Big East Blog

By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
July 10, 2006

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Coaches are vacationing and players are spending most of their time in the weight room, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t football news going on around the Big East Conference.

Here is what is happening so far this summer:


	WVU's Steve Slaton was listed as the nation's No. 2-rated tailback by Collegefootballnews.com. WVU Sports Communiations photo

Collegefootballnews.com, a content provider for FoxSports.com, recently released its four all-Big East preseason teams and not surprisingly, they are littered with West Virginia and Louisville players. The Mountaineers had 11 players on the four teams (first and second team offense and defense) while Louisville had eight. All but three of the first-team offense were made up of Cardinals and Mountaineers (tight end – Clark Harris, Rutgers; OT – Thed Watson, South Florida; KR – Willie Foster, Rutgers were the others).

The first team defense listed only two Mountaineers: defensive lineman Keilen Dykes and safety Eric Wicks, leaving senior linebacker Boo McLee on the second team. Those close to the WVU program believe McLee could be one of the best defensive players in the conference this fall.

The online publication also selected its top 30 players from the Big East, listing Louisville’s Brian Brohm No. 1, followed by WVU’s Steve Slaton and Patrick White, Louisville’s Michael Bush at No. 4 and Pitt’s H.B. Blades at No. 5.

And today, Collegefootballnews.com revealed its preseason All-America running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers, placing both West Virginia’s Steve Slaton and Louisville’s Michael Bush on its first team. Slaton was listed as the nation’s No. 2-rated tailback behind Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson while Bush was rated No. 3.

Last year Slaton and Bush combined for more than 2,200 yards, 5.6 yards per carry and 40 touchdowns giving the Big East perhaps the country’s best one-two-punch at tailback.

As for quarterbacks, Collegefootballnews.com rated Louisville’s Brian Brohm the nation’s sixth-best quarterback and West Virginia’s Pat White the ninth-best signalcaller.

A complete list of bowl games was recently sent out to sports information directors around the country. The Big East has tie-ins with the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23 against a Conference USA team (ESPN2), the Vitalis Sun Bowl on Dec. 29 against the Big 12 (CBS), the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 29 against the ACC (ESPN), the Toyota Gator on Jan. 1 against the ACC (NBC), and the International Bowl in Toronto on Jan. 6 against the MAC (ESPN2).

The BCS National Championship game will be played on Jan. 8 in Phoenix, Ariz. The game will be televised by Fox.

Fox also has the TV rights to the Tostitos Fiesta, FedEx Orange and Allstate Sugar Bowls, with ABC retaining the rights to the Rose Bowl presented by Citi.

Syracuse may be getting help for its woeful offense (257.4 yards per game in 2005) in the form of 5-foot-10-inch, 220-pound freshman running back Delone Carter, who led the Ohio team with a 100-plus-yard rushing performance in the Big 33 all-star game in June. The Copley, Ohio resident ripped off a couple of long runs, including a 78-yard touchdown against the Pennsylvania all-stars.

The Orange also had offensive lineman Jim McKenzie playing for the winning Pennsylvania team.

Syracuse has announced that its season opener against Wake Forest will kickoff at 6:30 and will be televised on ESPN 360.

Louisville Courier-Journal writer Rick Bozich recently handicapped Louisville’s pair of Heisman Trophy candidates Brian Brohm and Michael Bush. The Cardinals have launched a promotional web site for both called www.derbycityduo.com.

For the pair to be serious contenders, however, they must perform well in two specific games, so says Rob Doster, Athlon Sports senior editor. “If they are dazzling against Miami and West Virginia … they have a shot at visiting New York in early December. They would probably split their portion of the vote, giving the Heisman to a Brady Quinn (Notre Dame) or an Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma).”

My experience tells me that just like the old saying about having two starting quarterbacks, if a school like Louisville is promoting two Heisman Trophy candidates then they really have no Heisman Trophy candidates -- particularly at a place that has never had a player invited to New York as a finalist in the first place.

Did you realize the Big East is 16-13 in bowl games since 2000? And eight times in the last 15 seasons a Big East team has played for a claim to the national title.

The Tampa Tribune recently revealed that South Florida’s latest (and biggest) recruit may do more to get the fan base excited than any one before it. USF is planning on having Rocky -- a one-ton baby Brahman bull from Riverview, Fla. -- lead the team out onto the field during home games this fall.

However, there are still some minor details to be worked out, like feeding it, cleaning up after it and perhaps some liability insurance.

South Florida already has one Rocky, a person who dresses up in a Bull costume. Supporters say there is enough room on the field for two Rockys.

“There are a lot of things a real bull can’t do, such as back flips,” reasoned USF alumnus John Massaro, a leading proponent of the idea.

In a more serious light, USF quarterback Carlton Hill, the most highly regarded recruit in school history, will remain on the team after having a run-in with the law earlier this month, although he will no longer play quarterback. Hill was South Florida’s No. 1 signalcaller heading into spring drills but missed most of practice because of academic issues.

Hill will now play wide receiver, leaving the Bulls with either freshman Matt Grothe or senior Pat Julmiste battling for the starting job. Former quarterback Grant Gregory, an Indiana transfer, will move back to quarterback after playing safety last season.

Also, USF announced that Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley defensive end Brandon Peguese has enrolled in school and will be a member of the team this fall. Peguese had 17 ½ sacks last year in high school and originally committed to East Carolina but the Pirates withdrew their scholarship offer because Peguese had not academically qualified. He has since received the OK from the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Peguese joins linebacker Marvin Peoples as the most recent additions to the USF roster. Peoples is a Maryland transfer.

According to a story in the Newark Star Ledger last month, Rutgers is considering spending $20 million to add luxury suites to its football stadium. Interest in the project comes at a time when the state of New Jersey is cutting funding in next year’s budget to its largest university. That has prompted Rutgers president Richard McCormick to urge the athletic department to reduce its athletic budget.

The luxury suite study, done by CSL International of Texas, recommends building approximately 20 private suites, each with 16 seats, and another 20 boxes with six seats in each box. The suites would sell for $30,000 to $40,000 per season, while the boxes would cost $10,000 to $15,000 and include access to a private dining area.

Six hundred club seats, both outdoor and indoor, would be priced at $1,750 each.

Rutgers is coming off its first bowl appearance in 27 years in 2005, losing to Arizona State in the Insight.com Bowl.

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