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| Tuesday, November 21 Miami puts Big East in title hunt By Bill Doherty Special to ESPN.com | |||||
In a perfect world, Big East Conference commissioner Mike Tranghese and the folks at the league's home office would be giddy about the progress his 10-year-old league has made.
For a second consecutive year, the Big East has a team in the national title hunt. Last year it was Virginia Tech, this year it's Miami. The league has two teams ranked in the top five in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll with Miami at No.2 and Virginia Tech at No.5. If that weren't enough reason to smile, many of the Big East's best skill players are sophomores: Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey and running back Clinton Portis; Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick and tailback Lee Suggs; Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Bryant; Boston College runner William Green and Temple tailback Tanardo Sharps.
"The level of talent in this league has improved greatly," Miami coach Butch Davis says. "When NFL scouts come in to evaluate our players, they always talk about this guy or that guy being a great player at another Big East school. I think the reason that you're seeing so many great young players emerging in this league is the continuity in the Big East coaching ranks. Tom O'Brien has been at BC a while now and is bringing in some nice players. Walt Harris continues to improve the talent level at Pittsburgh. Frank (Beamer) has done a great job at Virginia Tech and Bobby Wallace is starting to make a real difference at Temple."
The bad news? That continuity in the coaching ranks will end this offseason. In fact, as many as half the eight schools could have new coaches by early 2001. Rutgers coach Terry Shea already has resigned. West Virginia's Don Nehlen announced his retirement after 21 years in Morgantown. And the league's two highest profile coaches -- Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer and Miami's Davis -- could be headed to literally greener pastures at Alabama and with the NFL expansion team in Houston respectively, if the widespread rumors are true.
The loss of Davis, Beamer and Nehlen in the same offseason would be crippling to the Big East. No wonder Tranghese isn't doing back-flips, despite the league's recent successes.
That said, with one week left in the regular season and the bowl bids and coaching changes still on the horizon, let's hand out our 2000 Big East awards and then take a team-by-team look at the best and worst of the Big East this season.
BIG EAST
Overview: With only a road date with No.2 Miami and then a bowl game (likely the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day against UCLA) remaining, the Eagles' season has gone pretty much as most anticipated. Under Tom O'Brien, Boston College (6-4, 3-3 Big East) has developed into a team that beats the teams that it's supposed to beat, but it still can't beat the ranked teams. They will look to avoid their 19th straight loss to a ranked team this Saturday against the Hurricanes. BC's offense is top-shelf, thanks to the presence of senior quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (who will attempt to play against Miami), a nice stable of runners and a bruising offensive line. But an unlucky run of injuries to BC's defensive front -- O'Brien recently quipped that his team is "making someone in the MRI department a lot of money" -- has made running against the Eagles an easy proposition. BC is second-to-last in the Big East against the run (209.4 yards per game allowed) -- just ahead of Rutgers (210.5 yards per game allowed). MVP: Running back William Green. With senior running back Cedric Washington slowed by a hyperextended right knee at midseason, the powerfully-built Green, a 6-1, 216-pound sophomore from Atlantic City, N.J., was asked to shoulder the role of primary tailback and boy, did he deliver. Sure, running behind a line with three probable 2001 NFL draftees in Paul Zukauskas, Michael Cook and Paul LaQuerre helped, but Green has rushed for 1,086 yards this season. That's already the eighth-best single-season rushing total in school history. Green is currently 20th in the nation in rushing (108.6 ypg), despite splitting time with Washington. "He looks a lot like Edgerrin James when he was a young running back with us," Davis says. "He has great size and speed and he hits the holes so hard. He's going to be a great one." Biggest disappointment: BC's run defense, of course. After the most recent rash of injuries, BC's defensive line consisted of freshmen Doug Goodwin and Justin Hinds at the tackles and redshirt freshman Sean Ryan and sophomore Derric Rossi at the ends against Notre Dame. O'Brien thinks that junior Sean Guthrie, a Miami native and his most experienced defensive lineman, will return this weekend to battle the No.2 Hurricanes. He'd better. With Guthrie and redshirt freshman tackle Tom Martin on the sidelines with sprained knees, Notre Dame