The preseason coaches poll had 2 Big East teams ranked in the top 25 (Pitt & WVU). Anyone want to bet me that the Big East conference ends up with more than 2 teams in the final poll of the season?

Being underrated is typical and to be expected for the most bashed football conference in the country (and perhaps even deserved during a few of the last years). This year, however, I do not believe that should be the case. The conference should have 6 quality teams and all should make a bowl game. It will be a dog fight to see who wins the conference as several of the teams are pretty evenly matched.

Today, we preview four of the teams in the conference (alphabetically). A quick search of the net showed that there were several team previews already available, so I’ll do some quick hitters and try to look at each team from a different angle.

Cincinnati Bearcats
2009 Record: 12-1 (7-0)
Head Coach: Butch Jones (1st season at UC)
Returning Starters: 11 (6 offense, 5 defense)
Key Losses: Tony Pike, Mardy Gilyard, Brian Kelly (head coach), Aaron Webster
Returning Leaders:
Passing: Zach Collaros, 1434 yards, 93-124, 10 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Isaiah Pead, 806 yards, 121 attempts, 9 TD
Receiving: Armon Binns, 888 yards, 61 receptions, 11 TD

Strengths:
This team has quite a bit of offensive firepower, but the clear strength of this team is the receiving corps. Armon Binns returns from last season as does DJ Woods. They are joined by Marcus Bennett and USC transfer Vidal Hazelton. Hazelton caught 50 passes for USC during the ’07 season and was one of the top receiver recruits in the nation when he was in high school.

Weaknesses:
Change is inevitable when a new head coach is brought into any program. UC is no different. Old defensive coordinator Bob Diaco left town with Brian Kelly and in steps co-defensive coordinators Tim Banks & John Jancek. In addition to only returning 5 starters on defense they are switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. There will almost certainly be some growing pains.

By the numbers:
Last season UC was #2 in scoring offense, #4 in passing offense & #11 in total offense – all numbers that will almost certainly drop with the graduation of Pike & Gilyard and the loss of offensive minded Head Coach Brian Kelly. Their total defense was #67 with the passing defense checking in at #78.

In the press: Butch Jones brings same offense, entirely different vibe to Cincy

My thoughts:
I actually believe that UC is going to have a decent and competitive team this year. No way will they come close to the season they had last year, but they will be competitive. I respect Butch Jones and think he will be a good head coach one day. Offensively, UC has a lot of pieces in place. They have a talented receiving corps, talented tailback in Pead and we saw what Collaros can do last season when he was given the opportunity. The defense could be an issue with new coordinators and a switch in scheme.

Connecticut Huskies
2009 Record: 8-5 (3-4)
Head Coach: Randy Edsall (66-65)
Returning Starters: 16 (8/8 offense/defense)
Key Losses: Lindsey Witten, Andre Dixon, Marcus Easley, Greg Lloyd (lost for the season due to injury)
Returning Leaders:
Passing: Zach Frazer, 1461 yards, 116-218, 10 TD, 9 INT
Rushing: Jordman Todman, 1188 yards, 235 attempts, 14 TD
Receiving: Kashif Moore, 370 yards, 22 receptions, 3 TD

Strengths:
Randy Edsall is a coach who likes to run the ball and he has a team built for just that this year. The line returns 4 starters and the 5th guy on the line was projected to be the starter at the outset of the ’09 season before an injury sidelined his season. UConn also returns the speedy Todman in the backfield. Todman led the Huskies last season with 1188 yards. He eclipsed 100 yards in 5 games including a season high 162 at Cincinnati.

Weaknesses:
The loss of Greg Lloyd to injury for the season definitely hurts the defense up front, but UConn’s weakness on D are the guys in the back. UConn returns two starters in their young secondary.

By the numbers:
UConn’s solid rushing attack checked in at #39 last year, but the passing offense was just #61. UConn’s porous secondary was #88 last season.

In the press: Yes, UConn! Edsall has Huskies on the rise

My thoughts:
UConn returns 16 starters and should have a pretty good team. Can Edsall get over the hump and win a Big East Title? This will probably be his best shot in the wide open Big East. UConn had a heck of a game plan against us in an emotionally charged game in Morgantown last season. This team never blitzes and usually relies on the passing game, but they blitzed most of the game and passed for over 400 yards before losing in the end.

Louisville Cardinals
2009 Record: 4-8 (1-6)
Head Coach: Charlie Strong (1st season at UL)
Returning Starters: 12 (7 offense, 5 defense)
Key Losses: Jon Dempsey, Scott Long
Returning Leaders:
Passing: Adam Froman, 1354 yards, 111-185, 5 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Victor Anderson, 473 yards, 89 attempts, 5 TD
Receiving: Doug Beaumont, 465 yards, 38 receptions, 0 TD

Strengths:
When you’ve been down for as long as Louisville has (which I don’t lose a bit of sleep over, by the way) there are not a lot of strengths to boast. But Louisville does return an experienced offensive line and a talented tailback in one time WVU commit Victor Anderson. With not a lot of experience at QB, I would expect Anderson to get a lot of carries.

Weaknesses:
I could go a lot of ways with this, but I’ll keep it short and sweet and just say the entire defense has a lot of holes to fill.

By the numbers:
UL had a scoring offense ranking of #111 and scoring defense ranking of #65 last year. The majority of their rankings were in the lower third of all rankings. Is there any surprise they only won 4 games last year?

In the press: Charlie Strong, Cardinals starting from scratch

My thoughts:
The good news: they have a new coaching staff and have nowhere to go, but up. The bad news: it won’t happen this season.

Pitt Panthers
2009 Record: 10-3 (5-2)
Head Coach: Dave Wannstedt (35-26)
Returning Starters: 11 (5 offense, 6 defense)
Key Losses: Dorin Dickerson, Mick Williams, Aaron Berry
Returning Leaders:
Passing: Tino Sunseri, 114 yards, 10-17, 2 TD, 0 INT
Rushing: Dion Lewis, 1799 yards, 325 attempts, 17 TD
Receiving: Jonathon Baldwin, 1111 yards, 57 receptions, 8 TD

Strengths:
This seems like a common theme when discussing Big East teams, but the running game with the return of Dion Lewis should be pretty good again. Pitt is also stout on the defensive line with two studs in Greg Romeus & Jabaal Sheard. Sheard was the leagues defensive player of the year.

Weaknesses:
Pitt’s biggest weakness is their inexperience at quarterback, where Tino Sunseri will lead the offense. Sophomore Sunseri only has 17 pass attempts in his career for a total of 114 yards. I expect a healthy dose of Dion Lewis early on as Sunseri tries to get comfortable.

By the numbers:
Pitt was #1 in the nation in sacks last season. This should come as no surprise with the stud defensive ends that they had. With both guys returning I would expect Pitt to be near the top again. With such a talented defensive line it is no surprise that they ranked #17 against the run as well. Pitt’s total offense was only #52, but their scoring offense was #21. The difference, in all likelihood, was that they were #10 in turnovers gained.

In the press: Plenty of tough tests await Pitt

My thoughts:
Pitt has been the consensus top pick for the Big East Conference all season, but I just don’t see it. They have some nice pieces in the bookend defensive ends, Lewis & Baldwin, but they only return 11 starters and have holes at quarterback, offensive line and a few spots on defense. This team may come out and surprise me, but I just can’t see them getting through the Big East schedule unscathed.

Check back soon for a preview of the rest of the conference teams and the staff rankings.