ESPN College Football

Our series on coaches we love to hate is coming to a close. Go ahead, shed that tear.

Earlier this week, I asked you to vote for the biggest Big East villain in recent history. All week, it was a dead heat between vagabond Todd Graham and traitor Rich Rodriguez, ahead of Bobby Petrino, Brian Kelly and Randy Edsall.

The winner, as of 8 a.m. this morning: Rodriguez -- but he was just barely ahead of Graham. With 3,206 votes in, Rodriguez got 29 percent of the vote; Graham got 28 percent. Petrino was next, followed by Kelly and Edsall.

Here is a little of what you had to say, with a few entries for coaches not included in the poll.

John Ready in Youngstown, Ohio, writes: I think you should add Steve Kragthorpe to the list. He absolutely ruined the Cards. I am a die hard Louisville fan, but found it hard to watch the Cards during the Krag-era. He may not be a villain, but he has been quite vilified for his job (not) done during his tenure.

Mark in Marlboro, N.J., writes: With regards to the poll about the biggest villains, they all have their faults. Graham was a horrible coach, Edsall didn't take a much better job, Rich Rod went for the money and Petrino is a bad guy, even before his latest episode. As the father of a Cincy grad, I don't get on Kelly as much as their fan base. He made the program relevant taking them to two straight BCS Bowl games. My son went to school thinking the hoop squad would be playing in the Final Four. With a name like Kelly, you can't deny the man the opportunity to coach at Notre Dame

Jordan in Lakeland, Fla., writes: He may not be the winner, but I am not sure how you could not include Jim Leavitt in your list of villians.

White Dog777 writes: All the other coaches seem to have made upward mobile decisions but Randy Edsall leaving UCONN for his dream job at Maryland? Plus the way he left the team and not flying back from the Fiesta bowl with them was in my mind bush league. I really hope UCONN kicks the snot out of them in Maryland on Sept. 15th.

Bradenton Bull writes: IMO it's Brian Kelly for leaving UC high an dry right before playing UF in the BCS Bowl. UC ended up getting killed, which obviously greatly contributed to the negative perception of the Big East.. That blow out was killer to the conference. Not saying they would've beat UF, but I don't think they'd have gotten worked over like that.

Calmteer writes: Todd Graham and Petrino should be running away with this vote. The other three all put in their time and left their schools much better than they found them and all brought their schools multiple Big East championships and BCS games.

Eric 72785 writes: They did not point out that RichRod left the day after losing a game against a TERRIBLE team... that had we won, would have placed WVU in the NC. He literally (threw) away a number 2 ranking, with zero shot at not being in the big show ... *uck RichRod.

IAM4WVU87 writes: Funny Rodriguez and Graham receiving an almost equal number of votes, and now that are coaching in the same conference. Those poor $@%!$@%! have no idea what they're in for.

Is there such a thing as a Big East coach being hated because he wins too much?

The answer is clearly no when you look at the current group of head coaches. Three of them have never coached in a Big East game. Three are going into their third seasons in the league and are barely above .500. Paul Pasqualoni has a bushel-full of victories, but nearly all of them came at Syracuse two decades ago.

So let us take a dip back into history to find an answer. Here are the all-time winningest coaches in Big East history, by overall percentage. I am using this statistic because many of the biggest winners do not stick around the Big East for long.

• Larry Coker, Miami: 35-3 (.921)
• Dennis Erickson, Miami: 42-6 (.875)
• Brian Kelly, Cincinnati: 34-6 (.850)
• Bobby Petrino, Louisville: 21-4 (.840)
• Butch Davis, Miami: 51-20 (.718)
• Bill Stewart, West Virginia: 28-12 (.700)
• Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia: 60-26 (.698)
• Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech: 108-48-1 (.691)

The conclusion is an easy one: Much more than one hated coach, Miami was a hated team because of all the wins it racked up while playing in the Big East from 1991-2003. That includes two national championships and seven Big East titles, more than any other school. Coker was never vilified or hated. The man is impossibly nice.

Davis' image took much more of a hit at North Carolina because he left the place in scandal, with two major investigations hanging over the program. While at Miami, he was lauded as the man who saved the program from NCAA sanctions. It is hard to hate a coach who won 10 games only once in his career.

Erickson simply took over for Jimmy Johnson and continued what was started.

But the assignment is to find a coach hated for winning. Let's look at some of the other names on the list. Kelly and Petrino were hated much more for the ways they left their programs. Kelly only coached three years in the Big East; Petrino only two in the Big East. I can't imagine their short stays struck fear into the hearts of opponents, despite all the victories.

So let's turn the focus to Rodriguez. He, more than any of the aforementioned coaches, probably fits the bill. In his final three seasons in Morgantown, Rodriguez won two league championships and had three 11-win seasons. His team went undefeated in league play in 2005, one of only two teams to accomplish the feat in the past seven years. He won with swagger and style, and some of the best athletes in Big East history.

