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My Big East Preseason Power Rankings and Season Predictions

By chuckycrater
Look for Louisville to take home the Big East title in 2012, before <strike>Charlie Strong gets a better job</strike> <strike>the Cardinals ditch us for the big XII</strike> the conference is fortified and regains its footing over the next few years.
Look for Louisville to take home the Big East title in 2012, before Charlie Strong gets a better job the Cardinals ditch us for the big XII the conference is fortified and regains its footing over the next few years.

Andrew from The UConn Blog is again hosting weekly Big East football power rankings this season. I turned in my ballot earlier today, and since there are no games to base the rankings on yet, I came up with mine based on where I think everyone will finish the season. So you can also consider this my Big East predictions post.

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1. Louisville (6-1) - I feel like they have the most talented and most well-rounded team, and even though I think Rutgers will beat them on the last weekend of the season, by then it won't matter.

2. USF (5-2) - The Bulls have enough talent to win the conference (so do the top 4-5 teams on the list). But their schedule is going to conspire against them. Even though they get two weeks to prepare for Louisville, it's the toughest road game they'll play this year. There are also two short weeks to try and get ready for toss-up conference games, namely Rutgers on September 13 and at Cincinnati the day after Thanksgiving.

3. Rutgers (5-2) - Another team that could very easily win the league and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they did. But I have them losing to USF on the road on a Thursday night, and much like the Bulls they have a habit of at least one ill-timed, WTF kind of conference loss every year that cancels out a crucial win.

4. Cincinnati (4-3) - No idea what to expect with this team and I don't really believe in Munchie Legaux as a passer. Sort of like B.J. Daniels as a sophomore, who then completely validated that lack of belief.

5. Pittsburgh (3-4) - I think Paul Chryst is the right kind of coach for this team and this roster, which is still mostly made up of Wannstedt-style players. But you're in the wrong league to try and win with a bad offensive line, which the Panthers still have.

6. Syracuse (2-5) - Meh. And that schedule is a nightmare.

7. UConn (2-5) - Meh again. I'm sorry, I just have no opinion on either one of these teams other than they'll be mediocre and that Syracuse will win when they play each other so that's why they're sixth.

8. Temple (1-6) - I probably have them underrated because it's so hard for teams to adjust to a new league right away. Even though it's not really a new league for Temple, but you know what I mean. They were the anti-MAC team and that helped them do well, but they're just like most of the teams in the Big East, with less overall talent. It won't be a catastrophe like it was the last time they were in the conference, though, which is a small victory of its own.