ESPN College Football

The NFL's fortnight of drafting -- what, it was only three days? Really? -- came to an end this weekend. I already touched on the first-round results on Friday. Here's a look at where Big East players went the rest of the draft, with some quick comments on each pick:

Second round

No. 37: Nate Allen, S, South Florida, to Philadelphia: No surprise here, as Allen was mentioned as a possible first-rounder at various points.

Third round

No. 65: Jerome Murphy, CB, South Florida to St. Louis: Here is proof that college production isn't always the most important thing to NFL scouts. Murphy struggled against some of the Big East's better receivers, but he has great physical tools and hopefully will find his niche in the pros.

Fourth round

No. 99: Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati, to St. Louis: If you watched any Bearcats games the past two years, you know that the Rams got an absolute steal. Think Sam Bradford will like having Gilyard around?

No. 101: Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse, to Tampa Bay: He was a first-round talent who was lucky to get picked this high given his off-the-field issues.

No. 107: Marcus Easley, WR, UConn, to Buffalo: Easley had great workouts, and though some thought he would go higher than this, it's still a great story for a guy who was a walk-on this time a year ago.

Fifth round

No. 157: Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse, to Baltimore: Jones was talked about as a possible first-rounder earlier in his career. This is a great value pick for a player who will always give maximum effort.

Sixth round

No. 177: Carlton Mitchell, WR, South Florida, to Cleveland: Mitchell looked impressive in his workouts, but falling to the sixth round makes you question if he made the right choice in skipping his senior year.

No. 182: Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh, to San Francisco: The best blocking tight end in the Big East during his career.

No. 204: Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati, to Carolina: Pike has to be disappointed that he fell this low and that he was drafted by the same team that took Jimmy Clausen a couple rounds earlier.

Seventh round

No. 226: George Selvie, DE, South Florida, to St. Louis: How much would you have bet against the notion that Selvie would be a seventh-round pick at this time last year? Selvie's production dropped after his breakout sophomore year, and now he'll have to prove himself again.

No. 227: Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh, to Houston: Surprised to see Dickerson go this low after his great Combine performance. He's a tweener who needs the right team to showcase his skills.

No. 231: Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia, to Washington: Capers has a lot of talent and potential.

No. 237: Ryan D'Imperio, LB/FB, Rutgers, to Minnesota: The Scarlet Knights' linebacker was drafted as a fullback although he never played it in college.

No. 238: Ricardo Mathews, DT, Cincinnati, to Indianapolis: Mathews didn't get as much attention on the Bearcats' defense as some other players but had a nice senior season.

No. 249: Robert McClain, CB, UConn, to Carolina: McClain had four interceptions last year and also served as the team's punt returner.

Here's a handy-dandy list of NFL Draft picks per Big East school:

South Florida: 5

Rutgers: 3

Cincinnati: 3

Connecticut: 2

Pitt: 2

Syracuse: 2

West Virginia: 1

Louisville: 0

And, finally, some notable players who weren't drafted (I'll have more later on those who signed free-agent contracts): Andre Dixon and Lindsey Witten from UConn; Aaron Webster and Alex Daniels from Cincinnati; Scott Long from Louisville; and Jarrett Brown from West Virginia.

The official league selections will come out tomorrow. Here are my choices for the best of the Big East, from a season's worth of observations and some consultation from league coaches:

Offense

QB: Tony Pike, Cincinnati

RB: Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh

RB: Noel Devine, West Virginia

WR: Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati

WR: Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh

TE: Dorin Dickerson, Pittsburgh

OT: Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh

OT: Jeff Linkenbach, Cincinnati

C: Moe Petrus, Connecticut

OG: John Malecki, Pittsburgh

OG: Zach Hurd, Connecticut

Defense

DE: Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh

DE: Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida

DT: Mick Williams, Pittsburgh

DT: Chris Neild, West Virginia

LB: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut

LB: Kion Wilson, South Florida

LB: Derrell Smith, Syracuse

CB: Devin McCourty, Rutgers

CB: Aaron Berry, Pittsburgh

S: Aaron Webster, Cincinnati

S: Nate Allen, South Florida

Specialists

K: Tyler Bitancurt, West Virginia

P: Scott Kozlowski, West Virginia

KR: Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati

PR: Robert McClain, Connecticut

PITTSBURGH -- As Cincinnati went through pregame warmups under falling snow at Heinz Field, receiver/kick returner Mardy Gilyard tried to warm his teammates' spirits by telling everybody, "Hey, we're on the beach."