But I used the word probably. Because as great as Rodriguez was, his on-field coaching career in the Big East will be defined by what he didn't do in 2007. West Virginia was ranked No. 2 in the country going into the regular-season finale against Pitt in the always-heated Backyard Brawl. Win, and the Mountaineers would be playing for the school's first national title. Pitt was already out of the bowl picture, entering the game at 4-7. West Virginia was a 28 1/2-point favorite.

Slam dunk, right? Well, you guys know what happened. Pitt pulled one of the biggest upsets in the series, and Rodriguez went packing to Michigan. The loss will always follow Rodriguez, despite all of his wins in the league. On the day he needed a win most of all, he failed. But that loss did not make him a villain in Morgantown. Leaving did.

That is why it is hard to anoint any Big East coach as somebody hated for winning.

Current Big East coaches' career records in the league:

• Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse and UConn: 112-63-1
• Doug Marrone, Syracuse: 17-20
• Butch Jones, Cincinnati: 14-11
• Charlie Strong, Louisville: 14-12
• Skip Holtz, USF: 13-12
• Steve Addazio, Temple: 0-0
• Paul Chryst, Pitt: 0-0
• Kyle Flood, Rutgers: 0-0

As part of the “College Football Live” 100 Days 'Til Kickoff countdown, here’s a look at the top 10 players in the Big East. For those wondering, the Big East blog will still have its annual preseason Top 25 player countdown a little later in the summer.

Without further ado:

1. Ray Graham, RB, Pitt. Taking a calculated risk here, considering we have no idea how Graham is going to look a year after tearing his ACL. Coach Paul Chryst says Graham will be ready for fall camp. If Graham is able to return to form, he should be the best player in the league.

2. Khaseem Greene, LB, Rutgers. Greene goes into the season as the preseason favorite to win Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season after sharing honors with Derek Wolfe in 2011. Though he broke his ankle in the bowl game, he will be ready for fall camp. Side note: Isn't it a neat that he and Graham are brothers?

3. Aaron Donald, DT, Pitt. Donald emerged last season, finishing second in the league with 11 sacks. He has shifted inside to tackle this year, but he is the most productive and experienced player returning to the Pitt defensive line and should continue his upward trajectory.

4. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville. Bridgewater had a sensational freshman season, winning league newcomer of the year honors. Hopes are high for him to build off his impressive campaign in his second year as a starter. Louisville will do more to take advantage of his athleticism, with plans to install some hurry-up offense.

5. Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers. Ryan led the league with 16 passes defended -- 13 breakups and three interceptions last season. Defensive back is one of the strongest positions across the league, and Ryan leads the way as the Big East's best cornerback.

6. Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville. Smith has gotten better in each of his seasons with the Cardinals, so this season should feature more of the same. In 2011, he had 84 tackles, tied for second in the league, with nine pass breakups. He also tied for second in the league with three forced fumbles and made the Big East first team.

7. Ryne Giddins, DE, USF. Giddins emerged in the second half of last season (yes, I know many of you still remember him for his personal foul against West Virginia) and is in line to have a breakout year for the Bulls, who should have one of the stronger defensive lines in the Big East.

8. B.J. Daniels, QB, USF. Daniels should be the best quarterback in the Big East, considering he is going into his fourth year as a starter. Is this the year he finally lives up to expectations and delivers a long-awaited -- and first -- league title?

9. Walter Stewart, DE, Cincinnati. Coach Butch Jones says he has not been around a player as focused as Stewart in a long time. That is saying something, considering the defensive stars the Bearcats had last season. Stewart is poised to give Cincinnati a huge presence at rush end.

10. Lyle McCombs, RB, UConn. McCombs ran for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman last season and returns for 2011 with much more confidence -- and the Huskies hope a better offensive line. He goes into the season as the unquestioned featured back.

Time for a little game. Think of the most vilified college football coaches today.

Your list probably looks something like this:

Bobby Petrino.
Rich Rodriguez.
Todd Graham.
Randy Edsall.

You know what they all have in common. They all were Big East coaches at one point in time. Really great Big East coaches, to boot. But alas, great coaches never stick around for long in this league, a common lament among Big East fans. Perhaps the bigger question is -- what has made the Big East a breeding ground for villainous coaches?

Consider the recent history.

Exhibit A. Petrino got his first head coaching job at Louisville, and did one heck of a job, going 41-9 in four seasons. But the Cardinals were never just right, were they? I mean, how could they be when you 1) Try to negotiate a deal to become head coach at Auburn behind your boss' back. 2) Interview at Florida, Mississippi AND LSU the following year, while pledging love and loyalty to Louisville in between. 3) Forget loyalty and interview with the Oakland Raiders after Year 3 in Louisville. 4) Finally end the misery and leave for the Atlanta Falcons after a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl berth.

