All Entries Tagged With: "Syracuse football"

Conference Expansion Stampede May Have Begun

If there was ever any doubt that football reigns supreme in college sports, it should be crystal clear by now. Football is the only thing driving conference expansion decisions.

Unless some emphatic denials are issued soon, one can assume the conference dominoes have begun to fall. The lynch pin appears to have been an informal decision by the Nebraska board of regents to accept an invitation to the Big Ten Conference.

At least six Big 12 schools have been invited to join the PAC 10. This leads many to conclude that the Big 12 Conference is done. But Texas and Texas A&M are convening a meeting Friday to attempt to salvage things.

Then there are unconfirmed reports that Notre Dame, Maryland, Rutgers and possibly Syracuse have been invited to join the Big 10.

There goes Big East football if true. Should the Big East football schools immediately withdraw from the conference? If so, the best basketball conference in the country becomes history almost over night.

Rutgers can thank itself for all the TV sets in the region. Maybe watching a lot of TV has some positive educational benefits after all. But that’s probably sour grapes. Rutgers in the Big 10. Really?

If Maryland is gone from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Pittsburgh is the first choice to replace the Terps. Never mind Pittsburgh’s long-standing rivalry with West Virginia or the fact that they have little in common with other ACC schools.

Some have suggested a merger between the Big 12 and the Big East football schools. Stranger things have happened and they probably will.

Many universities, including the University of Louisville, have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities and Title IX to secure their future only to be faced with uncertainty. Don’t count on any members of Congress coming to the rescue. They’re too busy trying to save their own butts.

Conference expansion is about to wreak havoc on the college sports scene, and it could get ugly quickly. Many schools are going to be forced into some hasty, very bad decisions without any ability to redress their grievances.

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Big East Split Inevitable Over Football

No surprise the Big East is again in the unenviable position of having members targeted by other conferences. The Big East leadership has done nothing to resolve the major issues in football scheduling, forcing member schools to fend for themselves.

The inability to recognize that football is the key to securing the future probably stems from its founding as a basketball conference in 1979. The conference didn’t even include football competition until 1992 when Rutgers, Miami, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Temple joined Boston College, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. UConn was in the process of moving up to Division 1A.

The biggest mistake was probably the rejection of Penn State in the early eighties when the conference picked Pittsburgh instead. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno would lobby hard for an eastern conference with many of the same members but he was rebuffed, ultimately joining the Big Ten.

While the lack of vision may have been a good thing for Louisville, making it possible to join the Big East, the failure to be proactive in resolving the football scheduling issues is not. The potential for football revenue (and losses) is much greater than for basketball. The revenue produced by the cellar-dwelling football teams in the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference is comparable to the top Big East teams in both football and basketball.

Because of the Big East’s inertia, there is no move the conference could make that would prevent any other BCS league from taking its lunch money. It’s as if the university presidents, who really make the decisions, are unable to grasp the significance of the issue, or they are so helpless and inept that they prefer to wait until another conference forces them to do something.

As a result, a conference split between the basketball and football schools appears inevitable. However, the lineup of members of the new football conference may not faintly resemble the current one.

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Louisville Football Needs Bigger Big East

By Paul Sykes

Watch your back.

The Big Ten Conference is officially looking to expand again, with the aim of increasing its ranks to 12 schools. The reasons are obvious: An annual conference football championship game and more green for its already bloated coffers.

Missouri, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers are the schools most often mentioned as possibilities. Louisville has been included in the field by the Chicago Tribune. Even Cincinnati, with the most fickle fans in the nation, has been floated as a candidate.

Notre Dame is not in the picture this time, having consistently resisted conference overtures. The superiority complex doesn’t help either, nor does the fact that the football program is losing its luster. The Knute Rockne tradition can only get you so far when losing has become a habit.

Great for Louisville to be mentioned among the possible candidates. But the odds of it happening are remote. U of L has it good right now in the strongest basketball conference in the country. On the football side, Big East teams have demonstrated they can hold their own and they have the poll recognition to prove it.

Can you imagine the good old boys at land grant schools like Michigan and Ohio State acknowledging U of L or Cincinnati as equals and welcoming a municipal university into their ranks? Without getting into the academic debate, the best argument for Louisville would be basketball where U of L is consistently ranked as the most profitable program in the nation. The expansion of Papa John’s would be a definite plus.

Perhaps the best thing about the Big Ten’s action is that it may force the Big East to finally become proactive in expanding the number of conference football teams in the conference. The scheduling issues have been ignored too long and are a threat to financial stability.

Schools like East Carolina, Memphis and Central Florida are viable candidates because they take their football seriously. Their fan bases are not insignificant and they would strongly support BCS-level football.

