ESPN College Football

• The Big East will explore setting up its own TV monster akin to the Big Ten Network, Mitch Vingle writes in the Charleston Gazette.
• Greg Paulus will get a tryout with the New Orleans Saints. Think Doug Marrone's connections there paid off?
• Reed Williams was selected as West Virginia's top male overall student-athlete.
• Donald Brown, who left UConn a year early, will earn his degree on Saturday, Desmond Conner notes in the Hartford Courant.

We're approaching the top five in the Big East postseason player rankings, and you can probably figure out which five players those are without much trouble, if not the exact order.

So what about those who just missed the cut? Making a list of just 30 players across an eight-team league means some really good players have to be left off. Let's start with a look at those on my preseason list who failed to duplicate the honor in the postseason:

No. 3: Matt Grothe: A terrific career, obviously, but the South Florida quarterback's season was cut down by a knee injury before it ever really got going, and his pro potential is questionable at best.

No. 7: Victor Anderson: Another guy who's season was hampered by injury. Anderson posted only 473 rushing yards for Louisville, though he remains capable of big things in the next two years.

No. 10: Reed Williams: The West Virginia linebacker could have easily made this list, as he's not only an excellent player but a terrific leader. Just missed because he, too, was limited at times because of injuries.

No. 11: Ryan D'Imperio: The Rutgers linebacker wasn't nearly as productive as he had been, with his tackles dipping down to 76. But he wasn't fully healthy either.

No. 12: Scott Lutrus: Starting to sound like a broken record here. The Huskies linebacker missed huge chunks of time with various injuries and was surpassed on this list by teammate Lawrence Wilson. But he'll be a prominent preseason candidate for top 30 designation.

No. 15: Aaron Berry: The Pitt corner had a solid but not spectacular season.

No. 16: Robert Vaughn: The UConn safety dropped because of a poor overall performance by the Huskies' secondary.

No. 17: Scooter Berry: The West Virginia tackle missed significant time with injuries and a suspension.

No 19: Scott Long: My most controversial preseason pick had the misfortune of playing for a bad offense. But the Louisville receiver did get an NFL combine invite.

No. 21: Jessie Hester: The South Florida wideout struggled with injuries for much of 2009 and never regained his '08 form.

No. 22: Ryan Blaszczyk: The Rutgers offensive line disappointed, dragging its center's ranking down with it.

No. 24: Brandon Hogan: Improved as season went on; could easily make the preseason list this summer.

No. 25: Mike Williams: Was arguably the league's top receiver for half the year. But you don't quit your team midseason and expect to make a list of the league's best.

No. 27: Jock Sanders: A tough, tough omission from the list, especially considering he had 72 catches for West Virginia. What decided it for me was that he averaged fewer than 10 yards per catch and had only three touchdowns, and his production took a nosedive late in the season.

No. 28: Nate Byham: Still a terrific blocking tight end, but his pass-catching opportunities instead went to Dorin Dickerson, and I didn't want to put two Pitt tight ends on the list.

No. 29: Jon Dempsey: Had a fine year (107 tackles), but it was hard to tell by the end of the season whether he or Chris Campa was Louisville's best linebacker. No Cardinals made the postseason top 30, which gives you an idea of the challenge facing Charlie Strong.

No. 30: Moe Petrus: The UConn center was part of a terrific line, but Chris Jurek and Sampson Genus edged him out for the first- and second-team All-Big East center positions as voted by the coaches.

OK, now that we've exposed how far off my preseason list was, here are a few other players who barely missed the postseason cut:

Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: An interesting decision here. He was outstanding in less than half a season's worth of work, including a record-breaking performance against UConn. And his potential is off the charts. Probably should have included him, but I just felt he didn't play enough in 2009. He'll definitely be on the preseason list, and probably awfully high.

Zach Hurd, UConn, and John Malecki, Pitt: Two of the best guards in the league, a position which sadly wasn't represented on this list. Guards are like the Rodney Dangerfield of football.

J.T. Thomas, West Virginia, and Adam Gunn, Pitt: Excellent linebackers in a league that's stacked at that position.

Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati: He was at times the Bearcats' best weapon when defenses concentrated on Mardy Gilyard. You wonder how much the system inflates the stats of receivers. Binns, though, will surely appear on the summer list.