That Atlanta dream job was not quite right either, so he left with good-bye statements taped to his players' lockers before the season even ended and headed for Arkansas. You all know how well his stint ended there.

Maybe all these aforementioned Big East coaches just hate good-byes.

Edsall left for Maryland after UConn lost the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma in January 2011 and never told his players word one about his plans. In fact, he did not even take the team charter home with the team. What may even be worse than that -- he made Jordan Todman get up in front of the team to explain why he was leaving early for the NFL draft. Edsall just finished a 2-10 season at Maryland in which he took a beating and lost 24 transfers. He is working hard to right the ship -- but you can bet some folks in Storrs are thinking, "Karma!"

Meanwhile at Pitt, Graham also had a tough time with good-byes at the end of last season. He told his players he was leaving via text message and hightailed it for Arizona State after a 6-6 season in which he had his players buying into an "high-octane" and "high-energy" offense. This, of course, came after he pretty much begged for the Pitt job after the Mike Haywood fiasco. But his shenanigans started at Rice, where he also had a one-year stint before leaving for Tulsa. ESPN.com columnist Mark Schlabach dubbed Graham the new president of the Liar's Club after his Pitt exit.

Rich Rod? Well, he is persona non grata in two states, West Virginia and Michigan. Who can forget the drama after he left the Mountaineers for the Wolverines in 2007, a few short months after signing a new contract and pledging his commitment to his school? West Virginia sued Rodriguez in the wake of his departure, and Michigan turned out to be an absolute disaster. It sure ain't easy being hated in as many spots as these guys.

There are others who left in less-than-ideal ways. How about Brian Kelly at Cincinnati, waiting until the end of his team banquet to announce his departure for Notre Dame? This was hours AFTER players began hearing news reports that they had lost their coach. Most recently, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano left for Tampa Bay less than a week before signing day, not even telling his loyal assistants, who were out on the road recruiting without any idea about what was happening.

His departure was tame compared to the rest. As for the others, I think they would make an excellent subject for a new television series.

"College Football Coaches Behaving Badly."

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- There are plenty of items on the agenda for the Big East spring meetings, which begin Monday and run through Wednesday. Here is a brief primer on what the league's administrators, coaches and interim commissioner Joe Bailey will have on the table.

1. Conference stability. Though a league official told Joe Schad that Boise State has reaffirmed its commitment to the conference, you can bet that is going to be among the topics discussed. The Big East needs Boise State to join in a pretty bad way, and the Broncos must find a home for its non-football sports now that the WAC appears to be on the brink of collapse. Boise State is the big-ticket school the Big East needs moving forward. But beyond Boise State and the non-AQ schools joining, the Big East needs to know that all its member schools are committed so it can move forward in a meaningful way. That goes for teams like Louisville, UConn and Rutgers to name three. All of the new members -- Boise State, San Diego State, SMU, Houston, UCF, Temple, Memphis and Navy will be represented at the meetings. Syracuse and Pitt will not be there.

2. Commissioner search. The Big East has to find a new leader for the conference and fast, what with BCS negotiations set to continue in June and TV negotiations set to begin in September. What will the consensus be among those in attendance about the type of person they want in charge? How will Bailey assist in getting the Big East the best leader it can find among a rapidly changing landscape?

3. TV contract. The Big East has to get an excellent TV deal when it begins negotiations in September. First and foremost, it needs to be in the same ballpark as the deal that it turned down last year; and it is going to have to be in the same ballpark as the ACC to really be able to move forward. How will the Big East negotiate, which TV partners are interested, and will this finally lend stability to the league?

4. BCS, playoff. It appears to be a certainty that a four-team playoff will be coming to college football for the 2014 season. Which format does the Big East approve? More importantly than that, how does the Big East keep its seat as one of the top-six conferences in terms of BCS revenue distribution? The league is in danger of falling out of that grouping. That leads to the next topic.

5. Bowl tie-ins. The recent news that the Big 12-SEC champions would play in a bowl game is not good for a league like the Big East. Colleague Mark Schlabach writes: "And what about the depleted Big East? It's pretty clear the Big East is no longer sitting at the same table with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, after it lost Pittsburgh, Syracuse, TCU and West Virginia to other leagues. Now the Big East might not even be sitting in the same room as the other BCS conferences." The possibility of a Big East-ACC matchup might be on the table, but Schlabach writes, "That matchup has really worked out well for the Orange Bowl. Maybe they'll increase the stakes by giving the winner an at-large invitation to the NCAA men's basketball tournament."

