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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.

The Big East got off to a strong start in the bowl season, as Rutgers kicked things off Saturday with a 45-24 win over Central Florida.

On Friday, I offered three keys to the game for the Scarlet Knights: develop some type of running threat even if it is Mohamed Sanu in the Wildcat, stop UCF running back Brynn Harvey and come up with a play or two on special teams.

While Rutgers had only 86 yards rushing, Sanu ran for two touchdowns out of the Wildcat. It was enough to keep the UCF defense off balance, and Tom Savage threw for 294 yards. Harvey, who was the Knights' top weapon, had only 32 yards on 13 carries as Rutgers allowed only 35 yards rushing the entire game.

As for special teams, Damaso Munoz scored off an onside kick return, though the game was well in hand at that point. Rutgers gave up some serious yards on kick returns and Sanu muffed a punt.

I thought it might be a low-scoring game, but I was way off about that. The Scarlet Knights got key contributions from injured receiver Tim Brown (four catches, 100 yards and a 65-yard score) and scored on an interception return by Billy Anderson just before the half. That and Munoz's touchdown gave Rutgers nine non-offensive scores on the season. The offensive line, which had disappointed much of the year, turned in a strong performance to keep Savage clean.

It was the fifth straight bowl appearance and fourth consecutive postseason victory for the Scarlet Knights, who now need to build on this win with Sanu and Savage returning for their sophomore years. The team needs to avoid the slow starts in 2010 that have plagued them in recent years.

The program will lose some significant players, including Brown, center Ryan Blaszczyk, defensive end George Johnson, linebacker Ryan D'Imperio, cornerback Devin McCourty and left tackle Anthony Davis, who has called a news conference for Tuesday to announce his intentions to leave for the NFL draft.

But the departing seniors see a bright future for Rutgers, Tom Luicci writes in The Star-Ledger.

“You need to be consistent before you can be great," head coach Greg Schiano said. "We’re going to be great someday ... someday soon."

Instant analysis of Rutgers' 45-24 win over Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Saturday night:

How the game was won: Rutgers managed to take advantage of Central Florida's shaky pass defense to the tune of 294 passing yards by freshman quarterback Tom Savage. The defense, meanwhile, held UCF to just 32 rushing yards and came up with two key interceptions -- including one for a touchdown -- as the Scarlet Knights cruised to victory.

Turning point: Billy Anderson's interception and 19-yard return for a score late in the first half gave Rutgers a commanding 28-17 lead going into the half.

Player of the game: Mohamed Sanu. The Rutgers true freshman scored three touchdowns -- two out of Wildcat formation rushes and one on a reception -- and had 147 total yards.

Unsung hero of the game: Tim Brown was doubtful with a leg injury and appeared to be injured again during the game. Still, he managed four catches for 100 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown that was reminiscent of his grab-and-go to beat Connecticut earlier this year.

Stat of the game: Brynn Harvey, who had rushed for more than 100 yards in his last three regular season games, was held to 30 yards on 13 carries by the Rutgers defense.

What it means: It's hard to say the St. Petersburg Bowl means a whole lot. Still, Rutgers wrapped up a nine-win season and has something to build upon going into next year, especially with true freshmen Savage and Sanu playing so well. They should be stars in the Big East for a long, long time. As for Central Florida, the Knights showed they aren't quite ready for the Big East yet despite talk of the Knights being a potential addition to the league in the near future.

Big East blogger Brian Bennett previews Saturday night's St. Petersburg Bowl matchup between Rutgers (8-4) and Central Florida (8-4).

Quick glance at Saturday night's St. Petersburg Bowl matchup between Rutgers (8-4) and Central Florida (8-4):

WHO TO WATCH: Rutgers wide receiver/occasional quarterback Mohamed Sanu. With Tim Brown either out or very limited in this game, Sanu becomes the team's No. 1 big-play weapon. He was very effective late in the season operating out of the Wildcat formation, and look for a lot more of that on Saturday night. He could also be quarterback Tom Savage's main option in the passing game. The true freshman had an outstanding regular season and needs to come up big in the postseason for Rutgers to win this game.

WHAT TO WATCH: It should be strength versus strength on the edge when Rutgers' offense lines up against the Central Florida defense. UCF defensive ends Bruce Miller -- who was the Conference USA defensive player of the year -- and Jarvis Geathers combined for 23 sacks and 30 tackles for loss this season. While the Scarlet Knights' offensive line didn't live up to expectations this season, they still have two excellent tackles in Anthony Davis and Kevin Haslam. It's most likely Davis' last game in a Rutgers uniform as the junior is expected to declare for the NFL draft. Davis and Haslam need to hold off the pass rush and try to create some running lanes against the Knights, who ranked fourth in the FBS in rush defense this season.

WHY TO WATCH: Because it's the first night of bowl season, and haven't you missed football? Plus, Central Florida wants to impress the Big East as a potential future member, and this could be a good audition. This game could also serve as a springboard to next year for the Scarlet Knights.

PREDICTION: Neither team will find it easy to score, but Rutgers has more athletes across the board and will create field-position advantages with its defense and special teams. Scarlet Knights over regular Knights, 21-17.