Chris Neild, NT, West Virginia: I thought he was one of the top two or three interior linemen in the league. Just missed.

I'm sure I'm failing to mention other worthy candidates, but I've already gone on and on long enough. Sound off on other players you think should have made it, or why I'm crazy for not including some of these on the list.

A year ago at this time, the Big East was dealing with the loss of a plethora of stars, including some of the best players in league history. Guys like Pat White, Donald Brown, Kenny Britt, LeSean McCoy and Scott McKillop seemed difficult, if not impossible, to replace. The league fared just fine in 2009 without those stars, and the good news for 2010 is that many of its top performers will be back. But that's not to say there aren't still some key losses that teams will have to adjust to this spring. Here's a look at the biggest shoes to fill this season in the Big East:

• Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: The Bearcats aren't exactly hurting at wide receiver with Armon Binns, D.J. Woods and USC transfer Vidal Hazelton around. Still, someone must replace Gilyard's leadership and knack for making the big play at crucial times. What might be even more difficult to replace is Gilyard's production on special teams. The two-time Big East special teams player of the year was always a threat to score on kickoffs and punt returns. And hopefully someone will step in Gilyard's role as the best quote in the entire conference.
• Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Brown may not have received a ton of attention nationally, but he was vitally important to the Scarlet Knights. The speedster averaged 20.9 yards per catch and amassed 1,150 receiving yards and nine touchdowns as the team's only true deep threat. With a still very young receiving corps surrounding Tom Savage, Rutgers will need to find someone who can stretch the field the way Brown did.
• Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh: The 2009 co-defensive player of the year in the conference, Williams was a wildly disruptive force in the middle of that Panthers defensive line, as well as an inspirational leader. With fellow senior tackle Gus Mustakas also gone, Pitt needs more production from backups Myles Caragein and Chas Alecxih, among others.
• Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers: McCourty was an underappreciated gem for the Scarlet Knights, a lockdown cornerback who also was seemingly everywhere on special teams. He was the leader of the secondary. Guys with his skills don't come around that often.
• Reed Williams, LB, West Virginia: The Mountaineers had to deal with Williams' absence for most of 2008 and at times this past season because of various injuries. But it was clear that they were a different team whenever Williams was healthy. A smart player (he's the 2009 Big East football scholar-athlete of the year ) who anchored the defense at middle linebacker, Williams was like a coach on the field.
• George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida: Say what you will about Selvie's dwindling production, but opposing offense still always had to account for him. And Pierre-Paul ascended to star status in his one year on campus. Combined, the two produced 26 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2009. The Bulls now need the next wave of pass-rushers to emerge, with former stud recruit Ryne Giddins one possible candidate.

West Virginia linebacker Reed Williams was named the 2009 Big East football scholar-athlete of the year today by the conference's academic affairs committee.

Williams, a three-year-starter and second team All-Big East performer this past season, will receive a $2,000 scholarship which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. He was one of 16 national finalists for the this year's William V. Campbell Trophy, which is presented to the national scholar-athlete of the year. Already a graduate student with a degree in finance, Williams was named to West Virginia’s dean’s list in each of his five academic years and is a four-time Big East All-Academic selection.

He is the headliner of 106 players who were chosen to the league's All-Academic team. To be nominated, a player must have a cumulative grade-point index of at least 3.0 and have completed a minimum of two semesters of academic work.

UConn placed the most members on the All-Academic team with 16, while Rutgers was second with 15. Notable players who made the list while performing at an all-conference level on the field include Cincinnati's Jeff Linkenbach and Aaron Webster, UConn's Marcus Easley, Pitt's Jonathan Baldwin, John Malecki and Adam Gunn, Rutgers' Devin McCourty, South Florida's Nate Allen and Syracuse's Derrell Smith.

The entire list can be viewed here.

• New Cincinnati coach Butch Jones is ready to go to work, Bill Koch writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
• Replacing Reed Williams will be West Virginia's tallest task in 2010, Dave Hickman says in the Charleston Gazette.
• Bob Hertzel looks back on the season that was for the Mountaineers in the Times West Virginian.
• UConn's 2009 season was one of a kind, Desmond Conner writes in the Hartford Courant.
• Back-to-back lower-tier bowl wins are OK, but the Bulls know they need to win the Big East to reach the next level, Scott Carter says in the Tampa Tribune.