6. Divisional alignment. Lost among all the hot topics is divisional alignment once the Big East expands beyond eight teams for 2013. All reports point to Temple joining the West with Boise State and San Diego State, along with Houston and SMU. The other team moving out West has not been completely determined. Once Navy joins for 2015, then there will probably be more shifting. Of course, the Big East may look totally different in 2015 so ...

Time for my long-awaited post-spring power rankings. I made only a few changes from the pre-spring rankings. Here goes ...

1. Louisville: Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater looked better than ever this spring, giving me renewed confidence the Cardinals are going to be the preseason favorite in the league. The secondary should be exceptionally strong, and the offensive line should be better. Questions remain at running back and with depth in the front seven. But of all the teams in the league, I think the Cardinals have the most stability headed into the season. Plus, it hugely helps to have Charlie Strong entering Year 3.

2. USF: Big jump for the Bulls. I know I said I refused to buy into USF until the Bulls actually do something. But what they have returning is hard to ignore. Generally speaking, teams with 18 returning starters -- many of them seniors -- do really well. So do teams with veteran starting quarterbacks. While USF still has some major question marks on paper -- can B.J. Daniels develop, what happens at running back, where is the depth at linebacker -- the Bulls look like they have a shot.

3. Rutgers: At one time, I had Rutgers as my preseason favorite. But I am a little nervous about the situation at quarterback. I thought there would be a resolution this spring, but neither Chas Dodd nor Gary Nova did much to impress. Mohamed Sanu is gone, there are more shifts on the offensive line, and the running game has to prove something. I think the defense will be the best in the Big East. The offense is scaring me right now, which is why I moved the Scarlet Knights down.

4. Cincinnati: The Bearcats do return talent, and players who saw some significant action last season. But they also lose 21 seniors, including Big East Offensive Player of the Year Isaiah Pead and Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year Derek Wolfe. I don't have any doubts that the Bearcats will have a good season. I just don't know if they will win another championship.

5. Pitt: If there is any team with "ifs" all over the roster, it is the Panthers. They have a new head coach. They are returning Tino Sunseri at quarterback. Nobody knows how Ray Graham is going to do after major knee surgery. The offensive line has to be better. There is not much depth on the defensive line. If all of these come together, the Panthers could be really good. If they don't, they could be really bad.

6. UConn: The Huskies will be good on defense. But what about quarterback? I feel like a broken record saying the same thing over again. Quarterback uncertainty always makes me hesitant to rank a team in the top half of the league. I was hesitant last year, and I am hesitant again this year.

7. Syracuse: I have said this before, but it bears repeating: I think Syracuse is the hardest team to gauge in the Big East. The Orange have to be more consistent on offense. They have to find a running game to help ease some of the burden off quarterback Ryan Nassib. Does Ashton Broyld give them enough to get them more explosive plays? The defense still has depth concerns in the front seven.

8. Temple: I worry about how the Owls will make the transition to the Big East in Year 1. I think Temple has a good team, but the Owls also lost a lot of their best players and have depth concerns on the offensive and defensive lines. That is enough to worry any coach in Year 1 in a major conference.

Let's put one final bow on the spring with a look at five top breakout players.

JaQuez Jenkins, safety, USF. With starting strong safety Jon Lejiste out for the spring because of injury, Jenkins made his presence immediately felt in the defensive backfield and had one of the best springs of anybody on the Bulls roster. Jenkins was everywhere, making big plays and hard hits. His emergence gives USF a nice problem to have once Lejiste returns in the fall.

Scott Radcliff, receiver, Louisville. The most talked-about receiver after the Cardinals' spring game the former walk-on, who played with the first team and led all receivers with nine catches for 119 yards. He is listed ahead of Eli Rogers at the H-receiver spot on the post-spring depth chart.

Walter Stewart, defensive end, Cincinnati. Yes, Stewart is a returning starter. But he has never had a spring like the one he just completed, in which he was able to maintain what he started as his position. Stewart had been switched to several positions earlier in his career, but now he has a home at end and is ready to be a force this season.

Ray Vinopal, safety, Pitt. Safety could actually turn out to be a position of strength across the Big East with some of the talent that has emerged this spring. Vinopal sat out a year after transferring in from Michigan, and despite the coaching change, had an outstanding spring. He made big plays, forced turnovers and now makes safety a bright spot for the Panthers with Jarred Holley, Andrew Taglianetti and Jason Hendricks all returning.

Ryan Wirth, defensive tackle, UConn. The Huskies lost an NFL player in Kendall Reyes, along with their other starting tackle, so this is a huge question going into the season. But Wirth showed he can make an impact inside, especially after his spring performance, with 4.5 sacks and a safety.

Every once in a while, it is important to remember that there is a reason players at every single university in America are called student-athletes.