But with 1:26 left to go before halftime, the beach -- where the Bearcats frolicked last year during Orange Bowl week -- seemed awfully far away. Pittsburgh's dominating running game and pass rush had caused things to snowball against Cincinnati, which found itself trailing 31-10. Even Gilyard, ever the optimist, admitted that "it started to get real cold."


That's when the rest of the team turned to Gilyard for some heat. Running back John Goebel, several defensive players and even head coach Brian Kelly grabbed him on the sideline. We need something on this kickoff, they implored.

"I prayed that I could take one back," Gilyard said. "And then everything parted like the Red Sea."

Gilyard's 99-yard return for a touchdown finally gave Cincinnati some life, and the defending Big East champions refused to die the rest of the way. Despite trailing by two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, the No. 5 Bearcats rallied to win 45-44 thanks to Pitt's late missed extra point and a 29-yard touchdown pass from Tony Pike to Armon Binns with 33 seconds left.

"Our guys are resilient," Kelly said. "Our guys believe, I believe in them, and you've got to have that belief. We've won 18 consecutive regular-season games. Don't count us out."

But is it enough to count the 12-0 Bearcats into the BCS title game? Barring a loss by Texas in the Big 12 title game later Saturday night, Cincinnati will join the 2004 Auburn squad as the only BCS conference teams to go undefeated and not play for the national title in the BCS era. Even a Texas loss might not do it, as Cincinnati would still have to climb past undefeated and No. 4 TCU.

Kelly said he didn't think his team deserved to get into the BCS title game ahead of Texas, but that it should go instead of TCU with a Longhorns' loss. Cincinnati players said they feel they've done enough to play for a national championship. And so, apparently, does Pitt receiver Jonathan Baldwin, who interrupted the Cincinnati postgame news conference to shout, "Good job. Now go win the championship."

"We did our part," senior safety Aaron Webster said. "Now it's in other people's hands."

Big East commissioner John Marinatto, who attended Saturday's game, said the league "strongly believes Cincinnati should be in the championship game" and that any undefeated BCS conference team deserves that privilege. However, Marinatto is not a playoff advocate and did not sound like someone ready to promote sweeping change.

"We recognize as a group the system is not perfect," he said. "At our annual meetings, we'll get together and talk about whether anything needs to be changed."

In order to even make this debate relevant, Cincinnati had to make a lot of changes defensively on Saturday.

Pittsburgh (9-3) scored on each of its first five possessions. Freshman sensation Dion Lewis carried 29 times for 108 yards in the first half alone as the Panthers' offensive line obliterated the Bearcats defense. Cincinnati looked like toast.

Pitt scored only twice after halftime, though, as Lewis -- who finished with a school-record 47 carries for 194 yards and three scores -- had to work a little harder. The defense incorporated more run blitzing, often bringing Andre Revels or J.K. Schaffer to the point of attack to shore up its deficiencies.

"We came in as a defense at halftime and said, 'We just have to tackle him,'" Webster said. "'Don't try to get the big hit, because he'll just dribble out of them. Just tackle and play the next down.'"

A few stops were all the Bearcats' offense needed. They scored three touchdowns in the final 11:09. When Pitt missed the extra point after a Lewis score with 1:36 left, Kelly had one thought: "Cool."

"I was like, man, they're going to give us a shot here," he said.

But Kelly said the comeback would not have been possible without Gilyard's first-half kickoff return. The team often follows his exuberant personality, and Gilyard has had the uncanny ability the past two seasons of coming up with a huge play when the Bearcats need it the most. That's one big reason why the Bearcats are back-to-back Big East champions.

"I'm a praying man, and God is good," Gilyard said.

In other words, for Cincinnati, life's a beach.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Reports of the Big East's demise were greatly exaggerated.

	Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
	Tony Pike has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

The season began with no Big East teams in either major top 25 poll. Most observers figured the league would be down after losing such stars as Pat White, Donald Brown, LeSean McCoy and Scott McKillop to the NFL.

But through the first half of the season, the Big East looks as strong as ever. This week, there are three teams from the conference in both major top 25 polls. That's more than the Pac-10, and the same number as the ACC and Big Ten. The league has a legitimate national championship contender in Cincinnati, which is No. 5 in the BCS standings. The Big East has gone 26-7 in nonconference games, and its .788 winning percentage is better than every conference except the SEC.

New stars have emerged, like Pitt's Dion Lewis and South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul and B.J. Daniels, while returning players like Tony Pike, Bill Stull and Jarrett Brown have taken a step forward. Even guys who were absent or invisible last year, like Mike Williams and Andre Dixon, have bounced back with career years.

Big East offenses have been potent, with six teams averaging at least 29 points and players like Pike, Lewis, Noel Devine and Mardy Gilyard among the national statistical leaders.

The second half of the season will be all about the conference race, with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and West Virginia battling it out as the top contenders. But the Big East remains so balanced that just about any team can beat another.

If there are upsets in the second half, critics can't say it's because the league is weak or down. The Big East proved itself in the first half.

Now here's a quick look at some of the first-half highlights:

Offensive player of the mid-year: Tony Pike. There are a number of candidates here, including Devine, Lewis, Dixon and even Pike's teammate, Gilyard. But Pike is the trigger man for the best offense and the best team in the league, and he's been as good as any quarterback in the country so far.

Defensive player of the mid-year: Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida. There is no clear-cut leader for this award, but there are a plethora of candidates, including UConn's Lindsey Witten and Lawrence Wilson, Cincinnati's Aaron Webster, Syracuse's Derrell Smith, Pitt's Greg Romeus and Mick Williams and South Florida's George Selvie and Nate Allen. I pick Pierre-Paul because, even though he's only been fully involved in about four games, he's been the most disruptive defensive force I've seen this year. He already has 8.5 tackles for loss despite getting a late start, and he's been nearly unblockable at times. The scary part is, he should only get better.

Surprise of the first half: Cincinnati's defense. Those who paid close enough attention knew that the Bearcats had veterans and weren't starting from scratch despite losing 10 senior starters from 2008. But nearly everyone thought there would need to be an adjustment period, particularly with a new scheme and new coordinator. Hardly anyone could have forecast Cincinnati ranking 13th nationally in scoring defense, allowing a little more than 14 points per game.

Disappointment of the first half: Rutgers. All of the momentum built from last year's seven-game winning streak ended in the opener, a humbling 47-15 home loss to Cincinnati. The Scarlet Knights had the perfect schedule to contend in the Big East but have lost their first two conference games, at home. Their offense has sputtered against good competition.

Best game: Syracuse's 37-34 win over Northwestern was an old-fashioned shootout that came down to a dramatic last-second field goal. That it was the first win for new coach Doug Marrone in a raucous Carrier Dome made it even sweeter for Orange fans.

Best coach: It was Brian Kelly in 2007. It was Brian Kelly in 2008. And it's Brian Kelly in the first half of 2009.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

TAMPA, Fla. -- As South Florida's players trudged silently off the field and into their locker room, defensive lineman Leslie Stirrups turned to no one in particular and voiced his frustration.

"The main people they talked about didn't even do [expletive]," Stirrups said.

That is the major marvel of Cincinnati, which downed the Bulls 34-17 Thursday night at Raymond James Stadium. The Bearcats can bludgeon you with their best, and they can beat you with guys you've never heard of.

	AP Photo/Mike Carlson
	Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, left, was forced to call on backup quarterback Zach Collaros in the Bearcats' win Thursday night.

They won this much-hyped Big East showdown despite losing Heisman Trophy contending quarterback Tony Pike early in the second half and with star receiver Mardy Gilyard mostly contained. Head coach Brian Kelly simply plugs and plays, this time with backup quarterback Zach Collaros and some no-names on defense.