• West Virginia's Reed Williams is wrapping up a great all-around college career, Bob Hertzel writes in the Times West Virginian.

• UConn will be facing a stiff test in South Carolina's defense, Desmond Conner says in the Hartford Courant.

• South Florida is getting a taste of the Great White North, Scott Carter writes in the Tampa Tribune.

• Charlie Strong picked up a four-star wide receiver for Louisville, Jody Demling reports in The Courier-Journal.

• The top five Syracuse football performances of the decade, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

• Mardy Gilyard and a teammate had to outrun a police horse.

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.

(Today, we're going to recap each Big East team's regular season. We're going in reverse alphabetical order this time, so we begin with West Virginia):

Reports of West Virginia's demise proved to be premature.

In early November, it looked like the Mountaineers had been passed in the Big East power structure by Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. They were 7-3 with no signature wins and were lucky to escape against Connecticut and Louisville.

But it takes a lot to kill the king, and West Virginia got its act together in the closing weeks, battling Cincinnati to the wire, upsetting Pitt and winning (again) at Rutgers to finish in second place in the league. A 9-3 record and Gator Bowl berth are nothing to be ashamed about.

The Mountaineers did it with a first-year starting quarterback in Jarrett Brown, even though he was a fifth-year senior. They replaced nearly their entire offensive line from a year ago. And they played shorthanded at times on defense with injuries limiting such players as Reed Williams, Scooter Berry and Sidney Glover. This team wasn't great at any one thing, as it failed to rank in the Top 25 nationally in any major statistical category. But it had enough talent and winning DNA to put together another fine season in Morgantown.

Offensive MVP: Noel Devine. Although he was slowed late in the year with an ankle injury, Devine showed just how dangerous he can be every time he touches the ball with his 88-yard touchdown run against Pitt. He finished with 1,297 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns on an impressive 5.8 yards per carry.

Defensive MVP: Chris Neild. The nose tackle helped hold the line together as Berry -- the only other experienced player up front -- missed lots of time. Neild was a bull in the middle and gave West Virginia the run stuffer its 3-3-5 defense needs.

Turning point: The 19-16 upset of Pitt in the season's penultimate game gave Bill Stewart the signature win he and his team had been looking for and suddenly brightened the outlook for the entire year. That it came at the expense of a hated rival was pretty sweet, too.

What's next: West Virginia will shoot for 10 wins in the Bobby Bowden Bowl, also known as the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl. The best news for the Mountaineers is that they had only six senior starters. This is a team that will return the bulk of its roster next year, though Devine may well leave early for the NFL.

West Virginia (9-3) vs. Florida State (6-6)

Jan. 1, 1 p.m., (CBS)

Three weeks ago, the Mountaineers stood at 7-3 with an uncertain bowl future. They finished by winning their final two games to earn the Big East's second-best bowl spot and make it a nice season.

The West Virginia offense has lacked its usual firepower lately, failing to score more than 24 points in any of its final five games. But it remains a dangerous attack, thanks to quarterback Jarrett Brown's strong arm and scrambling ability and running back Noel Devine's capability of turning any play into a touchdown.

The cure for whatever has slowed that offense may arrive in the form of Florida State's 98th-ranked defense. The Seminoles haven't really been able to stop anybody since October.

The biggest boon for West Virginia the past few weeks has been its defense getting fully healthy, especially difference-making linebacker Reed Williams and safety Sidney Glover. They helped put the clamps on Pitt and Rutgers and hold Cincinnati to its lowest-scoring output of the season.

Of course, the storyline of this game will be all about Bobby Bowden coaching his last game for Florida State against the school that gave him his first Division I head coaching job. Current West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has a little bit of Bowden's folksy wisdom and down-to-earth style about him. And this year, he's got a better team.

We've got two weeks left in the season, though two Big East teams -- Louisville and Syracuse -- wrap up their 2009 this weekend.