ran for 380 yards against the Eagles. Just imagine what Miami -- with just as powerful an offensive line and a better stable of backs than the Notre Dame, will do to Boston College, if Guthrie can't go. Did you know: Don't bet on the Eagles pulling the upset this weekend. Though Boston College has played Miami tough recently -- falling 31-28 last year, 45-44 in overtime in '97 and 17-14 in '95 -- the Eagles have lost 10 straight to the Hurricanes. Their last victory in the series? Doug Flutie's "Hail Mary" pass to Gerard Phelan in the Orange Bowl on Nov. 23, 1984, that boosted BC to a 47-45 victory. That's the only time in 12 trips to the Orange Bowl that the Eagles have won. MIAMI Overview: In the preseason, Miami was touted as the team to beat in the Big East and as a possible national title contender. With only one regular season game left against Boston College, the Hurricanes have been the Big East's best team by far. However, they'll probably need an Oklahoma loss in the Big 12 title game against Kansas State to get an invite to the national title game against Florida State, a team they beat earlier this season but whom they trail in the BCS rankings. Whether they win a spot in the Orange Bowl or not, Davis has done a remarkable rebuilding job in South Beach. And he'll likely be rewarded at season's end with a big, fat contract somewhere else. The new NFL expansion team, the Houston Texans (who won't play a game for a year-and-a-half), or the University of Alabama are rumored to be interested in Davis. Which begs the question: Who would take over the Hurricanes? One name that has been floated of late is Florida State offensive coordinator Mark Richt. With a BCS title game berth still possible and Davis' future with the Canes unclear, it should be an interesting next few weeks in Miami, that's for sure. MVP: Senior middle linebacker Dan Morgan. The 6-3, 245-pound senior already has broken the Big East Conference all-time tackles record, despite a recurring turf-toe problem this season. The previous record of 509 was held by Stephen Boyd of Boston College (1991-'94). Morgan, a Butkus and Nagurski Award finalist, enters this week's regular season finale against Boston with 515 tackles. Biggest disappointment: The fact that Miami has beaten Florida State and yet trails it in the BCS rankings. Despite having played against current No.2 Florida State, No.4 Washington and No.6 Virginia Tech in the latest BCS rankings, Miami enters the final week of the regular season in the No.3 spot. "There's an awful lot wrong with this current formula," said Davis, whose team is being dragged down a bit by a game against a I-AA foe in McNeese State as well as by a closer-than-expected victory against Louisiana Tech. Did you know: Hypothetically, if Florida State beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl (assuming that Oklahoma beats K-State in the Big 12 title game), and Miami wins its BC game and then its bowl game to finish 11-1, the Hurricanes could still be voted national champions by The Associated Press. Miami is ranked second in both the AP media poll and the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, although the coaches are contractually obligated by the BCS to vote for the winner of the national championship game. If top-ranked Oklahoma loses, the Hurricanes could be voted No. 1 by the AP. It's a scenario that Davis can envision. "Absolutely," he said. "If we end up going 11-1 - and beat somebody good in a bowl game because clearly you're going to play somebody pretty good -- it can happen." PITTSBURGH Overview: Entering this Friday's Backyard Brawl with West Virginia, Pittsburgh's 6-4 mark is probably about where most people thought it would be, however, it's been quite a roller-coaster ride to get to this point. The Panthers started out the season with a 5-1 mark, but then stumbled a bit to three consecutive losses against quality teams -- Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Miami -- before finally getting bowl eligible last Saturday with a hard-fought 7-0 victory against Temple. While a bowl berth is probably already locked up (The Insight.com, Music City and Gator Bowl are the three most likely destinations), Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris is treating the regular season finale with fellow six-win team West Virginia as a must-win proposition. "I really don't know about our bowl situation," Harris says. "Whoever wins this game goes to bowl. If you don't win, there are no guarantees." MVP: This is a no-brainer. It's sensational sophomore wide receiver Antonio Bryant. Bryant, a Biletnikoff Award finalist, has 61 catches for 1,154 yards on the season with at least one more game remaining. He'll be on literally every postseason All-America team, if there's any justice. Bryant's 1,154 yards is already a Big East and school single-season record. The previous league standard was 1,131 yards by Marvin Harrison in 1995 -- and we all know how good Harrison has become. Twice this season, Bryant has topped the 200-yard