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Wednesday, Jul. 30, 2008

Louisville picked to finish 7th in Big East

WEST VIRGINIA PICKED TO WIN CONFERENCE

The Louisville football team was picked to finish seventh in the Big East this season in the annual pre-season media poll released Tuesday, while West Virginia was selected as the league favorite.

Louisville will try to bounce back from last season’s disappointing 6-6 record that ended without a bowl berth, one year after a trip to the 2007 Orange Bowl.

The Cardinals look to replace quarterback Brian Brohm, who threw for 10,775 yards in his career, and was drafted in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft.

Second-year head coach Steve Kragthorpe will turn to highly regarded senior Hunter Cantwell to run the Louisville offense, which ranked sixth nationally in yards per game a year ago.

West Virginia received 22 out of a possible 24 first-place votes on Tuesday to finish with 189 points in the media poll.

This marks the third straight pre-season that West Virginia has been picked to win the Big East. The Mountaineers have either won outright or claimed a share of three of the last four Big East titles.

West Virginia has the returning Big East offensive player of the year in quarterback Pat White and its 2007 offensive line intact for first-year head coach Bill Stewart.

South Florida received one first-place vote and was second to West Virginia with 149 points.

The Bulls enjoyed a banner year in 2007, reeling off six straight wins to open the season and ascending to the No. 2 spot in the national rankings midway through the year. Coach Jim Leavitt has 17 starters returning from that group, including consensus All-American defensive end George Selvie and quarterback Matt Grothe, who ranked third in the Big East in total offense last year.

Pittsburgh received the remaining first-place vote and was third in the poll with 128 points.

The Panthers closed the 2007 season by scoring a 13-9 road win against West Virginia, which was ranked No. 1 in country at the time. Coach Dave Wannstedt returns 15 starters from last year, including linebacker Scott McKillop, who led the nation in tackles in 2007, and running back LeSean McCoy, who set a Big East freshman rushing record with 1,328 yards.

Rutgers was projected for fourth after a 2007 season in which the Scarlet Knights made their third straight appearance in a bowl game.

Coach Greg Schiano will need to find a way to replace the production of running back Ray Rice (2,012 rushing yards in 2007), but has the benefit of 16 returning starters. Wide receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood became the first Big East teammates with 1,000 receiving yards in the same season last year.

Cincinnati was picked fifth after the Bearcats registered their first 10-win season since 1951.

The Bearcats were ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll of last season. A veteran secondary, led by unanimous All-Big East first team cornerback Mike Mickens, highlights a group of 12 returning starters from last year.

Connecticut was sixth in the poll, just one point behind Cincinnati.

The Huskies won a share of the Big East title in 2007 despite being picked seventh in the pre-season poll. Coach Randy Edsall has 19 starters back from last year’s team.

Syracuse was eighth in the pre-season balloting. Quarterback Andrew Robinson will be a key player on an offense that should feature better balance with a group of talented running backs in place.

Big East pre-season media poll