ESPN Big East Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

The Big East and ESPN Regional announced the schedule of this year's game of the week syndication package.

The series starts Sept. 26 with the Cincinnati-Fresno State game and will run for 10 consecutive weeks, concluding Nov. 28 with Syracuse vs. Connecticut. All games will start at noon ET.

The Big East game of the week series is carried on affiliates in at least 26 different states, and nearly all games are offered as part of the ESPN GamePlan subscription service and on ESPN360.com.

Some games will be selected after ESPN and ABC set their TV schedules.

Here are the games that have been selected:

• Sept. 26: Fresno State at Cincinnati
• Oct. 3: South Florida at Syracuse
• Oct. 10: Connecticut at Pittsburgh or West Virginia at Syracuse
• Oct. 17: Louisville at Connecticut
• Oct. 24: Louisville at Cincinnati or Connecticut at West Virginia or South Florida at Pittsburgh
• Oct. 31: Cincinnati at Syracuse or Rutgers at Connecticut
• Nov. 7: Connecticut at Cincinnati or Louisville at West Virginia or Syracuse at Pittsburgh
• Nov. 14: Syracuse at Louisville
• Nov. 21: Louisville at South Florida or Rutgers at Syracuse
• Nov. 28: Syracuse at Connecticut

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Since things will be a little slow around here tomorrow as the Fourth of July weekend gets started, I thought I'd answer some of your emails a day early. Be careful with those sparklers, kids.

Zach from Baltimore writes: I was wondering, historically, which is easier to do: Break in a new QB/RB with an experienced O-line (like Rutgers), or a green O-line with an experienced backfield (USF/WVU). It seems as if more of the magazines like Rutgers chances this year. Any recent teams/situations like this?

Brian Bennett: That's a really interesting question, Zach. I doubt there's any one right answer. Let's just look at last year, for example. Cincinnati had a relatively experienced offensive line but played most of the season with previously untested quarterbacks. The Bearcats, of course, won the Big East. Rutgers came into the season with a very experienced quarterback and receivers but a relatively new line, at least in terms of roles and positions. And the Scarlet Knights started 1-5. Florida won the national championship with Tim Tebow at quarterback behind an offensive line with four sophomore starters. I'm sure you could find examples to support both sides.

What's the answer? Well, I think a lot of it comes down to talent. If you have enough talent, you can overcome inexperience. Mere experience won't overcome lack of talent. This question is why I think the Big East will be like a fascinating laboratory experiment this season. We've got teams like Rutgers with an veteran offensive line and unproven quarterbacks and receivers. We've got teams like South Florida and West Virginia with experienced skill players but new offensive lines. Then there's Cincinnati, which is loaded on offense but has a totally untested defense. That's why no one has an idea of what's going to happen this year.

---

David L from Louisville: Any way you can put together a ranking of all the Big East basketball teams' Directors' Cup rankings as well? Just curious ...

Brian Bennett: Sure, David. I just stuck to football when I talked about the rankings earlier this week, but here's how all 16 teams associated with the Big East finished.

21. Notre Dame
32. Louisville
50. West Virginia
52. Connecticut
56. Villanova
63. Syracuse
84. Georgetown
91. Providence
92. Rutgers
93. Pittsburgh
112. St. Johns
116. South Florida
129. Cincinnati
T-173. DePaul
T-173. Marquette
270. Seton Hall

Only eight schools finished lower than Seton Hall. Someone please remind me what exactly it is that the Pirates bring to the Big East.

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Ben from Austin, Texas, writes: In regards to your post about NCAA Football and the lawsuits, I feel these players have no right to be suing EA Sports. You could make the argument that if it looks like a dog and barks like a dog, then it probably is a dog. However, the players in the game are REPRESENTATIONS. Like when I play as West Virginia (I'm a WVU fan), I know that QB #5 is supposed to be Pat White, but technically, it isn't. By giving the player the power to create names, you alleviate all responsibility from EA. The sheer fact that the announcer puts a first name and a last name together is pure coincidence. I doubt EA has "Pat White" in an archive of audio clips.