Because, you know, they are on campus to get that all-important degree. While everybody is familiar with what football players do on Saturday, every athlete you root for has an overloaded schedule filled with classes, study hall, home work, practice and film study. So I felt it is important to recognize two Big East schools that have made some serious strides with their academic reputations this last semester.

USF and Louisville each set program marks for academic performance during the recently completed spring semester. But what makes this an even bigger accomplishment at each school is what they had to overcome to get there.

Just one year ago, the Cardinals announced they lost three scholarships because of a poor Academic Progress Rate performance. APR is a measure of eligibility and retention of student athletes over a four-year span. Its intention is to help schools better track how their players are doing in the classroom. In the 2011 report, Louisville went below the NCAA minimum 925, thanks in part to coaching turnover. During the four-year span that was measured, the Cardinals had three different head coaches (Bobby Petrino, Steve Kragthorpe, Charlie Strong).

Strong put a major emphasis on academics, and that showed this spring. Thirty-seven players had a grade-point average of 3.0 or better -- two had a perfect 4.0. Seventy-three players earned a 2.5 GPA or higher this spring. The team produced a combined 2.76 GPA for the semester, the highest average under Strong.

USF also made major strides since poor APR marks in 2006. Over the past two years, the Bulls have posted the largest APR gains of any team in an automatic qualifying conference. This spring, a program-record 37 student-athletes posted a grade-point average of 3.0 or better. USF also set a new top mark with a semester GPA of 2.76, better than the record of 2.64 set in fall 2011.

Since Skip Holtz became coach in 2010, the number of players with at least a 3.0 GPA has increased each semester.

"I feel like we're really healthy right now as a program," Holtz said on the school's website. "Not just physically, but academically we're on a very sound foundation."

Rutgers already made serious improvements under former coach Greg Schiano, ranking in the top three in APR in the nation in his final four years with the Scarlet Knights. Last year, Cincinnati won the Big East Academic Excellence Award for the 2010 season. The football team had a 2.68 GPA for the 2010-11 year, including an all-time team record of a 2.9 team GPA for the 2011 winter quarter.

And every Big East school was represented on the 2012 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, recognizing college players who maintain a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. The Big East was the only one of the six automatic qualifying conferences that had every school represented.

Andrea Adelson picks three games to watch in the Big East this season.

With the season coming into view, let's take a look at what we learned in the Big East this spring.

1. Running backs have to prove themselves. Isaiah Pead is gone. Antwon Bailey is gone. Ray Graham is coming off a serious knee injury. There are some major question marks at virtually every Big East school at this position headed into the fall. Chief among them -- how does Graham do a year removed from ACL surgery? How do Cincinnati, Syracuse and Louisville spread the ball to their various running backs? How does Temple replace the production of Bernard Pierce? Does Savon Huggins improve on his injury-shortened freshman season at Rutgers? How is Lindsey Lamar used in the backfield at USF? Can Lyle McCombs repeat as a 1,000-yard rusher for UConn?

2. Next sack leader? The Big East generally has some of the top leaders in sacks in the country. Last year, it was Trevardo Williams and Aaron Donald who emerged to finish in the Top 10. The year before, it was first-year Big East player Bruce Irvin. So who is the next Big East player to lead the charge? USF defensive end Ryne Giddins, Cincinnati defensive end Walter Stewart and UConn tackle Ryan Wirth all had terrific springs so keep those names in mind as the season begins.

3. Earth to offense. We had an inkling that the Big East defenses would be way ahead of the offenses this spring, and that all came to fruition once the spring games were played. Defenses essentially dominated at nearly every school. Syracuse did not score a point on offense; UConn had two total offensive touchdowns; USF quarterback B.J. Daniels went 9-of-26 for 88 yards in the Bulls' spring game; Chris Coyer and his receivers struggled in the Temple spring game; and the Pitt passing game was just so-so in its final scrimmage. While it is true defenses are usually ahead of the offenses in the early going of practices, it is obvious most every offensive unit needs to get much better this offseason.

4. Bridgewater: Rising star. It was apparent that Louisville had a special player in Teddy Bridgewater last season. But worries about a potential "sophomore slump" have been temporarily put to rest after the spring he had. Bridgewater was stellar in the spring game, going 19-of-21 for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Afterward, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said that Bridgewater completed about 70 percent of his passes in the spring. "I know he's been lights out," Watson said. "He's really played very well. I challenged him with the things he needed to get better with and use all the tools he has available to him. As a young player, he didn't quite get it. Now he's getting it. You're seeing a lot more completions now. He's worked hard. He's doing a lot of good things with his eyes and playing well."