mark receiving with 222 yards against BC and 212 yards against North Carolina. If he stays healthy, Bryant could eventually be the Big East's all-time most prolific receiver. For his career, Bryant already has 115 receptions and 1,998 yards. He is fifth on Pittsburgh's career receiving yardage list and is 11th on the Big East career list. Biggest disappointment: The loss of hard-hitting Thorpe Award and All-American candidate Ramon Walker to injury during a three-game losing streak against Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Miami. One has to wonder if Walker's presence could have made a difference, particularly in the close losses to Virginia Tech (37-34) and North Carolina (20-17). Did you know: Under the direction of first-year coordinator Paul Rhoads, Pittsburgh's defense has emerged as one of the best in the country. Pittsburgh is nationally ranked in scoring defense (18th, 18.2 points per game), rushing defense (21st, 104.8 yard average), total defense (24th, 319.1 yard average) and pass efficiency defense (28th, 106.9 rating). RUTGERS Overview: In the preseason poll at Big East media day, Rutgers was picked to finish dead-last in the league and that's exactly where they've ended up. With one game left in the season, at Syracuse this weekend, Rutgers is 3-7 and winless in the Big East. Coach Terry Shea is on his way out and speculation around his successor centers around Western Michigan coach Gary Darnell, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers, Miami defensive coordinator Greg Schiano and Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell (a former RU assistant). Whoever gets the job must do a better job of keeping New Jersey's blue-chip players, for example Boston College stud tailback William Green, Texas quarterback Chris Simms, Notre Dame quarterback Matt LoVecchio, in the Garden State. MVP: Junior running back Dennis Thomas is the team's leading rusher (498 yards, 4.3 yards per carry) and fourth-best receiver (21 catches, 223 yards). He has posted back-to-back 100-yard rushing games against a pair of bowl eligible teams, West Virginia and Notre Dame. "He's been the heart and soul of this team," Shea says. "Making his accomplishments even more amazing is the personal chapter that's going on in his life. He recently lost his father and stepfather in one week's time. That would destroy most kids. Not Dennis Thomas. He's showed tremendous poise through this whole ordeal and actually has turned in his best performances after the two deaths in his family. He has tremendous heart." Biggest disappointment: The Terry Shea era as a whole. There's not a nicer man in coaching, but you've got to win games in this business and Shea has won just 11 times in five years at Rutgers. "I'm proud because I've left the campground a heck of a lot cleaner than I inherited it," Shea said. Whatever. Shea's successor has his work cut out. Job One is getting New Jersey high school coaches excited about the state university. Job No.2 is building a defense. Under Shea, going against the Rutgers' defense has been like going to the ATM machine. (How many points would you like to score? Are you sure that amount is fine? Transaction complete). Entering the Syracuse game, Rutgers is allowing a whopping 413.8 yards per game. Ouch. Did you know: In 54 games at Rutgers, Shea's record is 11-43. Twenty five different times, his Scarlet Knights have surrendered 40 points or more. SYRACUSE Overview: In recent years, Paul Pasqualoni-bashing has replaced Jim Boeheim-bashing as the favorite indoor sport in Syracuse. This year, the complaints are justified as the Orangemen have underachieved a bit. As always seems to be the case, the Orangemen lost a pair of September games -- including a 12-10 stinker at Cincinnati that got Coach P haters off to an early start. Pasqualoni also has been criticized -- and it seems, rightfully so -- for taking too long to pull the plug on Troy Nunes at quarterback. Nunes' eventual replacement, R.J. Anderson, needs seasoning but possesses physical gifts that reminds some of Donovan McNabb. Still, despite the missteps and an untimely late-season injury to the team's best player, Syracuse is still 5-5 and can become bowl eligible by avenging last year's loss to Rutgers, which might silence some -- but not all -- of Pasqualoni's critics. MVP: Defensive end Dwight Freeney was Syracuse's MVP before he was sidelined with a bruised spleen. The 6-2, 246-pound Freeney, who led the nation at one point with 13 sacks and led the team with 18 tackles for loss, was injured during Syracuse's 22-14 loss to Virginia Tech on Oct. 21. Before the injury, Freeney had a huge game against Virginia Tech on Oct. 21 with a Big-East-tying 4½ sacks. He won't play again this season, even if Syracuse beats Rutgers on Saturday and advances to a bowl game. Freeney played against the Hokies with an undetected virus that led to an enlarged spleen. The virus is cleared up, Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni said, but Freeney still has lacerations