Bill Stewart is sick and tired of all the skepticism surrounding Big East football. For years, the West Virginia head coach has shaken off the notion that the Big East is an inferior football conference. But now that the preseason rankings have been released – and neither of the two major polls has a single Big East team ranked in the Top 25 – he’s ready to set the record straight. ‘I have pounded the table, and I’m going to say this one more time.’ Stewart said during the Big East coaches’ teleconference. ‘Our league is the black and blue league. We’re tough, we’re physical and you better be tough and physical if you’re going to play in the Big East. ‘I don’t know why we get hammered. I guess everyone thinks we’re a basketball league. They’re full of baloney.’ Stewart isn’t alone in his displeasure. During the teleconference, several other Big East coaches spoke out about the situation and shed some light on the Big East’s displacement to the outskirts of the Top 25 polls. Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall spoke up and explained why some are overlooking the conference this year. ‘I think there are teams that we have in our conference that should have been or could have been in the Top 25,’ Edsall said. ‘I think that, in our league, we had a number of good players who have graduated and people make their polls based on that. I’m sure that’s what people looked at and that’s why, to me, there is not a lot of stock that you should put into preseason polls.’ Edsall also suggested the idea of not ranking teams until October, allowing programs to establish themselves before being judged. Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly called the preseason national polls a ‘popularity contest’ and pointed out that it said it will only be a matter of time before some of the younger Big East teams begin to develop followings. Kelly also made it obvious that the only poll he cares about comes out at the end of the season. ‘There are a lot of new teams that are really blazing the trail for their own identity,’ he said. ‘When you look at it, we have been ranked in the top 20 in the past two years in a row, and I can guarantee you that at the end of the year, someone from the Big East will be ranked in the Top 25. That’s all that really matters.’ South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt dismissed the polls as an omen for the future and made a distinction between preseason polls and the conference’s development. ‘The preseason is the preseason,’ Leavitt said. ‘I know how good the Big East is obviously because we are in the conference. I know I voted for four teams, and I probably could have done five or six.’ The fact remains that the Big East has kept pace with the other major conferences in recent years. The conference boasts an impressive record in bowl games (12-4) over the past three seasons and has won three of its last four BCS bowl games.

However, the college football landscape changes every year as conferences like the Mountain West bring BCS-worthy competition year in and year out. In fact, the Mountain West has three teams (Utah, Brigham Young and Texas Christian) that are ranked in both the AP and coaches’ polls. The coaches don’t seem too disturbed that there is no Big East team in the Top 25 and ensured that Big East football will prove itself one way or another. ‘I’d be concerned if it was the end of the season, maybe,’ Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt said. ‘Fortunately, we’ve got 12 football games to play. We have an opportunity to go out and show people the type of football we play.’

USF moving forward

Over the past two years, South Florida has seen its share of highs and lows.

In 2007, the Bulls ranked as high as No. 2 in the country before losing four of its last seven, finishing the season unranked. Last year, the Bulls made it as high as No. 10 in the polls, but again, ended the year outside of the Top 25. ‘We haven’t been as deep as a team, and we’ve got some key people hurt, and then we’ve got some people playing that probably shouldn’t be playing,’ Leavitt said. ‘We’ve just stayed healthy through the first five or four games, which is important for everyone.’ This year, the Bulls bring in two new coordinators and hope to erase their recent mid-season hiccups with better preparation. But despite the preparation, Leavitt insists the source of the problem lies in team depth. ‘We’ve just got to recruit better and get deeper as a team, that’s just real important,’ he said. ‘We are still a very young program, but we are still trying to build our base and get some more depth.’

Game of the WeekCincinnati @ RutgersMonday, 4 p.m., ESPN Normally, the Big East conference schedule doesn’t start until October. But this year, the conference is attempting to gain national exposure by moving up one of its marquee matchups to Labor Day weekend. The game between Rutgers and Cincinnati is a highly anticipated matchup between two of the conferences’ top teams from last season. Cincinnati, the defending league champion, only returns one defensive starter – safety Aaron Webster – and will be playing with a new defensive scheme this year. Bob Diaco is the new defensive coordinator and has instituted a 3-4 defensive alignment during the offseason. On offense, the Bearcats return a stable of weapons. Quarterback Tony Pike returns with his main target, wide receiver Mardy Gilyard. Sophomore running back Isaiah Pead will get a lot of attention Monday, as he tries to prove himself early on in the season. Rutgers, on the other hand, made a statement last year by winning its last seven games, including a 29-23 win over North Carolina State in the Papajohns.com Bowl. The Scarlet Knights will try to carry that momentum into the game and attempt to take an early lead in the Big East standings. A key storyline for Rutgers will be the ongoing quarterback controversy. Head coach Greg Schiano has yet to name a starter between Domenic Natale, Jabu Lovelace and Tom Savage. ‘Both teams know each other very, very well,’ Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said. ‘There won’t be any surprises in this game. The team that executes the best will be the team that wins.’

rwmarfur@syr.edu

Published on September 1, 2009 at 12:00 pm