ESPN College Football

Like we did for every week of the regular season, it's time to hit the rewind button and look back on the Big East postseason:

Team of the postseason: Connecticut. The Huskies took out an SEC opponent (South Carolina) in impressive fashion and finished the year with four straight wins. There was no better story in college football this season.

Best game: Pitt's 19-17 win over had all the requisite drama and a game-winning field goal in the final minute. Hard to believe, but it was the only Big East bowl game decided by fewer than 12 points.

Biggest play: Connecticut receiver Kashif Moore's one-handed, 37-yard touchdown grab from Zach Frazer in the first quarter against South Carolina. It was spectacular and set the tone for the Huskies' win.


Best call: Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt's two fourth-down decisions on the winning drive at the Meineke Car Care Bowl. First, he decided to go for it on fourth-and-one from his own 30 with half a quarter left instead of punting and playing defense. Bill Stull converted the quarterback sneak. Then on fourth-and-two from the North Carolina 30 with 1:56 left, Wannstedt sent out the field goal unit but hoped to draw the Tar Heels offsides. That's exactly what happened, and both plays helped Pitt string together an incredible 18-play, 79-yard, 8:47 drive to win the game.

Big Man on Campus (Offense): Dion Lewis. How appropriate that the league's offensive MVP and freshman of the year also wins postseason Big Man on Campus honors. He deserves it after his 159 yards rushing on 28 carries and a touchdown against North Carolina.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): The UConn front seven. Can't single out just one guy in a dominating effort by the Huskies up front. South Carolina was shut out until scoring a touchdown with 3:24 left. The defensive line, led by tackle Kendall Reyes, looked fast and determined and was every bit as good as what the Gamecocks saw in the SEC. The linebackers, particularly Scott Lutrus and Lawrence Wilson, made plays all over the field. And almost all of them return in '10.

Big Man on Campus (Special teams): Pitt's Dan Hutchins missed a field goal early but rebounded to hit four of them, including the 33-yard game-winner with 52 seconds left.

Worst hangover: Cincinnati, and not just because the Bearcats and their fans spent a week roaming the French Quarter. The biggest game in school history turned into possibly the biggest mismatch in a BCS game, as Florida staked a 37-3 lead and rolled to a 51-24 victory at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. It will probably be a long time before we see those Cincinnati white helmets again. And it may be a while before a Big East team silences a skeptical public about its national title credentials.

Best timing: Rutgers senior linebacker Damaso Munoz had been kidded by his teammates for being one of the few Scarlet Knights' defenders who had never scored a touchdown. So with 2:18 left against Central Florida, Munoz corralled an onside kick and ran it back 35 yards to paydirt. He dived into the end zone and spiked the ball to cap his career.

Best off-the-field game: The backflip contest between South Florida defenders Jason Pierre-Paul and Kion Wilson before the International Bowl. Pierre-Paul won easily with a dazzling array of flips, and that athleticism is why NFL scouts drool over the still-raw defensive end. You can watch the whole thing here.

Strangest moment: At the end of three quarters, West Virginia tailback Noel Devine had rushed for 168 yards on 16 carries, including a 70-yard gain. And those numbers wouldn't change. Despite closing the gap on Florida State to 23-21 on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers never again gave the ball to their best offensive weapon. It's as if West Virginia coaches thought Devine had already opted to leave for the NFL before the fourth quarter began.

The bad news is there are no more Big East games in the 2009 season. The good news is you won't have to read any game predictions from me for another eight months.

I correctly predicted that the league would go 4-2 in its bowl games this season, but I didn't get all the wins and losses right. Here's a look at how my postseason predictions fared:

St. Petersburg Bowl

• My pick: Rutgers 21, Central Florida 17. I thought this would be a close, defensive struggle. Not so much, as the Scarlet Knights blew out the Knights 45-24.

Meineke Car Care Bowl

• My pick: Pitt 24, North Carolina 21. I rightly saw this one as a close game that would come down to the end. Pitt used a late field goal to win 19-17.

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl

• My pick: West Virginia 27, Florida State 25. I knew the Mountaineers would get a battle from the emotionally charged Seminoles. I didn't realize that they would completely stall after taking a 14-3 lead or fail to give the ball to Noel Devine in the fourth quarter in a 33-21 loss.