on his spleen. "The MRIs and X-rays show he probably needs two to three months to get that thing healed up," Pasqualoni said. "They're going to do a little more evaluation the first week of December. They feel he's going to be fine, it's just not something from an internal bleeding standpoint that you feel you can risk." Biggest disappointment: The disappearance of blue-chip recruit Johnnie Morant. Coming into the season, the 6-5, 225-pound Morant was the Big East's most talked-about recruit other than Miami's fullback/linebacker D.J. Williams. A Parade All-American at Parsippany, New Jersey, Morant was supposed to be an immediate impact player, the second coming of Marvin Harrison or Art Monk. We're still waiting. On a team in desperate need of a game-breaking wide receiver, Morant hasn't caught a single ball. "Early in the season, we were working to get Johnnie ready to play," Pasqualoni said. "He's been on the travel squad and in the offensive meetings each week, but we haven't felt that he was totally ready to go into games yet. We don't want him to go in there and lose confidence." And sitting on the bench is helping his confidence? Did you know: With a win this weekend over Rutgers, the Orangemen (5-5) would become the fourth school (Nebraska, Florida State and Virginia are the others) to post a winning record in each of the past 14 seasons. TEMPLE Overview: First, a slight tip of the cap to Temple coach Bobby Wallace. When he arrived on North Broad Street three years ago, Wallace took over a program with a substandard weight room and practice facilities, with undersized offensive and defensive lines and with little or no fan base. In three seasons, Wallace has started to make baby steps forward. The Owls have upgraded their on-campus facilities. Wallace cleaned house a couple years ago, playing lots of freshmen and the team took its lumps for two years -- going a combined 4-18. This season, the Owls were much improved, particularly on defense where they improved from 95th in total defense to somewhere in the 30s when all is said and done this year. By easing up its nonconference schedule, Temple was able to come out of the gate 3-1. However, there is still work to be done. While Temple went 4-7 taking baby steps this season, Wallace still needs to improve his team depth (he had only 68 scholarship players this year) and must find a real Division I-A quarterback in order to take the next step forward in the Big East. Twenty of 22 starters are back next fall, but Wallace needs better quarterback play. His team scored a total of 15 points in the final three weeks against Boston College, Syracuse and Pittsburgh to become a six-win, bowl-eligible team. MVP: Sophomore tailback Tanardo Sharps. After managing a measly 59.7 yards rushing per game in 1999 and 2.4 yards every time a back carried the ball, Temple desperately needed a running back to emerge. Enter the slightly undersized Sharps (5-9, 174), the most exciting Temple runner since the Paul Palmer days. Sharps, who needs to get stronger this offseason, finished the year with 1,038 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. He's the first Temple running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Todd McNair (1,058) did so in 1987. "Without Tanardo, we would have had real trouble moving the football," Wallace said. Biggest disappointment: Temple's quarterback play. While Temple has improved in a number of areas -- most notably, its facilities, running attack and run defense -- they are still in dire need of a legitimate Division I quarterback. Starter Devin Scott is a journeyman, at best. And when Scott was sidelined with a concussion, Wallace went with JUCO import Mike Frost against Syracuse. It wasn't pretty. Frost completed just 6 of 25 throws for 44 yards and 2 INTs in that game and is starting to look like yet another failed signalcaller for the Owls. One former starting quarterback, junior Greg Muckerson, has developed into a decent wide receiver for Temple, while another, sophomore Mac DeVito, is now returning punts. With most of its offense and defense back, Temple will be a popular sleeper pick to win six games and go to a bowl next year. It won't happen unless Scott or Frost improves or if Wallace can bring a new gun into town. Temple was right in games against West Virginia (29-24), Maryland (17-10) and Pittsburgh (7-0) this season. But when they desperately needed a play from their quarterback in those close losses, neither Scott nor Frost could deliver. Did you know: The Owls should have 20 of 22 starters back next year (if senior defensive end Raheem Brock, a former Prop. 48, graduates on time this spring and is granted an extra year of eligibility). The two losses are key ones, though. Homegrown linebacker LeVar Talley leaves Temple with 345 tackles, the fifth all-time best total at the school. The other lost starter is offensive tackle Matthias Nkwenti (6-4, 290), a converted defensive lineman. How good is the raw Nkwenti? NFL scouts from eight teams were at Temple's season