"That's what all the coaches talk about: just find a way to win," safety Aaron Webster said. "When a guy goes down, it's next man in. We preach that all the time, and it showed today."

The Bulls came into the game undefeated and ranked 21st, had the fourth-largest crowd in program history egging them on and made the nation's No. 3 offense huff and puff. Still, they couldn't slay the defending Big East champs. So it's time to raise the question: Who will?

Even if Pike misses significant time with an injured left arm, Cincinnati (6-0) should be favored in all of its remaining games. The next three -- Louisville, at Syracuse and Connecticut -- provide an easy road map to 9-0. A visit from West Virginia on Nov. 13 and a season-ending trip to Pitt might be all that stands in the way of perfection.

The eighth-ranked Bearcats have already won at Rutgers, at Oregon State and now at South Florida. Who or what is going to keep them from crashing into the BCS title game?

"We're starting to build a little bit of a résumé," Kelly said.

Kelly remains the team's greatest asset, coaching circles around the rest of the Big East, while closing in on his third straight league coach of the year trophy. His on-the-fly adjustment Thursday night will only add to his legend.

When Pike went down, the Bearcats completely revamped their entire philosophy. They abandoned their shotgun spread, pass-happy attack for a zone-read option scheme to befit Collaros. The sophomore ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, silencing the crowd and allowing Pike to safely change into a red sweat suit.

	AP Photo/Chris O'Meara
	Tony Pike was injured late in the first half and played only one series in the third quarter.

Much was made before the game of former Kelly assistant Joe Tresey's familiarity with the Bearcats from his days as Cincinnati's defensive coordinator. But even Tresey couldn't have game-planned for the Collaros wrinkle; the Bearcats gained more yards behind Collaros (235) than they did with Pike (166).

"You're reaching back and doing some things," Kelly said. "I don't want to bore you with details, but I've been down this road before. We have some things in a worst-case scenario, and we got it done, in an environment where you don't want to have to do that."

South Florida's hyper-athletic defense, led by future NFL draft pick Jason Pierre-Paul at defensive end, harassed Cincinnati all throughout the first half. Other than an 84-yard touchdown drive -- which got going after Pike barely avoided getting sacked for a safety to make a great roll-out throw -- the high-scoring Bearcats had only 49 yards by halftime. Kelly called the Bulls "the best defense I've seen in a long time."

His own defense continues to defy all expectations after replacing 10 starters from a year ago. The Bearcats chased scrambling quarterback B.J. Daniels in the 80-degree heat all night. Yet, other than a touchdown set up by a Collaros interception, they shut the Bulls down in the second half, yielding just 118 yards.

"They're used to running in this heat, and we're coming from the cold, so it was tough," said Webster, who had a momentum-changing 83-yard interception return to start the second quarter. "After the interception, I don't think I caught my breath the rest of the game."

The rest of college football better take a deep breath. Cincinnati looks like it can't be stopped.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

More reliable than Wall Street, here comes the weekly Big East stock report. Your bonus category this week is coach of the year race.

Stock up

1. South Florida's defensive line: I ranked the Bulls' D-line No. 2 in my preseason position rankings primarily because I didn't know how good the newcomers would be. All questions were answered in the Florida State game, when this group played like one of the best in the country. "It would be a challenge for an NFL offensive line against this team," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said this week.

2. B.J. Daniels: This may be heresy, but when I saw Daniels run the show for the Bulls, I didn't think Matt Grothe as much as I did a young Pat White. Not as fast as White, but with a stronger arm. Maybe Daniels will be the one who eventually breaks Grothe's yardage record.

3. Jonathan Freeny: The junior is developing into the pass-rusher that Rutgers needs, with four sacks already on the season.

4. Delone Carter: The Syracuse back had four touchdowns against Maine. He's built like a fire hydrant and runs with 100 percent effort.

5. Cameron Saddler: The Pitt freshman was one of the lone bright spots in the NC State loss, with 111 total yards and some nice kick returns. He's becoming a weapon in the offense at receiver.

Stock down

1. Pitt's discipline: The dumb penalties and missed assignments have to get fixed in a hurry before the Panthers start Big East play.