5. Athletes (almost) everywhere. One trend to watch is the conversion of quarterbacks to running backs/receivers. Cincinnati moved Jordan Luallen to receiver, and he is expected to see time as a Wildcat quarterback as well. Ashton Broyld has been moved to running back, though he also played receiver in the spring game. Louisville converted quarterback Dominique Brown to running back last fall, and he is in contention to win the starting job. Temple running back Jalen Fitzpatrick was recruited as a quarterback out of high school. Those four players have the potential to be huge assets to their team. There were a few other notable position switches as well -- Lindsey Lamar is now at running back at USF; and Jeremy Deering is now a receiver at Rutgers.

Anybody who has watched the Big East in recent years realizes this a much more defensive league, than offensive league.

Last season, seven of the eight teams ranked in the top half of the nation in total defense. The "worst" defense, Syracuse, ranked No. 64 -- just outside the top half. In 2010, six of eight teams ranked in the top half of the nation in the same category. The "worst" two defenses -- Cincinnati and Rutgers -- were ranked No. 61 and 63, respectively. In 2009, the worst defense, Cincinnati, ranked No. 67 in the nation.

I went back and looked at recent draft history to see how this translated to the next level.

Sure enough, defensive players were selected more than offensive players, and in higher rounds to boot.

In the past two drafts, 21 of the 34 players selected came from the defense. In the recently concluded NFL draft, eight of the 12 Big East players came from the defense. More pronounced, five of the seven players drafted in the first three rounds were defensive, and all played defensive line (Bruce Irvin, Chandler Jones, Derek Wolfe, Kendall Reyes and John Hughes).

Going back to the 2010 draft, 12 of the 16 players taken in the first three rounds were on defense.

We can continue looking a bit deeper to see defensive line has been an incredible strength, not just in the draft this year. In the past four drafts, the Big East has had at least one defensive lineman drafted in the first three rounds. Last year, two of the first four Big East picks were linemen. In 2010, Jason Pierre-Paul of USF went in the first round.

Coaches like Charlie Strong, Greg Schiano, Randy Edsall, Dave Wannstedt, Paul Pasqualoni and Jim Leavitt all have had a hand in the transformation, given their defensive backgrounds.

So will the trend hold for the 2013 draft?

In the super early mock drafts for next season, there are no Big East players listed in the first round. But CBS Sports already has a listing of the top draft prospects, by position. Eleven defensive players are listed among the Top 25 players at their respective positions, compared to five on offense.

However, there are more offensive players ranked among the Top 5 at their positions. Justin Pugh of Syracuse is listed as the No. 4 offensive tackle; Ray Graham of Pitt is listed as the No. 5 running back; and Ryan Griffin of UConn is listed as the No. 5 tight end.

The top-ranked defensive player is Khaseem Greene, at No. 6 among outside linebackers. Sio Moore of UConn also makes that list, at No. 9.

There is obviously an entire season of football to be played, and all these projections will change. But the way the Big East's defensive players have emerged is a trend worth noting.

The best Big East rivalry may never be played again, now that expansion has changed the face of college football.

Pitt and West Virginia had made a living hating each other, a bitter rivalry that really transcended the Big East and became one of the most heated in the entire country. Think of rivalry games, and think of the Backyard Brawl.

No future meetings between the two schools have been scheduled, with West Virginia beginning play in the Big 12 in 2012 and Pitt on its way out to the ACC. So what does that leave the Big East in terms of true league rivalries?

The longest running one remaining is Pitt-Syracuse. The two schools first met in 1916 and have played 67 times, including every year since 1955. But alas, those two schools are on their way out of the Big East.

So turn your attention to Cincinnati-Louisville. These two schools first played in 1922 and have met 52 times, with the rivalry starting back up in 1996 after a three-year hiatus. Cincinnati leads the series 30-21-1 and has won the last four.

But that could very well change in 2012.

While there may not be much national cache to the rivalry game between the two programs, all the ingredients are there for the intensity to ratchet up another notch between the two.

• The game already has a nifty trophy. The "Keg of Nails" has been handed out to the winner of this game since 1929, when fraternity chapters on both campuses decided the victorious players were tough as nails. The trophy is a replica of a keg that was used to ship nails and features the logos of both schools and the scores of every game. This rivalry is not merely contained to the Big East, either. The two were also Missouri Valley and Conference USA rivals.
• They are virtually neighbors. In the newly far-flung Big East, that counts for something. The two schools are a mere 106 miles away from each other.
• The two programs are on the rise, with coaches on the rise. Both Louisville coach Charlie Strong and Cincinnati coach Butch Jones head into their third seasons as Big East champions, and it seems pretty clear that neither one is going to stop at one, either. Louisville is expected to contend for the Big East championship this season; Cincinnati may have lost a bunch of starters but there is plenty of talent on the roster. Both coaches have become "hot" names in coaching circles because of their successes, and both have pledged their commitment to their respective programs. You can definitely see this game having pivotal implications in the race for the conference championship in the years to come.