The end of the season also means it's time to start thinking about who will make the All-Big East team. Here's an early look at who I think should and should not make the team at each position:

Quarterback

Raise your hand if you thought Pitt's Bill Stull would be the Big East's first-team quarterback this year. Heck, most people thought he'd lose his job. But he's leading the league in passing yards, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency -- all by a large margin. Had Tony Pike stayed healthy or Zach Collaros played a full year, we might be talking about them here. But they didn't, so it's an easy choice.

Running back

Dion Lewis is a shoo-in. The second running back spot on the team will likely belong to Noel Devine. But he's been slowed lately, mostly due to injuries. If that continues, there's a chance that UConn's Jordan Todman or Andre Dixon could slip onto the first team. Combine the two Huskies, and they've produced exactly 1,800 rushing yards.

Receiver

Mardy Gilyard and Tim Brown are the choices here for now, though you could make a strong argument for Jonathan Baldwin. If Baldwin has a big two final games, perhaps he'll earn a spot on the first team. Jock Sanders has had a great year as well. Mike Williams looked like a lock before he quit Syracuse.

Tight end

No doubt about it, Pitt's Dorin Dickerson -- a Mackey Award finalist -- gets the nod. His teammate, Nate Byham, might be the second-team tight end.

Offensive line

This is always the most difficult position to single out players, because offensive line play is not easy to evaluate from the outside. My two tackles at this point would be Cincinnati's Jeff Linkenbach and Pitt's Jason Pinkston. Rutgers left tackle Anthony Davis is the best pro prospect, but he's been far too inconsistent. Pitt's John Malecki is another lock at guard. The other two spots are less obvious. Perhaps Zach Hurd from UConn at guard and Chris Jurek from Cincinnati or UConn's Moe Petrus at center. This is one where I'll have to pick some coaches' brains to decipher.

Defensive line

You might be shocked at the one guy who's not on my list here: South Florida's George Selvie. I think his opposite end, Jason Pierre-Paul, has had the better year. I'd put Greg Romeus at the other end, along with his Pitt teammate Mick Williams at one defensive tackle. The other defensive tackle is up for grabs; I think I'd vote for West Virginia's Chris Neild in a tight one over Syracuse's Arthur Jones.

Linebacker

A lot of players have strong cases here. My three, at this point, would have to be USF's Kion Wilson, UConn's Lawrence Wilson and Louisville's Jon Dempsey. That's leaving off a lot of really good players, including Pitt's Adam Gunn and Syracuse's Derrell Smith.

Secondary

Cincinnati's Aaron Webster and USF's Nate Allen are my safeties, hands down. Devin McCourty is clearly a first-team cornerback. The other cornerback spot is debatable; right now, I'd probably pick Pitt's Aaron Berry, who's coming on strong at the end of the year.

Specialists

The clubhouse leaders are Pitt's Dan Hutchins at place-kicker, West Virginia's Scott Kozlowski at punter, Gilyard as punt returner and Louisville's Trent Guy as kick returner.

This early ballot leaves off several players I had ticketed for first-team honors in the preseason, including Selvie, Jones, West Virginia's Reed Williams, Rutgers' Ryan D'Imperio and others. But there's still time for performances to sway my picks, and I plan on getting a lot of input on my choices before picking a final team.

Now I want your input. Agree or disagree with these selections? Let's hear it.

Two Big East players -- Syracuse's Jim McKenzie and West Virginia's Reed Williams -- have been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

McKenzie is the lone league player to earn first-team honors. A biochemistry major with a 3.89 GPA, McKenzie has started 34 straight games at Syracuse. A two-time member of the Big East all-academic team, McKenzie completed an internship at Upstate Hospital last summer.

Check out my story on McKenzie's exploits from this summer.

Williams earned second-team recognition. The fifth-year senior has a 3.86 GPA in finance and marketing.

Congratulations to both guys for their accomplishments on and off the field.

West Virginia has notched some of the biggest wins for the Big East ever since the league took its current shape in 2005. BCS bowl triumphs over Georgia and Oklahoma gave the conference milestones to brag about.

In the last two years, though, the Mountaineers have curiously lacked any marquee victories. The Meineke Car Care Bowl win against North Carolina was nice but not chest-thumpingly brilliant. In the last two regular seasons, West Virginia has lost twice to Cincinnati, gotten beat at Pitt and let this year's game at Auburn slip away.