finale against Pittsburgh to check him out. He's being projected as a possible fifth to seventh round draft pick next spring. VIRGINIA TECH Overview: No one expected the Hokies to unfurl another perfect regular season in 2000, not with all the holes in their defense. Yet, Tech coach Frank Beamer nearly did. Entering this week's in-state war with Virginia, the Hokies sit at 9-1 and are ranked No.5 in the coaches poll. Their only blemish was a 41-21 loss to No.2 Miami, a game that Tech had no chance in with its two biggest offensive gamebreakers -- quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver Andre Davis -- out with knee injuries. "I'm really proud of this football team," says Beamer, whose Hokies are still in the hunt for a BCS at-large berth. "If we beat Virginia, I think that we deserve a BCS bowl bid. We have the best player in college football (Vick). Our fans travel well. And we draw high TV ratings. What's not to like about us?" That's the very question folks in Blacksburg are asking their head coach. Beamer, of course, is being courted by the University of Alabama, and he could leave Tech at season's end. MVP: Sophomore tailback Lee Suggs. With Shyrone Stith's decision to go to the NFL a year early, some were concerned about Tech's ground attack. Not anymore. With one regular season game left, Suggs has scored a Big East record 24 touchdowns and is 18th in the nation in rushing (200 carries, 1,901 yards in 10 games). "Lee symbolizes what our program is all about," Beamer says. "He's a talented guy who has really worked hard to transform himself into a great player. He has worked in the weight room, building himself up from a 180-pound guy when he got here into a 205 to 210-pound guy who can run between the tackles or run to the outside. He's a quality back who we're thrilled is in our program." Biggest disappointment: A couple years back, college coaches flocked to Blacksburg during the offseason to talk special teams. This year, the Hokies are still good at blocking and returning punts, but the rest of Tech's special teams haven't been all that special in 2000. Entering this week's game against Virginia, Tech is sixth among Big East teams in net punting (31.7 yards per boot), only Temple (31.0) and Rutgers (30.6) were worse. And Beamer's team is second-to-last in the Big East in kickoff returns at 18.4 yards per return, just edging out Temple (18.2). Did you know: If it beats rival Virginia this weekend, then Tech has a great chance of getting a BCS at-large berth -- most likely in the Fiesta Bowl. The reasons? Tech has one of the nation's highest scoring teams (40.1 points per game). Two, it has Michael Vick. Three, Tech's 2000 Nielsen rating for the Sugar Bowl against Florida State was a BCS record 17.5. And fourth, the Hokies have sold out their allotment for tickets each year during their current seven-year bowl run. Therefore, a Tech against Florida matchup in the Sugar Bowl or Tech against Notre Dame matchup in the Fiesta Bowl is guaranteed to sell out. WEST VIRGINIA Overview: In this, his 21st and final season at West Virginia, coach Don Nehlen has done a great job in Morgantown. If he can win the annual "Backyard Brawl" with Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers would finish 7-4 -- a complete flip-flop of last year's 4-7 mark. And Nehlen, whose has put the WVU program on the map, has done all of this with a new starting quarterback (Brad Lewis), a youngish defense, and his best running back (Avon Cobourne) banged up much of the year. MVP: Safety Shawn Hackett and linebacker Grant Wiley. WVU's defense still isn't the second coming of the "Steel Curtain," but these two newcomers have brought a big-play element to the unit. The 6-1, 190-pound Hackett transferred into WVU from Lackawanna (Pa.) Junior College and sat out last season. This year, he's the team leader in tackles (98). Wiley, a freshman, is fourth on the team in tackles (80) and has picked off three balls, returning two of them for touchdowns. Biggest disappointment: Nehlen's decision to take his 200-plus wins and go home. At 64 years old, Nehlen has certainly earned the right to stop working 80-hour weeks and to smell the roses, but he'll be missed. His coaching skills, folksy humor and his ability to laugh at himself (an all-too-absent quality in today's college football) can't be replaced. The next coach at WVU -- the most talked-about name is Clemson offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez (who played for Nehlen) -- will have some large shoes to fill. Did you know: Nehlen is 3-9 overall in bowl games, including losses in his last eight bowl games in a row. In typical self-effacing Nehlen fashion, the WVU coach had this to say about a possible bowl bid and his eight straight losses in bowl games: "If we go to a bowl and win, I'll screw up all the jokes in Morgantown. That would be a terrible thing, all the jokes going down the drain." Bill Doherty covers Big East football for ESPN.com. | |||||
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