Breaking Down the NCAA Part 5 of 12

Big East Season Preview

1. West Virginia- A lot has changed in Morgantown since 2006. Rich Rodriguez has moved on to Ann Arbor and Pat White has graduated and moved on to the Miami Dolphins. Jarrett Brown now is the QB for the Mountaineers, and has Noel Devine to hand the ball off too. Brown has played well in spot duty and has size White did not. WVU should still be able to take the Big East crown.

2. South Florida- Every year it seems South Florida shoots up the polls only to implode and limp into a bowl game. Matt Grothe has been the face of the program for the last 3 years and should continue this year. He has a great arm and can run for yardage. Defensive End George Selvie should be the Defensive MVP of the league and high draft choice next fall. The Bulls should make a nice bowl game at the end of the year. Quite a leap for a team that started a football program less than a decade ago.

3. Pittsburgh-Although losing LeSean McCoy to the draft, the Panthers should be loaded enough to have a few surprises in them. Dave Wannstedt has been a better coach the last few seasons and could have the talent assembled to take them to the top. The defense will be top three in the Big East but the offense could take time to retool.

4. Cincinnati- Brian Kelly is a rising star in the coaching ranks and every season the Bearcats have him is a blessing. Mardy Gilyard is a top flight wideout who will stretch defenses all season, and is an elite returner as well. The Bearcats made a BCS Bowl last year, but another one is not probable. A bowl game should be in the cards, and continue growth for this program will be steady.

5. Rutgers- After shooting up from obscurity a few years ago, Rutgers has fallen back to Earth. Anthony Davis leads the best offense line in the Big East. Although QB Mike Teel, WR Tiquan Underwood and WR Kenny Britt graduated, the Scarlet Knights should be ok. This will be a tough year but Rutgers should make a bowl and try to become contenders in the Big East in a few years.

6. Louisville- A prolific offense and sparkling records are long gone. Steve Kragthorpe will try to resurrect some magic to lead the Cardinals to a bowl game, but the schedule is so tough with games against Southern Miss, at Kentucky and at Utah, it will be a challenge. RB Victor Anderson should lead the offense and a big season from him could lift the team.

7. Conneticut- After RB Donald Brown left early for the NFL Draft, the Huskies will be in a hole. The defense is solid led by LB Scot Lutrus, DB Jasper Howard and Robert Vaughn and could lead the team to a bowl. QB Zach Frazier must step up and make the offense respectable.

8. Syracuse- This team has struggled for the last decade. The last time they had success, Donovan McNabb was the QB. This team will continue to struggle for the next few years. The non conference schedule has Minnesota, Penn State and Northwestern and does them no favors. Duke basketball player Greg Paulus will try out at QB for one year after flirting with Michigan, so at least there will be a good story to follow.

Corbitt Gutsy Guarentee: West Virginia will continue to win. Noel Devine is very fast but not very big. Jarrett Brown has more size than Pat White and could be a better pro prospect. This has been the number one program in the Big East for a decade and it will continue at least till South Florida can win in November.