While it is true that both schools have other rivals (Louisville has Kentucky; Cincinnati has Miami (Ohio) and Pitt), nobody says rivalries have to be exclusive. Michigan has Michigan State and Ohio State; Florida has Tennessee, Florida State and Georgia; Florida State has Florida and Miami; Oklahoma has Texas and Oklahoma State; Texas has Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

In the cases of all those rivalries, the greater the stakes, the greater the intensity, the greater the scrutiny. Florida State-Miami has lost a bit of its luster, compared to the 1980s and 1990s. If Cincinnati and Louisville are competing for Big East and national championships every year, the game will grow in national stature.

Here are a few other potential rivalry games in the new Big East:

USF vs. UCF: The War on I-4 has been played four times, with USF winning all meetings. Bulls fans will say this is not a rivalry because they have dominated the series, last played in 2008. There is no question the hatred is there, one of the key components to any good rivalry. USF fans look down at UCF as being a whiny little brother; UCF fans think USF fans are entitled for no apparent reason. Let the rivalry resume!

Temple vs. Rutgers: Having the schools in close proximity to one another certainly helps, along with the natural rivalry between New Jersey and Philadelphia. Rutgers fans will tell you a rivalry can't exist until Temple is on the same playing level. But Temple fans will tell you the Owls are already there, with three straight winning seasons. Watch out for some major recruiting clashes between the two as well.

Navy vs. SMU: There already is a trophy for the winner in this game. It is named after Frank Gansz, who played at Navy and later served on the coaching staffs at SMU and Navy. The trophy was established in 2009, and Navy has won it three times. The two are set to become conference rivals in 2015.

To have a workhorse back or to split reps? That is the question.

And it certainly is a question on the minds of Big East coaches around the league. With five starters gone headed into 2012, and Ray Graham coming off ACL surgery, this is a position of intrigue during the spring. The ultimate decision has to be made about whether to rely on one back a lion's share of the time, or whether to get a nice rotation going to provide yourself some depth and versatility.

Two league coaches offered their opinions recently on the matter, and both are in favor of finding a workhorse back. Louisville offensive coordinator Shawn Watson pointed to 2010, when Bilal Powell had 229 carries and 1,405 yards. Victor Anderson had the next-highest carries total with 64. Last season, the Cardinals distributed the ball more evenly among its backs -- Anderson and Dominique Brown each had over 100 carries -- and did not fare as well in the ground game.

But it is important to keep in mind the offensive line had its share of struggles as well.

Still, Watson said he wants to find a go-to guy among the four players competing for the starting running back position. “We need someone to be the war daddy at that position, like Bilal Powell was in (Charlie) Strong’s first season,” said Watson. “Biggest thing we look back at is not having a go-to guy. We have to find a go-to-guy. That creates competition in the room and makes everyone better.”

At UConn, Lyle McCombs returns after putting up 1,000 yards his freshman season, but there is some nice competition at the position this spring with D.J. Shoemate returning from injury, in addition to Joe Williams, Martin Hyppolite and Max DeLorenzo. But coach Paul Pasqualoni wants one go-to guy as well.

“I don’t want a guy that’s got to come out of the game," Pasqualoni told reporters in Connecticut. "I don’t want a guy that’s saying I’m tired, take me out. I don’t want a Jaguar. Do you know what a Jaguar is? The Jaguar is always in the shop, always breaking down so I don’t want a Jaguar. I want a durable guy and if we put him in the game he stays in the game and he stays in the game. We’re trying to develop the depth we have but I’m all for one guy staying out there. Now we’re going to use the talents and ability we have but I want them all to be able to do it if you know what I mean.”

Last season, four running backs had over 200 carries. Had Graham been healthy, that number would have been five. Rutgers and Cincinnati also went with one back primarily. This season, that may not be the case. Rutgers coach Kyle Flood already has talked about the value of having more than one back consistently produce, while coach Butch Jones has talked about trying to get more backs involved to make up for the loss of Big East Offensive Player of the Year Isaiah Pead.

USF had three players with over 100 carries last season. The last time USF had a back with over 200 carries was Andre Hall in 2005, but even then the Bulls had another player with over 100 carries as well.

Pitt coach Paul Chryst has shown a proclivity to get multiple backs involved as well, but some of his offenses at Wisconsin did rely on one workhorse. If Graham returns on schedule, one would expect him to get the majority of the carries, but Isaac Bennett has had a nice spring game, and freshman Rushell Shell arrives in the summer.

As for Temple, the Owls relied on Bernard Pierce in recent years, though Matt Brown got his share of the carries. That load falls to him this season, with the hope that other backs can get involved as well.

Rutgers is asking the Big East for financial relief because of a lost home game, thanks to TCU bolting for the Big 12.