Ben from Morgantown, W. Va., writes: Are these players upset because they weren't ranked higher? They need to get over it and realize that it was just as much a privilege to play college football and earn a degree for free as it is to have "their likeness" represented as a bunch of little pixels and a few lines of code in a video game. Even if EA removes their "likeness," some third party can just recreate it and upload the roster with names and even more "likeness" than they currently have. These players are AMATEUR and thus should be compensated as such according the NCAA until they are PROFESSIONALS.

Brian Bennett: I was kind of surprised by the reaction to the story about former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart and others suing the makers of the NCAA Football video game. The overwhelming response was in favor of Electronic Arts, and hardly anyone spoke up for the players.

Fair enough, I guess. I'll just add that EA makes millions of dollars off this game -- the company had a reported net revenue of $3.67 billion in 2008. Plenty of other institutions and companies make millions of dollars off these players' images and hard work as well. At some point, you have to wonder if they deserve more than their scholarship money.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Cincinnati has gotten a commitment from local quarterback Luke Massa, who chose the Bearcats over Wisconsin, according to the Cincinati Enquirer.

Massa played at Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School but missed all but four games last season with a collarbone injury. He told the Enquirer that some schools wanted to see him this summer at camps to judge his health. But he decided to stay home.

"I really liked just the program and it has completely changed with Brian Kelly there,” Massa said. "I think the way the program is right now we have a good opportunity to do very well in the Big East, which is a good conference. I like the offensive system. I just felt very comfortable.”

The Bearcats did not sign a quarterback in this year's class. Tony Pike is a senior and is backed up by sophomore Zach Collaros and Chazz Anderson. Massa is built a lot like Pike, tall and skinny. The Enquirer has him listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, while our own Scouts Inc. has him at 6-4, 185. 

Here is the Scouts Inc. profile on the newest Bearcat.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

New York City (sort of) and Los Angeles will clash on the college football field.

Rutgers announced today that it will play UCLA in a home-and-home series beginning in 2016. The Bruins will travel across the country to Piscataway on Sept. 1, 2016, in the season-opener for both schools.
 
Rutgers will return the trip to open the 2017 season on Sept. 2.
 
"We are excited for our football program and especially for our fans to be playing UCLA," Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti said. "This series will have tremendous national appeal anchored in the two largest media markets in the country.”

This will be the first meeting between Rutgers and UCLA. The Scarlet Knights have only played one previous game in California in their long history, taking on Cal to open the 1999 season.
 
This latest announcement serves to bolster Rutgers' future schedules, which recently picked up Penn State and Miami. The Scarlet Knights have been criticized for their recent soft nonconference slates, especially this year's lineup. 

ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel and Brian Bennett discuss the Big East's red-hot rivalries for '09.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

The Charleston Daily Mail's Mike Casazza checks in with West Virginia quarterback recruit Barry Brunetti, who's mixing some fun and work in Hawaii.

• Eugene Smith's injury is not that big of a deal, Dave Hickman writes in the Charleston Gazette.

• Rutgers hit pay dirt in Florida again, landing a running back prospect who was wanted by Florida State and West Virginia, Keith Sargeant says in the Home News Tribune.

• Syracuse landed two more commitments, a New Jersey kicker and a New York City athlete, Donnie Webb reports in the Syracuse Post-Standard.

• Hours after getting its first commitment for 2010, Connecticut landed a second one in a New York defensive end, Desmond Conner reports in the Hartford Courant.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Mock NFL drafts at this time of year are basically exercises in pure fantasy. So many things can change between now and next April in terms of a player's performance on the field and how he works out that it's nearly meaningless to project.

Still, The Sporting News came out with a 2010 mock draft that caught my eye for one reason: Rutgers left tackle Anthony Davis is projected as the No. 15 overall pick.

That's the first time I've seen anyone project Davis that high. He's just a junior and is entering his second year starting at left tackle. There's no doubt that his raw power makes scouts drool; at 6-foot-6 and 318 pounds, he's quite a load. I ranked him No. 12 on my Big East Top 30 list this spring and have no doubt he could climb a lot higher.

A lot of the hype on Davis is still based on potential, and he has a ways to go to fulfill that. But as this mock draft shows, people are paying attention.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

I've written in this space before that I think Pittsburgh could have the best defense in the Big East this year.