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Big East Football: Week 7

By Paul Sykes

Pittsburgh and Cincinnati top the Big East Conference football standings following week seven, in which seven conference teams spread the action over three days, including three conference match-ups. Syracuse was idle.

• Connecticut capitalized on four Louisville turnovers and produced a 17-point third quarter to down the Cardinals 38-25. UConn rushed for 208 yards and threw for 273 to go to 4-2. UConn is off to Morgantown Saturday to play the West Virginia. Louisville (2-4), loser of three in a row, won’t find the road any easier at Cincinnati.

• In a Thursday night showdown, No. 8 Cincinnati doubled the score on No. 21 South Florida 34-17 in Tampa. Despite losing starting quarterback Tony Pike, the Bearcats got solid backup from Zach Collaros, who scrambled for one touchdown and threw for another to steady Mardy Gilyard.. The Bulls (5-1) run at Pittsburgh.

• Dion Lewis of Pittsburgh showed why many consider him the best running back in the Big East, with 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 24-17 win over Rutgers. Pitt (6-1) snapped a four game losing streak to Rutgers (4-2), which  goes to Army for a Friday game.

• West Virginia dominated the second half in their in-state rivalry with Marshall en route to a 24-7 win. WVU trailed Marshall 7-3 at half, but Noel Devine rushed for two touchdowns in the final 30 minutes . West Virginia is 5-1.

• Syracuse (2-4) plays Akron in the Carrier Dome Saturday.

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Big East Football: Week 6

By Paul Sykes

Six of eight Big East football teams skirmished Saturday. Cincinnati and South Florida took the day off, preparing for an  ESPN event Thursday in Tampa.

• Louisville snapped a three-game losing streak by virtue of a dramatic 64-yard kickoff return by Trent Guy to set up a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Payne. U of L travels to Connecticut for a noon game Saturday.

• West Virginia did little wrong in a 34-13 pasting of Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. The usual suspects produced for the Eers, Noel Devine with two touchdowns and 91 rushing yards, quarterack Jarrett Brown tossing for 244 on 22-30 passing. The 4-1 Mountaineers host Marshall next (wonder if Matthew McConaughey will show?) while 2-4 Syracuse takes a week off to mend.

• Pittsburgh rallied from a late third quarter 21-6 deficit to top Connecticut, 24-21. Pitt nailed the victory on Dan Hutchins’ final play of the game 18 yd. field goal. UConn (3-2) gave up 147 yds. in the final 15 minutes while managing six of their own. Pitt (5-1) travels to Rutgers for a Friday night fight. The Huskies host Louisville Saturday.

• Rutgers stepped out of conference, smothering Texas Southern 42-0. The defense continues to shine in Jersey, creating four turnovers, serving up seven sacks and allowing a minus 25 yards rushing. They’ll need a similar effort if they expect to beat Pitt Thursday night.

A good week for the Big East. The Big East is 26-5 for the year if you eliminate Syracuse and Louisville, 32-12 otherwise. Pitt leads the conference standings at 2-0.  Cincinnati, South Florida and WVU are 1-0.

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Big East Football: Week 5

By Paul Sykes

Six Big East football teams snapped on the helmets this week, the conference going 2-0 in non-league play. There’s a three-way tie for first place in conference standings.

• West Virginia got the ball rolling against Colorado, defending the home turf with a 35-24 win. Once again, Noel Devine displayed his excellent running skills, and WVU WAS never seriously challenged. They take their 5-0 record to Syracuse next Saturday.
• Pitt improved to 4-1 with ITS conference-opening win over Louisville, roaring back from a 10-7 halftime deficit for 28 unanswered points. The 35-10 win included six sacks on U of L quarterback Adam Froman. Pitt hosts UConn next while Louisville renews its rivalry with Southern Miss at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
• South Florida is still unbeaten, using a 20-point third quarter to roll over Syracuse 34-20. This error filled contest included 11 turnovers, with Syracuse QB Greg Paulus leading the way with five interceptions to tie the school record. It doesn’t get any easier for the 2-3 Orange next week when they host WVU. South Florida takes a well-deserved week off.
• Cincinnati went on the road for a 37-13 victory home over Miami of Ohio. Jacob Ramsey racked up three scores and 103 rushing yards and QB Tony Pike tossed for two TD’s. The 5-0 Bearcats sit out next week.
• Rutgers and UConn were idle. They jump back into play Saturday, with the 3-1 Huskies visiting Pitt and 3-1 Rutgers is at home against Texas Southern.
• Cincy, USF and Pitt are 1-0 in conference play. UofL, Rutgers and Syracuse 0-1 against Big East foes. UConn and West Virginia play their first conference games Saturday.

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