2. Louisville's red zone production: The Cardinals have scored just seven touchdowns in 17 trips inside the 20 and have missed three field goals in the red zone. And when they did score a touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it 23-13 at Utah last week, Steve Kragthorpe didn't go for two to make it a one score contest. He said later he was thinking about winning the game at that point; seems like an extra point would help in that regard.

3. UConn's hands: Seven fumbles against Rhode Island is crazy. At least the Huskies recovered four of them -- and won 52-10.

4. Cincinnati's kickoff coverage: The Bearcats gave up 26 yards per return to Fresno State. Hey, we've got to find something to criticize this team for, right?

5. Saturday tailgating: This week in the Big East, anyway. There are only two games involving league teams on Saturday, and both of them will kick off by 1 p.m.

Player of the year race: Offense

1. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati: Has completed 70.5 percent of his passes for 1,223 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions. Runaway leader at this point.

2. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Has 32 catches for 442 yards and six touchdowns.

3. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Has rushed 86 times for 493 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns.

4. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Has rushed 51 times for 320 yards (6.3 ypc) and five touchdowns.

5. Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse: Has 28 catches for 437 yards and three touchdowns.

Player of the year race: Defense

1. George Selvie, DE, South Florida: Leader of the league's nastiest unit.

2. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: Numbers down the last two games, but he's also been dealing with a stomach bug.

3. Lawrence Wilson, LB, UConn: Leads league with 42 tackles and has been strong in absence of Scott Lutrus.

4. Nate Allen, S, South Florida: Showed his potential with a great game at Florida State.

5. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Bearcats still looking good on defense, and he's their leader.

Coach of the year race:

1. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati: The way he replaced so many parts and made this team even better makes him the front-runner for a third straight trophy.

2. Jim Leavitt, South Florida: Losing Matt Grothe and still winning at Florida State says a lot.

3. Doug Marrone, Syracuse: Has the Orange at .500 for the first time since 2006.

4. Randy Edsall, Connecticut: Lost a slew of draft picks but has the Huskies at 3-1.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Our weekly look at who's up, who's down and who's leading the player of the year races in the Big East:

Stock up

1. Jarrett Brown: We knew the guy was good. But 334 yards, four-touchdown good? Brown made some throws against East Carolina that not many other college quarterbacks could pull off.

2. Mo Plancher: The South Florida back had his first career 100-yard day against Western Kentucky, and coach Jim Leavitt said, "We trust him a lot."

3. Dorin Dickerson: It took Pitt and Dickerson four years to figure out how to use his talent, but better late than never. The senior tight end has four touchdowns already this season.

4. Jock Sanders: Coming back from his offseason suspension for a DUI arrest, Sanders leads the Big East with 17 catches in two games.

5. Yankee Bowl: The Big East should announce within the next couple of weeks that it will send one of its top teams to Yankee Stadium for the new bowl game starting in 2010.

Stock down

1. UConn's offense: Remember Zach Frazer's spring quote that the Huskies would average 40 points a game? Now he's hurt, and the Huskies are hurting for points. They've scored 33 in two games combined.

2. Syracuse receivers' hands: After bobbled catches cost the Orange a touchdown and led to an interception at Penn State, coach Doug Marrone minced no words. "We have to get away from the dropped passes," he said. "That's hurting our program right now."

3. Delbert Alvarado: The South Florida kicker is once again making Bulls' fans very nervous after he missed two field goals at Western Kentucky. Darn those amusement park rides!

4. Pitt's pass defense: The Panthers were torched for 433 yards by Buffalo, making you wonder how they're going to stop Notre Dame, West Virginia and Cincinnati.

5. Bowl games in nice football stadiums: The addition of the Yankee Bowl means the Big East will have two of its five postseason games in baseball stadiums (the other being Tropicana Field for the St. Petersburg Bowl) and two others (the Champs Sports and Papajohns.com bowls) in badly-aging facilities.

Player of the year race: Offense

1. Tony Pike, QB,Cincinnati: Has completed 77.2 percent of his passes for 591 yards and six touchdowns.

2. Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia: Has completed 75.4 percent of his passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns.

3. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Has run for 319 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

4. Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati: Has 14 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns.

5. Matt Grothe, QB, South Florida: Has completed 71.1 percent of his passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns.

Player of the year race: Defense

1. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: His numbers keep changing, but he's now credited with seven sacks, which leads the nation.

2. Adam Gunn, LB, Pittsburgh: Ranks second in the league in both tackles (19) and sacks (5).

3. George Selvie, DE, South Florida: Numbers not impressive yet -- just 10 tackles and one sack -- but he remains a force.

4. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Has grabbed an interception in both games this year.

5. Reed Williams, LB, West Virginia: Leader of the Mountaineers' defense will be a factor in this race if he stays healthy.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

I'm going to try something new here on Fridays, giving out a list of what's up and what's down in the Big East, along with how the races for the the league's offensive and defensive player of the year are shaping up. It's early, but this should be fun as the season goes along.

Stock up

1. Cincinnati: For obvious reasons. The Bearcats have cracked the Top 25 at No. 23 and could really climb high with a win at Oregon State next week.

2. Dion Lewis: The Pittsburgh back had a smashing college debut with 129 yards and three touchdowns. He could be a star in this league for a long time.

3. UConn's defensive ends: This position looked a little questionable after the departures of seniors Cody Brown and Julius Williams and the offseason dismissal of Marcus Campbell. But senior defensive end Lindsey Witten had three sacks and a safety at Ohio and showed he can be a full-time threat, while freshmen Jesse Joseph and Trevardo Williams also played well.

4. The Wildcat at Syracuse: They call it the Stallion package, but it's the same Wildcat formation just about every other school is using. Having Antwon Bailey and Delone Carter in the backfield at the same time with Bailey taking the snap added life to the Orange offense.

5. Julian Miller: Who needs Tevita Finau? The third spot on West Virginia's defensive line seemed like a concern going into the season, but Miller had other thoughts. He had 2.5 sacks against Liberty and brought a dose of speed to the Mountaineers' defensive front.

Stock down

1. Rutgers: For obvious reasons. No matter what the Scarlet Knights do the next few weeks, they won't have an opportunity to turn perception from that 47-15 beating until the Oct. 16 game against Pitt.

2. UConn fans: At last report, about 3,000 tickets remained for the North Carolina game. A team ranked 19th comes to town for the home opener, and the Huskies are having trouble selling out their 40,000-seat stadium? What's going on?

3. South Florida's Twittering: First, Jim Leavitt decided to stop tweeting after reports of his players and coaches doing so before the Wofford game. Now it seems that several players' accounts have either been shut down or switched to private. So much for embracing technology.

4. The Wildcat at Rutgers: They call it the Jabu package for quarterback Jabu Lovelace, but it's been so wildly ineffective since last year that it looks like it's time to scrap the project.

5. Steve Kragthorpe as offensive coordinator: Kragthorpe took over play-calling duties himself in the offseason and promised a new look. Fans didn't exactly like what they saw as Louisville scored only 30 points against Indiana State. Perhaps he's holding back the good stuff for next week at Kentucky. We can only hope that wasn't his best stuff last week.

Player of the year race: Offense

1. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati: Went 27-of-34 for 362 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1.

2. Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia: Completed 19 of 26 passes for 243 yards and ran for 69 yards and a score in the opener

3. Jordan Todman, RB, UConn: Ran for 154 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 win at Ohio.

4. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: See above.

5. Matt Grothe, QB, South Florida: Went 19-of-23 for 155 yards and one score with an interception and ran for 44 yards versus Wofford.

Player of the year race: Defense

1. Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn: See above.

2. George Selvie, DE, South Florida: Got his first sack of the year versus Wofford.

3. Curtis Young, LB, Cincinnati: Had 11 tackles and a sack versus Rutgers

4. Reed Williams, LB, West Virginia: Relatively quiet day against Liberty (six tackles) but will be a factor in this race.

5. Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: Had 10 tackles and an interception at Rutgers.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Call off the search for a favorite in the Big East. The team to beat is the same team that almost nobody in the league could beat last year.

Yes, Cincinnati has a new look this season, but it's not just because of the revamped defense. The Bearcats are much more explosive on offense.

Their 47-15 beatdown at Rutgers was a clinic of offensive efficiency and balance, especially during an opener. Last year's Orange Bowl team never scored that many points in a game, and the 47 points were exactly twice as much as Cincinnati averaged during league play in 2008.

	AP Photo/Mel Evans
	Brian Kelly's offense was running on all cylinders Monday.

"We thought we could get it going last year," coach Brian Kelly said. "But we had all those quarterback injuries, so we had to go manage the game. Today, we could let [quarterback] Tony [Pike] manage the game. I told the kids, I didn't do a lot of heavy lifting today from the sidelines."

It's scary to think that Kelly, the reigning two-time Big East coach of the year, just now feels like he's got all of his pieces in place at Cincinnati. But this is the first time he's had a returning, veteran quarterback and the depth he wants at receiver and running back. Combine that with eight months to prepare for Rutgers, and the results were awe-inspiring.

A lot of teams lack sharpness in their openers. Kelly believed in his veterans so much that he had them come out in the no-huddle and throw all over the field from the start. Cincinnati committed only two penalties all day.

"I thought it was important early on for us to do something a lot of college football teams aren't doing in the opener, and that's be really aggressive," he said.

The Bearcats scored on six of their first seven possessions. Their first four scoring drives all lasted under two-and-a-half minutes. A team that struggled at times running the ball last year piled up 168 yards on the ground while averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Ten different players caught at least one pass. Against a blitz-loving defense, they surrendered just one sack.

"Offensively, we're light years ahead of where we were this time last year," Pike said. "We have weapons at several positions, and I'd put ours up against anybody in the country."

New threats included sophomore running back Isaiah Pead, who scored his first two career touchdowns. He took one screen pass 41 yards, juking a defender onto the ground with a stutter step on his way to the end zone.

And Kelly got to play mad genius by putting backup tight end Travis Kelce under center near the goal line. The 6-foot-5, 247-pound Kelce, a former quarterback who'd never played a snap before, ran the ball three times and scored two touchdowns.

"Florida has been running this package very well with Tim Tebow," Kelly said. "We went down to study with Florida, and we stole it from them. I don't mind saying that."

This team's supposed No. 1 question was its defense, which replaced 10 starters from last year, switched to a 3-4 base and had to adjust to a new coordinator. The Bearcats held Rutgers to 15 points and took two of those back with a safety. They were no doubt helped by the Scarlet Knights' offensive ineptitude, but they still managed five sacks and three interceptions, one of them by former Notre Dame quarterback Demetrius Jones, another successful Kelly project.

"We're hungry, and we always want to try to prove people wrong," safety Aaron Webster said. "We feel that the only people who believe in us are in this locker room."

That should change now, as Cincinnati proves it deserves to be the first Big East team to crack the Top 25, and is once again the team to beat.

"If people from the outside start believing in us, that's good," Webster said. "But if they don't we're going to play the same way."

Or maybe even better.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

My colleagues Chris Low and Ted Miller have an interesting debate today over who's the best safety in college football: Tennessee's Eric Berry or USC's Taylor Mays.

Berry and Mays are getting a lot of attention this preseason, and rightfully so. But the debate made me think that the Big East has some pretty good safeties this year, too. In fact, it may be one of the deeper positions in the league.

Here are my top five Big East safeties for 2009, in no particular order:

• Nate Allen, South Florida: Incredibly athletic guy, with a prototypical NFL body. Needs to bounce back from a slightly disappointing junior season.

• Aaron Webster, Cincinnati: Brought a real toughness to the Bearcats' defense when he moved into the starting lineup after a few games last season. A big hitter who will be called upon to lead an inexperienced defense.

• Robert Vaughn, Connecticut: Flies a little under the radar, like most Huskies. All he does is produce, with nine interceptions the past two years and 27 straight starts.

• Dom DeCicco, Pittsburgh: Really came on at the end of last year, including a big Sun Bowl performance. Has a nose for the ball.

• Robert Sands, West Virginia: Unusually tall (6-foot-5) for a safety, he started nine games as a true freshman and looks like a future star.

That's a pretty good list, and I didn't even include Rutgers' Joe Lefeged, West Virginia's Sidney Glover or Pitt's Elijah Fields. There may not be a Taylor Mays or Eric Berry in this league, but the Big East has some awfully good safeties, too.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Fear not, Big East football fans. In less than a month, South Florida will be back on the practice field, with the rest of the league teams starting their spring drills shortly afterward.

There will be no shortage of situations to follow during the spring. There's a new head coach at Syracuse, new coordinators almost everywhere and no fewer than five teams seeking a new quarterback.

We've got all the story lines covered here in our team-by-team spring primer:

Cincinnati Bearcats

Spring practice starts: March 31

Spring game: April 25

What to watch:

• Defense, defense, defense. Safety Aaron Webster is the only returning defensive starter from 2008, so this spring will be about finding out who's ready to step into bigger roles. Several backups have experience, including linebacker Andre Revels and defensive end Curtis Young. But all jobs should be open. And with this week's firing of defensive coordinator Joe Tresey, the Bearcats could be working under a new scheme.

• Cincinnati brings back quarterback Tony Pike, receiver Mardy Gilyard and its top two rushers in Jacob Ramsey and John Goebel. But the spring will be time to find new playmakers as well. Isaiah Pead averaged 6.6 yards a carry in limited duty as a freshman and should see his role increase. The bubble wrap will come off promising redshirt freshman Quentin Hines. Receiver D.J. Woods had a solid freshman season and will need to build upon that to help replace Dominick Goodman.

• You don't normally pay much attention to punters in spring practice, but this is an exception. The Bearcats have to find a suitable replacement for two time All-American Kevin Huber.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Cincinnati: Coach Brian Kelly says that strong safety Aaron Webster has added toughness to the Bearcats since he moved into a starting role after the Akron game. "He's brought a physicality to our defense that we were lacking," Kelly said. "And having him on our defense has elevated everybody." The only non-senior starter on defense, Webster was named Big East defensive player of the week after he recorded 13 tackles, including two for loss, in last week's win at West Virginia. Also for the Bearcats, senior Dustin Grutza is expected to serve as the No. 2 quarterback for Friday's game at Louisville. Grutza hasn't played since breaking his leg in Week 2 at Oklahoma.

Connecticut: The job of replacing the irreplaceable Darius Butler begins this week. Butler, who played cornerback, wide receiver and returned kicks for the Huskies, is out perhaps as long as the regular season with a knee injury. Junior Robert McClain will start at corner and will be backed up by Terry Baltimore. Freshman Jordan Todman will take over the primary kick-return duties. Butler had been playing about 12-to-15 snaps on offense and provided an electric presence that will be hard to match.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers' short-yardage woes resurfaced in the Cincinnati game, and some of that can be blamed on injuries. Fullback Will Johnson couldn't play because of a quad injury. Backup quarterback Jarrett Brown, who had been used as a blocker and short-yardage specialist earlier in the season, was still nursing shoulder and leg problems and couldn't go. Coach Bill Stewart said he planned to "turn him loose" for the Louisville game on Nov. 22. Center Mike Dent missed the Cincinnati game with a neck injury, and Stewart described him as "week-to-week."

South Florida: The banged-up Bulls could get running backs Mike Ford and Jamar Taylor back for the Rutgers game. Neither made the trip to the Cincinnati game because of injuries but were working out in drills earlier this week. The status of offensive lineman Zach Hermann (foot) and tight end Trent Pupello (concussion) remains unknown. Quenton Washington took over starting cornerback duties from Tyller Roberts for the Cincinnati game and is listed as the starter there again this week.

Syracuse: Orange coach Greg Robinson will stick with Cam Dantley as his starting quarterback this week against Connecticut, but backup Andrew Robinson will see time. The coach hasn't specified how much or what role Andrew Robinson would play. Third-string quarterback David Legree told the Syracuse Post-Standard that he feels he's ready to play after two years in a back-up role. Tailback Delone Carter returned for the Louisville game after a four-week absence with a hamstring problem. He did not play against Rutgers, but Greg Robinson said that was not a health issue.