But what does the man in charge of that defense think? I had a chance to catch up with Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Bennett this week to talk about the coming season, how he'll replace Scott McKillop and the wonders of having the fabulous last name Bennett. (OK, I made that last part up.)

	George Gojkovich/Getty Images
	Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Phil Bennett says the key to the Panthers defense is the secondary.

I see a lot of veterans and a lot of talent on your defense and think it has the potential to be really good. How do you see it?

Phil Bennett: You look at our front four, and I see great potential. I think losing (Rashaad) Duncan hurts us, but we've got some guys, with Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard and Mick Williams. And I'm looking for Gus Mustakas to really come back. You know, he basically played on one leg last year, and he had a good year. Right now he's healthier than anytime since I've been here

Obviously losing Scott McKillop is tough, but I like some things Steve Dell does. I'm anxious to watch Adam Gunn. I think Greg Williams has grown a year, and I'm excited about Max Gruder. In our last six games last year, I really thought we were a top 10 defense.

But for us to take the next step, I think (the key) is the secondary, even though we had the most interceptions since 1996 last year. We've got to get the best of Aaron Berry. Dom (DeCicco) came on so well last year, and I was so proud of him. We've got to find a replacement (for Eric Thatcher), and it will be a big battle between Elijah Fields and Andrew Taglianetti. I was very pleased in the spring with our other corner spot, with Jovani Chappel and also Antwaun Reed. So I think we can develop some things back there. Earlier in the year, we gave up too many plays, but I really felt we got better.

Each year brings a new chemistry. I've done this for 32 years, and I've been a coordinator for most of it, and I like the way these kids work. These guys, they have no other agenda but football, and I think Dave (Wannstedt) has done a wonderful job of managing this team. I just think, in a nutshell, we can be better than we were last year on defense.

It seems like Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard have been around a long time, but they're only now juniors. Do they still have a lot of potential for improvement?

PB: No question. Greg last year played with a sore back. Jabaal, it was his first year of playing; he only played 26 plays the year before. And Jabaal has a great sense of pride and is a true competitor. Just judging from this spring, the way he carried himself, it really excited me. I just think the sky's the limit with him, and with a healthy Greg Romeus. These guys know how to work, and it's important to them.

Replacing Scott McKillop, the 2009 Big East defensive player of the year, is no easy task. Do you feel like you have the personnel to at least account for most of his production?

PB: We're hoping. But you know, as the 49ers are finding out, and I've talked to some of their coaches, he was a pretty special player and still is. But between Steve Dell, Adam Gunn and a young man named Dan Mason we've got on campus that we're very excited about ... You know last year, a week before season, our linebacker situation (was up in the air) with Gunn and (Shane) Murray going down, and everybody was going, 'Oh, what's wrong?' And who would have thought that Austin Ransom would be, in my mind, one of the best linebackers in the Big East.

I think Max Gruder is primed for a big year. I think Greg can get better. We have some young guys behind them, like Tristan Roberts. Shane Murray is back, and I'm anxious to watch him. That's one of the things about camp that you know going in. McKillop and Thatcher are gone and who's going to pick it up. To me, all of them have to pick it up. We have to see a better Romeus, a better Sheard, a better Mick Williams.

I would think Aaron Berry also has to be one of those leaders, too, right?

PB: No question. I've been very fortunate in my career to have coached some great corners. His feet are as quick as Terrence Newman's, and I don't say that lightly. I think Aaron knows it's time and he's got to become more consistent. He's worked hard this summer and he knows what he means to this team.

He had some issues this spring and was suspended for the final couple of practices. Do you think he's got everything in order now?

PB: I do. Everybody says this, but if you've ever heard or watched me, you know I'm pretty tough on them. I'm demanding. I just think Aaron learned some lessons, as we all have, and I think we're fixing to see him step up and have the type of year that we all think he's capable of having.

I know it's early, but do you see any incoming freshmen who might earn their way into some playing time this year?

PB: I mentioned Dan Mason, and we'll give him a look. We've got a young man named Jason Hendricks that we'll look at. But it's just too early. I think Dave will tell you this, that hopefully our program is to a point where, no, we wouldn't be counting on any of them to play as freshmen. But there are variables that happen, and you have to deal with them, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Good news, Connecticut fans: Your team will not be shut out on signing day next February.