Senior linebacker Reed Williams said the best victory he could recall in the past two years was the one at home against Auburn last season. But even that came over a Tigers team that finished 5-7.

"We've lacked that signature win," Williams said. "As seniors, we don't want our signature year to be outlined by defeat and the inability to win that big game."

That's one of several reasons why Friday's renewal of the Backyard Brawl looms as important to the Mountaineers (7-3, 3-2 Big East). They've been eliminated from the conference race, but beating No. 9 Pitt would provide a highlight to the season.

There are bowl implications at stake as well. If West Virginia wins out and Pitt also loses to Cincinnati on Dec. 5, the Mountaineers could lay claim to a spot in the Gator Bowl.

"We could still be second in the Big East, and that would be great because the conference has been real tough this year," center Eric Jobe said. "There's a lot to play for."

Neither team ever needs much motivation in this rivalry, which is the oldest and best in the Big East. The two schools are less than 80 miles away from each other, and many of the players come from the same recruiting areas.

"It’s almost like playing your brother -- you want to go out there and whip him bad," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said.

Lately, Pitt has held the whip. The Panthers upset the Mountaineers 13-9 in Morgantown two years ago in the regular-season finale, knocking WVU out of a BCS title game appearance. Last year at Heinz Field, Pitt took home a bruising 19-15 victory that extinguished any conference title hopes for the Mountaineers.

"That loss two years ago is definitely on everyone's mind," Jobe said. "We want to get back to winning against them. Maybe this year, we can play the spoiler."

They can't spoil Pitt's BCS hopes, because those ride solely on the Cincinnati outcome. But West Virginia could put a dent in its rival's season by knocking it out of the Top 10 and perhaps down to a lesser bowl.

This is about more than Pitt, though. The Mountaineers would like to return to their old ways, which means recording big wins.

"Even though things didn't go as planned for us in the Big East, I think we're still a great football team," Williams said. "We just haven't played that game where we've put everything together yet. When we do, I think we'll play to a tee and be a great football team."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

West Virginia senior linebacker Reed Williams has been named one of 12 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy, which honors the player who best combines "exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement." The award is named after former Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel.

The winner will be announced on Dec. 8. The other 11 finalists are:

Mike Nixon, senior linebacker, Arizona State
Dan LeFevour, senior quarterback, Central Michigan
Christian Ponder, junior quarterback, Florida State
Zoltan Mesko, senior punter, Michigan
Blair White, senior receiver, Michigan State
Andrew Brewer, senior receiver, Northwestern
Andrew Sendejo, senior safety, Rice
Dominique Harris, senior defensive back, Temple
Jordan Shipley, senior receiver, Texas
Zane Beadles, senior offensive lineman, Utah
Tim Hiller, senior quarterback, Western Michigan

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

• Cincinnati cornerback Brad Jones -- who barely played for three years and is now starting as a senior -- is a testament to perseverance, Tom Groeschen writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
• Turmoil off the field has brought Syracuse together, Donnie Webb writes in the Syracuse Post-Standard.
• Though he's banged up all over and his coach said he won't play a complete game the rest of the year, West Virginia linebacker Reed Williams says he'll battle through the pain, Mike Casazza writes in the Charleston Daily Mail.
• Zach Frazer needs to be less streaky and more consistent for UConn, Desmond Conner writes in the Hartford Courant.
• South Florida is motivated to deliver some payback to Rutgers for last year's blowout, Greg Auman says in the St. Petersburg Times.
• Rutgers cornerback David Rowe has a familial connection to South Florida, Ryan Dunleavy writes in the Home News Tribune.
• It took four years and a sudden position change for Andrew Robinson to gain his first start, and then he immediately got hurt. But the Louisville cornerback should be back this week, C.L. Brown writes in The Courier-Journal.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

West Virginia University senior linebacker Reed Williams has been named to the 2009 National Scholar-Athlete class, making him one of 16 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy.

The finalists were selected from a pool of 154 semifinalists among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA. Each of the finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship.

Williams has played in 45 career games and recorded 217 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles and two interceptions. He also maintains a 3.86 grade-point average while pursing a second degree in marketing after already earning his finance degree.

In six games this season, Williams has 32 tackles, six pass breakups, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble.