The Arms Race

Much ado has been made recently about the “arms race” that Collegiate Athletic Departments have been engaging in for the past few years. It should be noted that this phenomenon is not limited to Football in any way shape or form, (see the University of Cincinnati’s Varsity Village for reference) but as this is a Football site I will limit my discussion of this to Football. There are two different ways that schools engage in the so called arms race, one is building new training facilities, offices, meeting rooms ect, the other is stadium expansion/building/renovation. I do not have a problem with the first type. Generally speaking building of new weight training, medical, and academic centers has a value for everyone involved. Most of the time, every athlete has equal access to those facilities. In some cases Football may have their own weight training facilities but it is not out and out better then what the rest of the athletic population has, just separate. Furthermore many of these new facilities are financed exclusively in the form of donations to the athletic department and pass very little cost on to the athletic department itself which means that ticket prices aren’t raised and the general fee to the student stays about the same. Also having first class facilities is a requirement to compete at the highest level of the sport, though there are exceptions, see the Miami Hurricanes of the earlier this decade for reference. What I do have an issue with is the expansion/building/renovation of stadiums. More often than not the expenses inherent with expansion and renovation of stadiums fall directly on the shoulders of the fans and alumni who attend games in the form of higher ticket prices and alumni due’s. There are some exceptions, naming rights for stadiums can fetch a handsome sum, but the percentage of institutions that have taken that route to cover some of the cost are in the minority. Just for an example look at what the woeful Stanford Indians…er…I mean Cardinal have done.

Stanford Stadium in 2005

Stanford Stadium in 2006

What follows is a list of institutions that have either announced plans for stadium expansion/building/renovation and those who have expanded/built/renovated their stadium since 2005

Planned

Maryland Terrapins http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/2007/370/

Texas Longhorns http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/photos/021006_stadium/index.html

Louisville Cardinals http://louisville.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=599126

Michigan Wolverines http://www.umich.edu/stadium/project-description/pr061117.html

Auburn Tigers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan-Hare_Stadium

Tennessee Volunteers http://utsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/020106aat.html

Wake Forest Demon Deacons http://wakeforestfacilities.com/

North Carolina Tar Heels http://www.fpc.unc.edu/DevelopmentPlan/DevPlanPDF/full_mod3.pdf (page 13)

Oklahoma Sooners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaylord_Family_Oklahoma_Memorial_Stadium#Future_plans

Washington Huskies http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/12/01/100spo_d2uwfacilities001.cfm

Washington State http://martinstadium.org/

Cal Bears http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/05/09_architect.shtml

Minnesota Gophers http://www1.umn.edu/stadium/stadium.php

Illinois Fighting Illini http://www.athletics.uiuc.edu/renaissance/default.htm

Under Construction or Completed

LSU Tigers http://www.lsutaf.org/westside/index_flash.htm

NC State Wolfpack http://www.ncsu.edu/facilities/photographs/collection/2006/12/carter-finley-stadium.html

Virginia Tech Hokies http://www.hokiesports.com/football/lanestadium.html

Alabama Crimson Tide http://www.rolltide.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8000&ATCLID=240645

Kansas State Wildcats http://www.kstatesports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=400&SPID=212&SPSID=3058

Oklahoma State Cowboys http://www.pp.okstate.edu/projects/detail.php?loc=021-022&ident=02.2005

Baylor Bears http://baylorbears.cstv.com/school-bio/bay-casey-stadium.html

Clemson Tigers http://www.westzoneclub.com/

Texas Tech Red Raiders http://texastech.scout.com/2/548111.html

Nebraska Cornhuskers https://www.huskersnside.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=28081

Oregon State Beavers http://www.osubeavers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4700&ATCLID=129676

Stanford Cardinal http://www.stanfordstadium.com/

Wisconsin Badgers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Randall_Stadium

Iowa Hawkeyes http://hawkeyesports.cstv.com/facilities/iowa-kinnick-stadium.html

Michigan State Spartans http://msuspartans.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/051805aah.html

This is by no means an exhaustive list as it does not address expansions taking place at schools that do not fall under the BCS blanket such as the newest stadium in the NCAA being built of UCF as we speak. When a professional team builds a new stadium they are at least up front about it. They want more money, that is all there is too it. They say flat out that they want the extra revenue inherent with building club seats and luxury boxes, the additional money from selling the naming rights for a decade or two to the highest bidder. They are at least honest, even if the way in which they fund their new stadiums is dubious at best. We do not see that kind of frank honesty with College Presidents and Athletic Directors, we should but we don’t. Part of that stems from the notion that many within the club hold that the college experience is not about the money. Presidents like to take that idea and thrust it upon their athletic departments, it is a deliberate affront to the truth. Which is that Universities are all about they money. Don’t listen to what they say, it is about the money and that is all it has ever been about, especially within the athletic department. The expansions, and renovations being under taken by these institutions do not benefit but the majority, but they do benefit a very small portion of their fans. These club seats and luxury boxes are well placed efforts to get prominent members of the alumni population to open that checkbook a cut them another check of an increasing growing amount of money. Stadium building projects are nothing new, this is a fact that is not lost on me. But there is an inherent difference between the projects of old and the one’s taking place across the country today. In the past universities would expand their stadiums to allow more people to attend games as the popularity of their given team grew. They wanted to get more people in the gates. While doing that increased revenues it also led to more and more expansions. The law of Supply and Demand is pretty evident here. However, at this point stadiums are not getting any bigger, in fact some of losing capacity. Athletic Departments across the country are taking away normal seats and replacing them with club and luxury one’s. Its simple economics, if you can get 100 dollars for seat A and 1,000 dollars for seat B you will try to have a lot of seat B’s. Those luxury and club seats generate a lot of revenue for these institutions. They do not want to attract more people to their gleaming Saturday Shrines, they just want to attract more reach people. On principal I don’t have an issue with that, after all the American Way is all about getting more; more people, more money, more whatever. The issue I have is that the reason the WASP’s flock to stadiums around the country is to watch 20 year old kids play a game. The rules dealing with the issue at hand are archaic at best, absolute displays of incompetency and disillusionment at worst. There is nothing wrong with a star player being tossed 500 after a great day on the field. The NCAA would like us all to engage in their way of thinking, that it is wrong to engage in that type of behaviour. Ask yourself this; what is actually wrong about that? If you are capable of rational and logical thought you probably said not a damn thing, and that is the correct answer. I know that my stance on this naturally leads into the whole pay for play argument that has been raging for decades. I don’t have the time to completely expound my point of view on that issue but a synopsis is this; Paying athlete’s is not a radical step, it is a natural step in the current progression of intercollegiate athletics. Players have been getting payed for their play on the field for decades, it has just been against the rules. Legalizing the process won’t lead increased activities of the type, it will just make legal a process that is already an institution. I really don’t object to the building and renovation expansion that is going on. What I do object to is the fact that the kids who play the games in the center of these stadiums across the country every week don’t get the cut that they deserve. Ohio State has a 110 million dollar athletics budget derived from ticket sales and booster donations but they can’t give the athletes who drive in all that revenue a little kick back? That is absurd.

Congratulations Cam Cameron…

You just drafted the next Troy Williamson!

Well there you go, I said it. Ted Ginn is Troy Williamson there really isn’t a better comparison. I am absolutely dumbfounded that your professional scouting department could come to the conclusion that this is the second best WR in this draft class. Ginn could turn out to be a very serviceable receiver for the Phins, but there are two chances that he will actually live up to his draft position, slim and none. You don’t draft a 6′ 180 pound kid with the number 9 pick unless he is a corner, a position that Ginn should have stuck with coming out of high school but that is neither here nor there. Theddor Ginn Jr. can run three pass routes, the 9, the deep post and the comeback, and maybe the slant if he hits the ground really quickly. He has limited understanding of the position, doesn’t read defense’s, drops too many easy balls and will not go across the middle. It is a bad sign when the season ticket holders boo a selection in front of the man who made the call. It didn’t get any better when Cameron, in an attempt to appease the masses, implored that they would love the excitement Ginn brings to the kicking game. I am amazed that at that point in time there was not a man running up onto the stage in a desperate attempt to inflict some of that anger generated by that sentence upon the man who uttered it. There are a couple of things you shouldn’t do in a draft, one of them is drafting someone who’s primary tangible attribute to the team does not involve the position for which they will be cashing checks, such as taking a WR whose main impact will be returning punts and kickoff’s instead of catching balls from the X position. Not to mention that you now have to pay your special teams ace just a little bit less than the Lions will pay Calvin Johnson. No wonder these guys are so upset.

At risk of sounding biased…

Am I the only person in the world who does not see much in Brady Quinn? I think I am. I have pretty much accepted the fate of the Cleveland Browns selecting the Golden Boy, but I am not happy about it. I just don’t get how the hype that is inherent with being the starting QB at Notre Dame during it’s “return to prominence” (prominence that has not included a single win over an elite team in his four years as starter) can lead everyone to jump on his band wagon. Its hype, that’s all its ever been for Quinn he has blown up on average teams but hasn’t been able to win the big game. The usual retort to that is that he didn’t have anyone around him, that it was just him and his team of mental midgets taking on these juggernauts of teams. That’s bullshit, there has been talent around him. Didn’t Jeff Samardzija get named an All American in 2005? Didn’t Darius Walker put up 3,500 total yards in three years? But whenever someone knocks Quinn that is the first cop out put in place by the Quinn defenders, followed very closely by “He had to play in front of a bad offensive line” and lastly by “He never got any help from his defense.” They are all excuses and they are all worth the about the same thing, the approximate monetary value of my little finger. For a quarterback with as many starts as he has accumulated there is no excuse for the wild fits of downright sloppy play and inaccuracy that plagued him in games with Michigan State, LSU, USC and UCLA. The bottom line is if Quinn is as good as he thinks he is and, as good as everyone says he is he would be, for lack of a better word, transcendent. He would have beaten USC in 2005, he would have beaten LSU this year. The bottom line is that when the game is on the line against a truly elite team I don’t want the ball in his hands. He has not proven that he has deserved to have the ball in his hands. But he is going to be the savior of the Cleveland Browns? I would tend to think not.

Early PAC 10 Look

I was planning on witing this particular conference look this past weekend, but wasn’t able to get it done. Given the events of this week coupled with the obsene amounts of studing that was required of me this week it has been pushed back to now, but that is neither here nor there.

The PAC 10 will be a bit more than the nation as a whole is accustomed to, which is a whole lot of USC sprinkled with the occasional Cal Bear. This year will be different, though I doubt we will see a return to the toppsy truvy brand of Football that has been played on the left coast since well before I was born. There are four legitimate top 25 squads in the PAC 10 this year, and a couple more that could make a poll apperacne or two. While SC remains light years ahead of everyone else there are teams that can give them a run for their money, evidenced by Oregon State and UCLA’s upsets this past year. Coincidentatly those are the two programs that appear to be improving in great strides. Cal is still there with a ton of talent, but has not been able to win a big game in four years, though they have ample opportunity this season. Oregon is really giving Michigan State a run for their money as the flakiest program in the nation, and could take that title from Sparty if they can’t figure out the QB position. Arizona has to start producing now or Mike Stoops seat will become very hot, Dennis Erikson is a proven winner at Arizona State. The Huskies in Seattle are ready to begin the Jake Locker era. In the Pullous Bill Doba is facing an uphill battle and a nasty schedual to boot. Standford is the bottom of the barrell, and will presumably stay there with the hiring of Jim Harbaugh this off season.

1: Southern California: This should sound familiar, Southern California looks primed to wrap up the PAC 10 with ease and make a run at a BCS bowl, and in all likelyhood another BCS Title Game apperance. For those who aren’t keeping score at home USC is 65-12 since Pete Caroll took the job, 59-6 since 2002, with 5 consecutive PAC 10 titles and BCS trips, three National Title apperances and two National Title’s. This year will be more of the same, SC will unleash the best defense in the nation upon the Conference and should be able to run roughshod over pretty much everyone in their path. The linebackers are easily the best in the nation. Ray Maualuga in addition to being quite possibly the scariest looking player in the nation is also the best MLB in the country. Brian Cushing, who gets to play on two feet all the time this year, and Keith Rivers will both make bank in the land of mercinaries in due time. Sedrick Ellis and Lawrence Jackson are both as talented as anyone at their respective positions, though LoJack needs to come up with more than 4 sacks and 11 TFL’s this year. The secondary is stacked between Kevin Ellison and Taylor Mays, who I am pretty sure will really hurt someone before he is done at SC are arguably the best saftey tandem in the nation. On offense its more of the same. No one should be alowed to have the amount of talent that the trojans posses at the running back position with 7 high school all americans on the roster. With all that talent failing to crack 2,000 yards is pathetic, which is what happened last year. The QB position is set between John David Booty and Mark Sanchez. The offensive lines will be one of the best in the nation with the return of Sam Baker for his senior season. The questionmark is at receiver where there is more talent than should be legal, (this is kind of a theme with the Men of Troy), but little in the way of proven production. Patrick Turner and David Asubry are talented and easily the largest starting two in the nation with both checking in at 6′5 and 225 but have not been on the big stage full time. Fred Davis is a factor at TE, the former WR should have a huge year. The schedual is a bit rough starting with an early date with Nebraska, playing the Children of the Corn in Lincon is never fun but it will tell us all alot about USC this year.

2: UCLA: The Powder Blue Boys will have alot of momentem steming from the upset of USC on the 2nd of December but this is not a team that alot of people will be familiar with. Bruce Davis is probably the only true markey name on this team. The other members of this team are talented in their own right but little known outside of the friendly confines of SoCal. The best known offensive player might be Ben Olsen, and that would probably stem from his journy to UCLA rather than his play on the field. The funny thing about that is the Olsen might not even start this year given the way the Patrick Cowen performed this past season, espacially the Notre Dame and USC games. Chris Markey took over from Maurice Jones-Drew and performed admirably picking up 1107 yards on the ground and another 261 catching the football but he only scored two times out of his 262 touches, that will have to get better. The receivers are decent players but there is no big name though wither Brandon Braizel or Terrence Austin could become nationaly known names. The offensive line is ancored by Shanon Tevega who could be an All American. The defense won’t take a step back this fall after taking a monumental step forward from 2005 last year. Justin Hickman is gone but there is plenty of talent up front. Hickman is the only starter gone from last years team. Chris Horton at Saftey, Christain Taylor at LB and Dennis Keyes at Saftey are all nice players. This will be a tough out for alot of teams and could beat SC once again.

3: California Berkley: The offense will be good, the defense not so much. Nate Longshore returns this year after throwing for a very quite 3021 yards and 24 TDs against 13 INT’s. DeSean Jackson is back after an All American season last year. Marshwn Lynch is not back, but Justin Forsett is very cabible of carrying the load this season. The offensive line does not jump out as one of the elite of the elite units in the nation but they will serve the team well enough. The other receivers are solid, you could even argue that they, not USC’s group, is the best in the conference. The offense will explode in what could be Jeff Tedfords last year in Strawberry Cannyon, despite his new contract. The defense is where the questions lay Brandon MeBane, Dameyon Hughes and Desmond Bishop are all gone and must be replaced. The position to watch will be DT. MeBane was an All American at DT, which is without a doubt the toughest position to fill for most teams. Robert Peele has earned raves from the coaching staff as a replacement for Hughes. We will find out just how tough this team is early when the Vols come a calling from the Smokey Mountains.

4: Oregon State: There is very little buzz on a national scale for the beavers but this team is out to prove that last years upset induced 10 win season wasn’t a fluke. Yevenson Bernard is probably the best back you’ve never heard of, and it doesn’t hurt that he looks like the predator. He is small, compact, fast and tough but the offensive line needs to open up some holes for him. Four starters return but this was not a good group last year. Matt Moore was a steady reiable playmaker as a senior but he is gone and the job will more than likely fall to Sean Canfield this fall. The players are there on the perimter for him led by Sammie Stroutgher. Losing TE Joe Netwon is surely going to effect third down and red zone production. If teh Beave’s want ten more wins this year it will have to duplicate last years turnover production. That is a possability returning 3 of 4 secondary starters to go with 5 more from the rest of the defense. Derrick Doggett is the most noteworthy of the front seven. Alexis Serna is the best kicker in the nation and along with Sroughther returning kicks the Beave’s have the best special teams in the PAC 10.

5: Oregon: This was arguably the flakiest team in the nation last year, absolutly falling apart over the second half of the season after starting 4-0 with an assist from above. This is a very talented team between Jonathan Stewart, Jaison Williams and a great offensive line anchored by Max Unger. The question is with the quarterback position. New offensive coordinator needs to decide on a QB and stick with him, whoever the starter is can’t afford to look over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake. Dennis Dixson could be Vince Young lite, very lite, but he struggled with his consistancy starting very hot in the first five games but imploding in the Cal game giving Brady Leaf the chance to blow up, which he failed to do. The defense has some holes to fill but none as massive as the one left by Haloti Hagata last season. Blaire Phillips was a nice player at LB, but the bigger loss will be at defensive end Darius Sanders, Nick Reed should be able to replace some of his production. The pass defense should be fine, even better than last year, led by rover Patrick Chung who is one of the most under rated safties in the country. The early test comes in the form of a trip to the Big House, but the game that is circled on my calender is when SC visits the Autzen Zoo.

6: Arizona State: Rudy Carpenter has alot to prove, and a new coach to prove it to. After being given the starting job after Sam Keller was already anounced the starter by Dirk Kutter forced Keller’s move to Nebraska. Carpenter came out flat last season throwing for 2523 yards with 24 TD’s and 14 INT’s. He blew up against weak teams and bombed in games against ranked opponents with a QB rating 84.03 in three such games. The running game was strong last season led by Ryan Torin who came out of nowhere to post 1229 yards and 7 TD’s last year. The main receiveing threat last year is gone but there are nice players ready to step up but there is no proven production of any kind. The defense was just bad last year and should improve under Erikson who is known for creating explosive tough minded teams. The defense should be better because it can’t get that much worse.

7: Washington State: Alex Brink is a nice player but he can’t carry the offense to a Bowl by himself. Dwight Tardy had a nice freshman season last year putting up 667 yards and 4 TD’s on the ground and should be even better this season. There aren’t many nationaly noteable names among the receiveing corps but Brandon Gibson and Michale Bumpus should be able to replace the production of Jason Hill but a decent number three has to emerge for the offense to truly explode. Four of the top Five tacklers are gone from a defnese that really struggled last season. The bottom line is that to make a bowl run the offense will have to truely explode becuase th defense does not look ready to stop any of the high octane offense’s that litter the PAC 10.

8: Arizona: It is now or never for Mike Stoops and the Wildcats. Last year the offense was bad. The defense was decent. and the special teams were the strength of the team. Antione Cason is one of the best CB’s in the nation coming back for his senior season but there are plenty of other areas of concern on that side of the ball namely in the front seven where someone needs to step up and become a stopper. Last year anyone with a pulse ran the ball down their throats. But the biggest questions lie on the offensive side of the ball where someone up front needs to block. Last years unit could not open up enough holes for workout wonder Chris Henry who could only muster 3.52 ypc behind that meger front. Willie Tuitama, the Throwin Samoan got the people excited as a freshamn but was a bit of a disapointment last year. Part of that blame can be put on that offensive line. Michale Thomas is a good target but needs time to get open, which he didn’t have.

9: Washington: And so it begins I am speaking of the Jake Locker era, which has some people in the upper northwest excited for the future. That excitment could become disapointment very early with a vistit from those Buck Nuts from the Mid West in September. Steps have been made in the right direction under Tyrone Willingham but there are some glaring holes noteably in the secondary. Thats never a good thing in the PAC 10 where the typical approach is pass, pass and run if you have to. The recruitng has been decent in Seatle but the talent needs to show itself on the defensive side of the ball. Louis Rankin is a decent runner who came up with 666 yards and 4 TD’s last year. Marcel Reece is a decent receiver but other prospects will have to emerge for the offense to click. After taking posative steps last year I think the huskies will step back this year before becoming a good team in 2008.

10: Standford: It can’t get any worse can it? Walt Harris was a massive, massive disapointment in Palo Alto and he left the cupboard very bare for Jim Harbaugh who made the move from San Diego to Palo Alto. You can win at Standford but winning on a year in year out basis is always going to be hard. TJ Ostrander will take over the job but he could be unseated by one of the incoming freshman, possibly JD Crow. It is going to take time, and dramatic results will not show this year but this team should be better than last years despite the loss of futre Draft Pick Trent Edwards.

Pre Season All PAC 10

Offense
QB John David Booty, Southern California
RB Yevson Bernard, Oregon State
RB Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
TE Fred Davis, Southern Califnoria
WR DeSean Jackson, California Berkley
WR Sammie Straugher, Oregon State
OL Sam Baker, Southern California
OL Jeremy Perry, Oregon State
OL Max Unger, Oregon
OL Shannon Tevega, UCLA
OL Jeff Beyers, Southern California

Defense
DL Sedrick Ellis, Southern Califnornia
DL Bruce Davis, UCLA
DL Lawrence Jackson, Southern California
DL Kevin Brown, UCLA
LB Ray Maualuga, Southern California
LB Spencer Larson, Arizona
LB Keith Rivers, Southern California
DB Chris Horton, UCLA
DB Antione Cason, Arizona
DB Taylor Mays, Southern California
DB Cary Harris, Southern California

Early Big East Look

Well it’s that time of the year again. Spring Football is at hand and I begin to get the impression that Football season is literally right around the corner. Unfortunately this is not the fact of the matter and instead my delusional wishes and that really needs to get a life, as pointed out by several people this past week, thanks guys. So I have decided to give a brief overview of the BCS conferences for the upcoming season beginning with the conference that I know better all the rest, the Big East.

Whether or not the general college football public has chosen to take notice or not the Big East has recovered from the defections of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College very well and is quickly turning into a talented and deep conference. Louisville and West Virginia are legitimate National Title threats. Rutgers and South Florida will both spend time in the top 25. Cincinnati has a good enough defense to knock off any of the aforementioned squads, with the exception of West Virginia who no one can stop. Pitt has the talent to improve this year. UConn and Syracuse bring up the rear of the conference once again but both have the ability to put a scare into the teams before them.

1: West Virginia: The bottom line is that no one is stopping Pat White and Steve Slaton if they can stay healthy. You have a better chance of stopping Bill O’Reily from being an asshole than from containing these two. Some people might openly wonder about the offensive line with the departure of the nasty (In a good way) Dan Mozes but Rich Rodriguez is a great coach and brings in Greg Frey from South Florida. A man with a great depth of knowledge about Offensive Line play lettering all four years at Florida State. There are bound to be concerns about the pass defense after last years abysmal performance against the pass finishing 109th in passing yards and 63rd in pass efficiently defense. Part of the problem in pass defense is lack of production from corner backs who were over matched in just about every game. But part of the problem is the scheme. the 3-3-5 is a novel defense that has proven to be effective in some areas at West Virginia, namely stopping the run, and lacking in others, pass defense. Some West Virginia fans have been crying for a schematic change, though not too loudly. If WVU can hold people under 40 they should score enough to win.

2: Louisville: While Bobby Petrino has left to commonwealth for the greener pastures of Atlanta. Just like his predecessor he has left the program in better shape than when he arrived. Louisville is a legit national power with a hot young offensive minded coach in Steve Kragthorpe, this should sound familiar as it is the same route taken with the past two coaching searches, landing John L. Smith from Utah State following a 1997 bowl season, and Bobby Petrino from Auburn after one season as offensive coordinator. Kragthrope is inheriting one of the premier Quarterbacks in the nation in Brian Brohm to go along with Harry Douglus and Mario Uritia on the outside. Anthony Allen and George Strippling teamed with Kolby Smith to help replace Michale Bush’s loss last season and will get a larger role this coming season. The question mark is at the defensive tackle, where Amobi Okoye and his prodigious talents must be replaced. Adrian Grady is capapible at spot but the other spot will be up for grabs between LT Walker and Willie Williams. The pass defense was a major issue all year long but will be receiving a boost from Woodney Turenne, or rather will if he lives up to the hype.

3: South Florida: The Bulls appear to be on the verge of crossing the threshold from being a perennial thorn in the side to the conference powers at be, to becoming one of those powers themselves. Everything is in place for the Bulls to assert themselves on a national stage starting with the early season tangle with Aburn on the Plaines. Matt Grothe is a solid Quarterback for sure but he needs to be more consistent which is common with first year starters. He has looked like superman in some games, Rutgers and West Virginia, but looked supremely average in his game with Cincinnati. Losing his top three targets from the offense won’t make it any easier. The rushing game needs to take major steps against the better defensive teams failing to eclipse 100 yards in games with Cincinnati, Rutgers, West Virginia, and Louisville. Superstar recruit Mike Ford should help in that department. The defense will sustain notable losses in Stephen Nichols, Pat Green, and Jeremy Burnett but they should be able to plug in new athletes and match athletic ability, leadership is a different story. 4: Rutgers: The gig is up and the secret is out. Rutgers received such and inordinate amount of attention last year, which is to be expected given the proximity of the school to the nations largest media market. They won’t surprise anyone this year. One thing that has been overlooked by some is the fact that Rutgers was a team living on the edge all season long. For most of the year they came up with the timely stop and big play and came out on top but the house of cards came tumbling down in Nippert Stadium. Ray Rice is a tremendous talent but the sledding will be even harder this year unless Mike Teel improves. For most of the Louisville game he looked just plain bad before turning into John Elway on the last drive. Coming off that game he went into Cincinnati and imploded throwing 4 interceptions including the crucial throw to DeAngello Smith which was taken 85 yards the other way for a TD. The defensive front seven is losing alot of talent and will take step back in production after finishing 4th in the nation. The talent should be there to expect another top 25 defensive season.

5: Cininnati: Out with fullbacks, two tight end sets, and the counter trey. In with five wide sets, split ace shotgun and jet sweeps. The offense will be dramatically different from anything seen in previous years under the guidance of Mark Dantonio and Don Treadwell. For a second consecutive season Dustin Grutza will enter fall camp without being assured of a starting position. Not a common occurrence in any pre season situation. Wake Forrest transfer Ben Mauk will come in with eligibility and looking for the starting position. The talent for Brian Kelly’s new attack is there with good depth at receiver between Derrick Stewart, Domanic Goodman, and Jared Martin. One question is who starts at TE a position that has gotten very deep very quickly for the Bearcats despite the loss of Brent Celek to graduation. Doug Jones moves from FB back to TE to go along with Kazeem Ali, campus cult hero Connor Barwin and converted WR Earnie Jackson. Whether the offense takes or not UC will be in every game because of the defense which returns 8 starters. Led by the Big East’s best DT Terril Byrd the defensive line was simply dominant in conference with the exception of the West Virginia game and will be even better returning every starter with another year of experience. The secondary will be arguably the best in the conference with Mike Mickens headlining the unit. Dominic Ross and Kevin McCullough were the heart of last year’s team and will be replaced by Cedric Tolbert and Andre Revels.

6: Pittsburg: The time is now for Dave Wanstead to prove that he can be a head coach at any level. After two years of solid recruiting classes and sub par performance on the field Pitt has to improve this year or the seat will get very hot for the alum. One thing is clear Pitt has regressed while the rest of the league has surged past them. This is a bad year to need a big year with the loss of heart and soul guys HB Blades and Tyler Palko. The talent has to produce this year. LeRod Stephens-Howling is a solid back Derrik Kinder and Oderick Turner are both excellent receivers if they can get someone to throw the ball to them, and that might very well be Par Bostik. The defense collapsed over the second half of the year and doesn’t get better without Blades and Darrell Revis . Bottom line is that the potential that is apparent all over the roster needs to become production this year of Wanstead is out the door.

7: Connecticut: This team took a major step backwards last year. The offense was bad all year with the exception of the explosion against the free falling Panthers on November 11th. The huskies failed to be anything resembling productive through the air. Passing for over 200 yards once, against USF. The usually stout defense went on vacation last year allowing 2,100 yards both rushing and passing. Donald Brown is a nice player who needs to get more touches this coming year if UConn wants to give chase to the rapidly improving middle of the pack.

8: Syracuse: It has to get better from here; it simply can’t get any worse. The Orange failed to finish higher than 75th in any major team offensive or defensive statistic. Cuse has a couple of nice backs in Delone Carter and Curtis Brinkley but other then the play of these two offensive bright spots are few and far between. Jameel McClain is a nice player at defensive end but he needs help and loses the little he had in the form of Kelvin Smith.

Preseason All Big East

Offense

QB Brian Brohm, Louisville

RB Steve Slaton, West Virginia

RB Ray Rice, Rutgers

TE Gary Barnridge, Louisville

WR Harry Douglous, Louisville

WR Mario Uritia, Louisville

OL George Bussey, Louisville

OL Jeremy Zuttah, Rutgers

OL CJ Davis, Pitt

OL Ryan Stancheck, West Virginia

OL Marc Dile, South Florida

Defense

DL Terrill Byrd, Cincinnati

DL Jameel McClain, Syracuse

DL Keilein Dykes, West Virginia

DL Ramel Meekins, Rutgers

LB Corey Smith, Cincinnati

LB Ben Moffit, South Florida

LB Malik Jackson, Louisville

DB Trae Williams, South Florida

DB Mike Mickens, Cincinnati

DB Ron Girault, Rutgers

DB Courtney Greene, Rutgers

Special Teams

K Art Carmondy, Louisville

R Ean Randolph, USF