2010 Big East Conference Preview

> Check out the entire 2010 College Football Preview

The Big East gets a lot of scorn around the country because there isn’t a traditional superpower in the league. However, that criticism quieted for much of 2009 as six Big East teams ended up with eight or more wins but Cincinnati’s crushing defeat in the Sugar Bowl stirred it all back up again. To be honest, when a conference champion gets beat by 27 points and gets outgained by 400 yards, there is a lot to criticize.

However, the Big East looks to be in for another strong season in 2010. While the league might not quite be as strong as the SEC or Big Ten, there are lot of very good football teams in the conference and the competitiveness of the Big East this season might end up being second to none as six teams could end up bowl eligible for the second consecutive year.

It is also a season of transition in the conference as three of the eight schools have new head coaches. Former Florida Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong inherited the quagmire at Louisville and will be looking at a rebuilding campaign this fall. However, Skip Holtz at South Florida and Butch Jones at Cincinnati both were given teams that are ready made for postseason play.

The bottom half of the league looks to be comprised of lowly Louisville, still-rebuilding Syracuse and two talented but flawed teams in South Florida and Rutgers. Both the Bulls and Scarlet Knights have good chances of playing in bowl games but I would be very surprised to see both competing for the conference this season.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati is the two-time defending conference champions. However, former coach Brian Kelly departed for Notre Dame in the offseason and his protégé Jones is now in charge. Here’s the thing about the Bearcats: They score a lot of points but they aren’t going to be very good defensively, which will end up costing them a chance at the league title.

That leaves Pitt, Connecticut and West Virginia to battle it out for the Big East. West Virginia has a great defense and an experienced offense going in their favor but they have to travel to both Pitt and UConn this season and that might ultimately cost them the league championship. Meanwhile, the Huskies host WVU, Pitt and Cincinnati, leaving them with the most favorable conference slate. With a powerful running game reminiscent of schools like Iowa and Wisconsin, the Huskies are a real threat to take the title.

But what about Pittsburgh? Led by a very strong defense, the Panthers are a more talented version of Connecticut that also has the ability to throw the football with great success, something that the Huskies haven’t been able to do in the past. Furthermore, Pitt has been on the cusp of grabbing the league title in each of the last two years. In all honesty, the Panthers had the Big East Championship all but won last season until they let Cincinnati off the hook and saw the Bearcats come roaring back from a 31-10 deficit to steal the league title at Heinz Field by a single point on the season’s final day. Redemption combined with talent creates a dangerous and hungry team and that is why my choice to win the Big East in 2010 is the Pitt Panthers.

Read each school’s individual preview by clicking below!

• Pittsburgh (6-1)
• West Virginia (5-2)
• Connecticut (5-2)
• Cincinnati (4-3)
• South Florida (3-4)
• Rutgers (2-5)
• Syracuse (2-5)
• Louisville (1-6)

Matt Baxendell is collegesports-fans.com’s college football guru. He has an opinion on every team, even lowly Western Kentucky, so feel free to email him at matt.baxendell@gmail.com if you want to talk football, comment on an article, get added to his mailing list or just feel like telling him how foolish he for thinking that WKU is in for another terrible season.