Allstate Sugar Bowl

• My pick: Florida 33, Cincinnati 21. My crystal ball was just a little off, as I had the right score for a New Year's Day game involving a Florida school versus the Big East, just the wrong game. Clearly I gave the Bearcats' defense way too much credit in this pick, as they lost 51-24.

International Bowl

• My pick: South Florida 31, Northern Illinois 16. I didn't think the Bulls would have too much trouble in this game. And after being tied 3-3 at the half, they pulled away for an easy 27-3 victory.

Papajohns.com Bowl

• My pick: South Carolina 34, UConn 28. I figured the Gamecocks would take advantage of Connecticut's shaky late-season defense, but instead the Huskies nearly pitched a shutout before giving up a late score in an impressive 20-7 win.

Some were close, some were way off. I'll try to do better next year.

Here's the final tally on 2009 picks from the ol' blog:

Regular season 57-11 (83.8 percent)

Bowl season: 4-2 (66.7 percent)

Total: 61-13 (82.4 percent)

The Big East finished 4-2 during bowl season, marking the fourth straight year that the league has posted a winning record in the postseason. Dating back to 2006, the Big East is 17-6 in bowl games.

While that's a commendable record that the conference will surely highlight in its media guide and promotional materials, this year's record is not as impressive as it seems. The league went 2-2 against teams from BCS conferences in bowl games, and both wins came against opponents (North Carolina and South Carolina) that finished 7-5 in the regular season.

Big East champion Cincinnati wasn't remotely competitive in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Florida, the league's one marquee matchup. League runner-up West Virginia lost by double digits to a 6-6 Florida State in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl. Instead of merely reciting the 4-2 record, here's how we should look at the Big East's bowl season:

Took care of business: Rutgers and South Florida. Both the Scarlet Knights and Bulls should have been considered heavy favorites against Central Florida and Northern Illinois, respectively. BCS conference teams have no business losing to also-rans from Conference USA and the MAC. To their credit, Rutgers and South Florida won their games going away to help the Big East avoid embarrassment.

Good wins: Pittsburgh and Connecticut scored the best victories for the Big East. Pitt took out North Carolina in Charlotte in an exciting game to finish with a 10-win season. UConn notched its first-ever win against an SEC team, dominating South Carolina from start to finish in a 20-7 victory at the Papajohns.com Bowl.

Fell flat: Cincinnati was vastly disappointing and cost the Big East some credibility on the national stage. There's simply no other way to put it. West Virginia's loss wasn't terribly surprising, given the emotion surrounding Florida State coach Bobby Bowden's last game. Still, the Mountaineers clearly had the better team and seemed to make almost no adjustments after grabbing an early 14-3 lead.

That's a clearer picture of the Big East's 4-2 postseason.

Instant analysis of West Virginia's 33-21 loss to Florida State in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl:

How the game was won: The Mountaineers simply couldn't stop the run. Florida State rushed for 225 yards, more than half of them by Jermaine Thomas, as the West Virginia defense couldn't get off the field enough. After getting out to an early 14-3 lead, the Mountaineers struggled to do much more on offense and lost starting quarterback Jarrett Brown to an ankle injury late in the first half.

Turning point: West Virginia had a first down on the FSU 22-yard line late in the second quarter with a 14-10 lead. The next two plays resulted in a holding penalty and an intentional grounding foul, followed by a sack of Brown that knocked him out of the game for good. The Mountaineers came away with no points, the Seminoles got a field goal before halftime and the game was virtually all Florida State from there.

Player of the game: Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel. The youngster threw for 189 yards and ran for 69 yards and a score as he managed the game efficiently throughout.

Stat of the game: West Virginia had only 102 yards passing, and 35 of those came on the final drive when the outcome was well in hand. Outside of Noel Devine (16 rushes, 168 yards), the Mountaineers didn't have a lot of options on offense.

Unsung hero of the game: Florida State kick returner Greg Reid. His 69-yard return to start the second half set up the Seminoles' go-ahead field goal.

What it means: West Virginia was in a tough spot in this game, trying to play the villain in Bobby Bowden's curtain call. The Mountaineers could have reached the 10-win plateau and possibly secured a top 15 finish. Instead, they lost a bowl game for the first time since 2005 and became the first Big East to lose in the postseason. Still, the future looks pretty bright in Morgantown. Freshman quarterback Geno Smith played the second half and showed off some of his many talents. West Virginia could lose Devine to the draft but will return a lot of key players next year.