We're joking, of course, but Huskies fans were getting a little nervous about their team's lack of commitments for the 2010 season. UConn was the last team in the Big East to secure one, at least that everyone knows about, this summer.

But that ended today, according to the Hartford Courant's Desmond Conner. Linebacker Yawin Smallwood gave his verbal pledge to Randy Edsall's staff this morning. Smallwood played quarterback and strong safety last year for Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, Mass.

"I came up on the strong side and blitzed a lot," Smallwood told Conner. "UConn recruited me as linebacker. This year, to get ready for that, I'm getting moved to middle linebacker."

UMass had offered a scholarship, and Boston College was showing interest. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Smallwood got a decent grade from our own Scouts Inc.

"Smallwood is an impressive athlete from a physical standpoint and has a lot of raw tools to mold and develop at the next level. A bit raw from a fundamental standpoint but is a good athlete doubling as productive running back and linebacker. "

As I've written here before, I don't worry about Edsall's recruiting. He goes about things a little differently and doesn't seem all that concerned with star ratings and everybody else's opinions of players. But he continually finds diamonds in the rough and sculpts them into key contributors. Just look at this year's NFL draft for proof.

Now that UConn is on the board, here's the number of known commitments for each Big East school, according to Scouts Inc.

• Cincinnati: 12

• West Virginia: 11

• Pittsburgh: 10

• Louisville: 5

• Syracuse: 6 (Though the Syracuse Post-Standard is reporting two more commitments for the Orange this afternoon)

• Rutgers: 5

• South Florida: 2

• Connecticut: 1

Take these with a grain of salt. Last year at this time everyone was praising Rutgers for all of its early commitments, and then several of those prospects decommitted throughout the fall. The only real numbers that matter will be the ones reported next February.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Is there anyone in the world left who's not on Facebook or Twitter? I think even my dog has a page on both.

Well, for you Big East fans, now you can follow league events and news on those two social networking sites.

The league announced the official launch of its own Facebook page and several Twitter accounts this afternoon. The sites will include breaking news, video, photos and more.

"We are constantly evaluating the opportunities that exist in the ever-changing world of the Internet and social media," said John Marinatto, who began his stint as league commissioner today. "Launching our presence on Facebook and Twitter will not only provide us a unique vehicle to further develop our brand, but it will allow us another way to provide our content to fans of the league and our 16 schools, many of whom are students and alumni who frequently access these sites."

You can find the Big East's Facebook page here.

The league has also launched five different Twitter accounts, which are:

• @BigEastConf -- a general Big East site.
• @BigEastFB -- the football site.
• @BigEastMBB -- the men's basketball site.
• @BigEastWBB -- the women's basketball site.
• @BigEastChamps -- the site for Big East championship info.

Tweet and poke away.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

As Louisville works to expand its stadium for the 2010 season, its season-ticket sales for 2009 are lagging behind its recent benchmarks.

That's according to a story in The Courier-Journal by C.L. Brown. The story says Louisville had sold 27,218 season tickets as of June 12, about 6,000 fewer than last year's total. The Cardinals had sold well over 33,000 season tickets from 2004-2008 and haven't been under 30,000 since 2001.

In 2010, Papa John's Cardinal Stadium will be expanded by more than 13,000 seats, bringing its capacity to more than 55,000.

Louisville has two things working against it right now: the slumping economy and the recent performance on the football field. Steve Kragthorpe has yet to lead the Cardinals to a bowl in his first two seasons, and most fans don't have particularly high hopes for this year.

School officials say, however, that they sell season tickets all the way up to mid-August, and they're confident that sales will pick up through the summer. And senior associate athletic director Gary Friedman tells Brown that most of the reserved seats in the newly expanded area for 2010 have been sold.

We'll see just how full the stadium is this year. If the Cardinals struggle and there are lots of empty seats, that will only add to the pressure on Kragthorpe.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

The Charleston Daily Mail's Mike Casazza has more on West Virginia quarterback Eugene Smith's injury.

"There are a lot of variables involved," offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen said. "The one big one is how Geno responds. What kind of a kid is he handling pain, playing through injury, getting treatment? All those things are important because we haven't seen him and we're not allowed to deal with him from a coaching standpoint."

