this season and upset South Carolina. Every Big East vs. the SEC matchup is worth watching for league respect, and Pitt needs to win a nonconference game against somebody of note this season.

PREDICTION: Kentucky is no juggernaut, especially without its quarterback. But Pitt also will be missing Big East defensive player of the year Jabaal Sheard and starting defensive tackle Myles Caragein because of injuries. Throw in all the off-the-field drama and the Panthers' inability to win big games all year, and I just don't see how they can claim a bowl victory. Make it Kentucky 31-21.