A brief primer on Friday's Konica Minolta Gator Bowl matchup between West Virginia (9-3) and Florida State (6-6):

WHO TO WATCH: Noel Devine. The electric West Virginia tailback is one of the most exciting players in college football. But the junior might be playing in his last game for the Mountaineers as a potential NFL career beckons. Florida State allowed more than 200 yards rushing per game this season, ranking 108th in the nation. The conditions seem perfect for a huge final performance from Devine in his home state.

WHAT TO WATCH: These two teams are built on speed, and you know you'll see a lot of athletes all over the field. West Virginia's offense isn't what it used to be, but Florida State's former defensive superiority has gone MIA. A big key will be how Seminoles freshman quarterback E.J. Manuel handles himself in a bowl spotlight and against the Mountaineers' unusual 3-3-5 defensive scheme. West Virginia's defense found a new gear late in the season and -- even without ineligible starters Scooter Berry and Nate Sowers -- could cause the inexperienced signal-caller lots of problems.

WHY WATCH: Of course, the only reason Florida State is even in Jacksonville is because of Bobby Bowden's last game. Anyone with an appreciation of college football history will want to see one of the sport's true lions -- and a real gentleman -- coach one more time. From a West Virginia perspective, the Mountaineers can finish with a 10-win season and start building for next year, when a lot of key players return. Bill Stewart can improve to 3-0 in bowl games. And the Big East can notch another scalp against the ACC.

PREDICTION: West Virginia has clearly had the better season and is a better team. But the Mountaineers will be an underdog in this game because of the tidal wave of support for Bowden and the emotion the Seminoles will surely bring to the field. Florida State comes out firing, but inspiration can't cover for all the mistakes Bowden's club has made throughout the year. West Virginia in a squeaker, 27-25.

West Virginia rolls into the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl with a three-game winning streak and victories in five straight bowls. Its opponent, Florida State, finished just 6-6 this season.

And yet, the Mountaineers face one of the toughest challenges of the entire bowl season. They'll be taking on the Seminoles in coach Bobby Bowden's final game. Everyone who does not have a pre-existing West Virginia allegiance will certainly be rooting for one of the game's true legendary figures to go out a winner.

"I’ve told the guys this: There’s going to be 70,000 crimson, gold and white Florida State fans, I’m sure, against about 15,000 of us," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said this week. "Our men know they’re going to be outnumbered, our men know they’re going to be up against it, and if they don’t they’re going to know real quick as soon as we come through that tunnel.

"I've probably got family at home that will be cheering for him, I don’t know."

Stewart understands what the other sideline will be going through. He was an assistant coach during Don Nehlen's final game at West Virginia, a win over Ole Miss in the 2000 Music City Bowl.

"I’ve coached a lot of football games in my time," Stewart said. "That one right there, I gave everything I had to give. I gave just a little more that night for Coach Nehlen. I can only imagine what the Florida State coaches and players are going to do, and I can only imagine what Coach Bowden himself is going to do for this last hurrah."

In one sense, the Mountaineers are honored to be a part of the last game ever coached by Bowden, who was the West Virginia head man before he went to Florida State. But they have to find a way to match the intensity of their opponents while staying focused.

"It's nice, but it's something you don't want to get caught up in," senior linebacker Reed Williams. "We know most people will be rooting for (Bowden), but we can't care about what everybody else thinks. We've played in a lot of emotional games around here, so I think we should be ready."

If West Virginia can maintain its level of play from the last month of the regular season, especially defensively, it should have a great chance to end up with a 10-win campaign.

After a disheartening loss at South Florida on Oct. 30, the defense held Louisville to nine points, helped nearly pull off an upset at Cincinnati in a 24-21 loss, kept Pitt at bay in a 19-16 win and held off Rutgers on the road for a 24-21 victory. Getting the entire unit healthy and active -- with guys like Williams, safety Sidney Glover and defensive tackle Scooter Berry returning -- proved to be a big key.

"We finished the season strong, but I still feel like we haven't played our best football yet," Williams said. "Hopefully, we can do that in our last game."

It's a game in which Stewart says his team will be underdogs. Most people will probably hope West Virginia is a footnote in a historic ending for Bowden.

But the Mountaineers have a little history on their side as well. No current player has ever lost in a bowl game.

"That's a tradition we definitely want to keep going," Williams said.