• Outgoing Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum says getting a 1-for-1 deal with West Virginia is crucial, the Daily Mail's Jack Bogaczyk writes.

• Syracuse got a commitment from a running back/defensive back from Pittsburgh, Donnie Webb reports in the Syracuse Post-Standard.

• With the Big East commissioner's job changing hands, hear from Mike Tranghese and John Marinatto in their own words in The Sporting News.

• South Florida coach Jim Leavitt is planning a visit to Washington to consult with the Huskies' new staff, Greg Auman notes in the St. Petersburg Times.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Don't know if you saw this story, but it caught my eye. Former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart, along with ex-Cal quarterback Troy Taylor, has filed suit against Electronic Arts, maker of the popular NCAA Football video game.

The lawsuit claims that the video game used Hart and Taylor, who did not give EA authorization to use their names, image or likenesses for commercial purposes. They are seeking unspecified damages.

Former Arizona State and Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller filed a lawsuit in May with the same charges.

Those who have played the game know that while the players depicted aren't named, they usually share the same jersey numbers and physical traits of their real-life NCAA counterparts. And it doesn't take much sleuthing to figure out how to load in the actual names, and the announcers in the game will even say the names once loaded.

If these lawsuits move forward, expect a lot more former and/or current players to join in the fray.

I know a lot of you guys out there have played the game, so I'm interested in your take. Do you think players should get a cut of the profits? That would probably make the game cost-prohibitive or significantly raise its retail price. Would you enjoy the game as much if it were made up of purely fictional players? If players deserve money for this, should they also get paid when a school sells a jersey with their number on it?

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Jarrett Brown really needs to stay healthy.

That fact has been a no-brainer for West Virginia all along, but it's enforced even more with the news that highly-touted freshman quarterback Eugene Smith has a broken foot.

Smith was expected to come in and compete right away for the backup job behind Brown, and in a perfect world he'd get some experience this year before taking the reins full time next season when Brown graduates. The injury, which was first reported in the Morgantown Dominion Post (note: subscription required) now throws into question whether Smith will be ready for the start of the season.

Team officials are saying Smith will be out 6-to-8 weeks. If it's eight weeks, that means Smith wouldn't be able to begin practicing until the final week before the season opens. If he can get back in six weeks or earlier (and never count out an athlete's ability to beat a recovery timetable), then Smith could get in some preseason work. But for a true freshman trying to learn how to play quarterback at the college level, any missed time is crucial. It seems more likely that Smith would need until mid-September at least to be ready.

That means the only other options behind Brown are redshirt freshman Coley White and receiver Bradley Starks. In a pinch, the West Virginia coaching staff might feel more comfortable throwing Starks in under center. But that weakens the wide receiver position, and Starks has had shoulder problems in the past.

Brown, of course, has never played a full season while spending his career backing up Pat White. And given that he'll be asked to run as well as throw behind a young Mountaineers offensive line, he'll be exposed to a lot of hits. Brown is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, so he gives out almost as much punishment as he takes.

But he'd better stay healthy, or West Virginia could be in trouble.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Center Kamran Joyer, who signed with South Florida in February, has been granted a release from his scholarship over concerns whether he'd be admitted into school, Greg Auman reports in the St. Petersburg Times.

Joyer is the sixth Bulls signee who will not be enrolled at USF this fall. Four others were not admitted to school and have either left or will delay their enrollment.

This brings up a topic much discussed in the past several months: the practice of oversigning. South Florida signed 29 players in February, four more than the NCAA allows for each incoming class.

Many would like to see that practice stop. In May, the Southeastern Conference passed a rule banning its members from signing more than 28 players in any given year. Ole Miss had drawn some negative attention by signing 37 players this year.

As South Florida's situation shows, these things have a way of working themselves out. Schools often sign a lot of players, knowing full well that a handful or more won't qualify academically, which appears to be the case with the Bulls.

The question is whether universities should be in the business of signing athletes whom they know are serious academic risks. Coaches sometimes sign a lot of players to keep strong connections with their high school and junior-college recruiting pipelines. And there's an argument to be made that signing with a college gives a great incentive for players to try to get eligible.

With the SEC leading the way, there's a good chance that oversigning will become more regulated across college football soon.