There are two fundamental questions that should be asked.

1. Should the Big East help Rutgers?

2. Take it a step further: Should the Big East also help Syracuse, UConn and Pitt -- which also lost scheduled home games against TCU?

There is no doubt TCU put the Big East in a serious bind when it bolted for the Big 12, without ever playing a down in the conference. Its addition would have allowed the Big East to play an eight-game league schedule, complete with four home and four road games. Instead, the unbalanced schedule remains. Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse and UConn only get three league games at home.

Here is a look at what all four teams did to mitigate the TCU loss.

UConn: The Huskies also have six home games -- UMass, NC State, Buffalo, Temple, Pitt and Cincinnati.

Pitt: The Panthers may have taken the biggest hit of all. They paid money to get out of a nonconference game against UCF to make way for TCU. Then had to add another nonconference game to make up for the loss of TCU. That means two FCS opponents for the Panthers at home, plus the loss of West Virginia at home. That leaves these games at Heinz Field: Youngstown State, Virginia Tech, Gardner-Webb, Louisville, Temple and Rutgers. Go ahead, insert your lots-of-empty-yellow-seats jokes here.

Rutgers: Rather than schedule a second FCS game to give Rutgers seven home contests, the Scarlet Knights are going on the road to play Arkansas. The six-game home slate features Howard, UConn, Syracuse, Kent State, Army and Louisville.

Syracuse: The Orange have one of their home games at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and ended up playing at Missouri to fill its final nonconference slot. The home slate -- Northwestern, Stony Brook, Pitt, UConn, Louisville. Two of those games in the Carrier Dome are on Friday nights.

No question losing a home game costs a team money. Rutgers says it makes between $1.2 and $1.7 million a game. But every single team was put into a bind, home game or not, with the loss of TCU. All eight Big East schools have had to scramble to fill that fifth nonconference game. Cincinnati had to add a second FCS game, too, but at least that one is at home. USF is going on the road to play Nevada.

Ultimately, you have to decide whether the Big East is responsible for the scheduling fiasco of 2012. I know plenty of you out there will raise your hand and say yes. Losing a home game no doubt hurts worse. Perhaps the best solution is to divide up the $5 million exit fee TCU paid among the four schools that dealt with a hole in their home schedule.

Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was impressive as a true freshman starter last season. So impressive that he set a school freshman passing record, and won Big East Freshman of the Year honors.

There was plenty to like about his game. His athleticism allowed him to make something out of nothing on several occasions. His poise helped calm a young team. His leadership took the Cardinals to a bowl game. The toughness he showed in that contest against NC State was perhaps the singular takeaway from that loss.

Now with Shawn Watson officially returning as offensive coordinator, everybody expects Bridgewater to continue his development and avoid the old cliched sophomore slump. There are a few areas he is focusing on now that spring practice has opened up.

Being a more decisive quarterback. Much of that comes with game experience, watching more film, and a comfort in the offense. He will have much more of that in Year 2 as a starter.

"You have to be a student of the game," Bridgewater said in a recent phone interview. "So I'm just focusing on being a more decisive and precise quarterback, learning the system more and learning the passing game, understanding it's about timing and spacing and building that chemistry. The hardest things last season was adjusting to the speed, and trusting yourself. A lot of young guys come in with a lack of confidence, so having that confidence right now is going to be a big help."

When he broke down film after the season ended, Bridgewater saw he had to be better at making pre-snap decisions.

Bulking up. It is not an understatement to say Bridgewater was scrawny when he arrived on campus at 6-3, 180 pounds. Coaches talked about the need for Bridgewater to put on some weight, and he did, getting all the way up to 208 when the season began. But he ended the season at 195, thanks to the toll of playing an entire year.

The plan now is for Bridgewater to gain 30 pounds and get up to 225 when the season begins. He already is up to 213, thanks to a new plan that involves lifting weights and eating the right foods, primarily proteins.

"I want to have that durability to take the hits I took in the bowl game," he said. "You don't want to take those hits, but you want to have your body prepared. I feel it also will build my arm strength and things like that will make me more explosive."

Growing up. One of the biggest points anybody makes about Louisville is watching a team go from underdog to favorite. The Cardinals did not handle the favorite's role too well last season, but now they are going to be one of the preseason favorites to win the Big East. How do young players like Bridgewater take the next step toward growth and maturity to be able to handle those increased expectations?

"We just have to stay focused and know what we're out to get," Bridgewater said. "We can't go around being satisfied because people are patting us on the back or people are giving us something already. Everyone wants to stay hungry and stay with the mentality we can get better. I just feel that we're more mature, and everyone understands what Coach (Charlie) Strong is trying to do around here. Everyone's on the same page, and we are a more mature team."