Way too early Big East Predictions

So, on Wednesday, I did a “Way too early Top 25 and BCS Predictions” entry. Today, I think I’m going to delve into the Big East conference. I’m going to predict who will finish where, who will win the Big East Championship, and who will go to what bowl.

1)
WVU will win the Big East Conference with a rejuvenated offense, finishing the regular season 9-3 (and letting all the Stew supporters bray about “ANOTHER NINE WIN SEASON!!!!!” However, unlike Gomer’s last 9-win season, this one will have WVU claiming the Big East championship outright, which hasn’t been done since 2005… and will also result in WVU locking up the Big East’s automatic bid to the BCS.

2) 
South Florida seems to be stocking up on speed (with BJ Daniels and Colorado Transfer RB Darrell Scott), and Skip Holtz seems to have that squad pointed in the right direction. USF has a tough road schedule in the Big East with Pitt and UConn on the slate, but in the end, the Thursday night December game in Tampa will be the “de-facto” Big East Championship game, with USF falling slightly short.

3) 
Louisville is a team that everyone in the Big East needs to be on the lookout for. Charlie Strong, in his first season at the helm, had this team at 6-6 then won the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl. They recruited well during the off-season, and should make a run for the Big East championship.

4) 
Syracuse showed some flashes last year with Doug Marrone at the helm (including humiliating WVU at Homecoming last year. Ugh.) Very intriguing offense, but with a lot of holes to fill defensively.

5) 
The Bearcats of Cincinnati will rise up from the basement of the Big East, but they won’t be anywhere near the Conference’s Penthouse. Yes, Butch Jones is a good coach, and his guys may have his system down by now, but they still won’t be good enough to be competing for the Big East Championship.

6) 
The DEFENDING Big East “Champions” (WVU and the jerks in Pitt can claim the same title) come in with a new coach when Randy Edsall jumped to Maryland (why he went to UMD is anyone’s guess.) The Pasqualoni effect will send the Huskies back a couple of years… however, they’ll manage to put together enough wins to go bowling. And, no, it won’t be in Tempe, AZ. This will be good enough to beat Pitt for the bowl eligibility.

7) 
There’s absolutely no way in hell that sPitt’s going to have a good season! They got the sloppy seconds of a bunch of traitorous Rich Rodriguez minions, led by Todd Graham. Installing Rich Rod’s “High Octane Spread Offense” at Pitt is not going to be easy when they were used to the pro-style offense of the Wannstache. And, if this staff operates the way past RichRod staffs operated, all 10 Pitt fans are going to be in for a long season. NO BOWL FOR YOU!!!

8) 
What’s a Big East Conference without Rutgers claiming their rightful place in the Conference Basement?

Now, it’s time to go “Bowling.”

I’m holding on to my prediction (for now) of a WVU-Alabama matchup in the Sugar Bowl. That would be an intriguing matchup with Nick Saban taking on his home state’s school.

This is the year Notre Dame takes the Champs Sports Bowl slot… the Champs Sports Bowl committee is regretting not taking Notre Dame last year after the debacle that ensued at the hands of Bill Stewart and Jeff Mullen.

Look where finishing 2nd in the Big East gets you, USF, a return trip to Charlotte, NC!

Look who’s goin back to Yankee Stadium!

Ask Pitt what it’s like to finish 3rd in the Big East, only to be competing in Birmingham, AL. Unlike Pitt, at least Louisville is tolerable.

Cincinnati will go “bowling” for the first time since they got their asses handed to them in the Sugar Bowl by Tim Tebow’s Florida Gators.

This leaves UConn out of the Big East shuffle, and they’ll wind up going to some small-time bowl to fill a void left by a conference that doesn’t have enough bowl-eligible teams.