ESPN Big East Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

This week, the blog is heading to Tobacco Road to see Connecticut play North Carolina. And no, it's not a basketball game but actually an interesting football matchup. Imagine that.

Let's see what's on readers' minds this week:

Mike from Storrs writes: I gotta tell you I've enjoyed reading your blogs over the past few weeks. I'm an avid Huskies fan and a big time Big East advocate. But I think I speak for everyone who likes the Huskies when I say I'm sick of hearing negative comments after negative comments about the UConn Huskies football team. You do realize it's not a compliment when you completely rip the team but then say hey they got it done even if it wasn't pretty. These guys practice just as hard or harder than most of the other Big East schools because let's just face it, they aren't as naturally gifted. But they have the heart, desire, coaching, and that bend but don't break attitude game in and game out. ... Give the athletes and coaches some damn credit instead of pumping your blog with negativity about the Huskies.

Brian Bennett: I received a lot of e-mails like this one from Mike, and it kind of surprised me. Yes, I wrote on Friday night that UConn pulled off a magic trick in beating Louisville, and that was kind of the epitome of the way they play. The numbers don't lie. The Cardinals outgained UConn by 229 yards, averaged nearly eight yards per play and got inside the UConn 30 seven times. The Huskies also lost their starting QB and tight end and were down 21-10 in the third quarter and had just fumbled on the road against a hostile crowd. So, yeah, for them to win that game was pretty amazing. I don't see how it's negative to say that. In fact, in the past month, I've written that I think Randy Edsall is the best coach in the Big East; I've had UConn No. 2 in my Big East power rankings for over three weeks; in our ESPN power rankings, I ranked Connecticut in the top 25 after the Virginia win, before anyone else was doing so; and I put Donald Brown on my Heisman Trophy ballot this week. As you said, the Huskies don't necessarily win with superior talent but rather outstanding coaching, determination and intelligence. I admire that and have written as much.

Chris from Branford, Conn., writes: Hey Brian, I have enjoyed your insight into the Big East. Well done! I am amazed at the dislike and lack of respect for UConn football across many of these boards. I am not looking for people to say they are a great team but it is like we have no business having a football team. They are still a very young football program and Edsall is doing a great job but how about a little tiny bit of respect. Are other fans upset that we are not an automatic win on the schedule? Did we not pay our dues by being bad for 20 years before we had a respectable program? I need these questions answered. It really is just frustrating to read and hear. Keep up the good work and Go Huskies!

Brian Bennett: I think there are a couple of parts to this, Chris. First and foremost, any new team trying to break into the college football power structure always meets fierce resistance and criticism. Tradition is king in the sport, and a lot of people refuse to believe that things can change. UConn is relatively new to this level, and there's heavy skepticism about how good it can actually be. The other thing, I think, is a general disrespect nationally toward the Big East. As good as the Huskies have been the past two years, their best victories have come inside the league (South Florida last year was the most impressive) and they've beaten only one ranked team. But there's an easy way to fix it. Just keep winning, and most importantly, play well in a bowl game.

Som from New Haven, Conn., writes: What is the likelihood for RB Donald Brown to get drafted in Day 1 of the 2010 draft board? Also, what are the odds for him to earn first team All-Big East?

Brian Bennett: I'm not Mel Kiper, so it's hard for me to answer that first one. I think Brown is absolutely the real deal. What he's been doing against defenses stacked to stop him has been nothing short of remarkable. Running backs don't get drafted as high as they used to these days, but he will definitely get a shot. As for All-Big East, he is a lock for that as long as he stays healthy. Right now, he and Matt Grothe are the league's MVPs.

Mark from The Burgh writes: Why do you think Wannstache is so reluctant to use his young talent that he is just leaving on the shelf, it's like you have to be a junior or older to play or I guess a redshirt sophomore? How many games do you think the Panthers can win? They are winning in some close games that has to be good for something I would think.

Brian Bennett: Wannstedt's reliance on veteran players is a reflection of his conservative nature and his background as an NFL guy. I thought his comments on the Big East coaches' teleconference Monday were telling, when he basically said that in big games the first thing he looks at is how to avoid mistakes that will lose the game. That's the mentality. The other thing to note, at least this year, is that the Panthers haven't had any breathers. Every single game has been life or death in the second half, even Syracuse. It's hard to put young players in those spots. As far as how many they can win, I'd say right now they'd be favored in three more games this year (Navy, Rutgers, Louisville) with two more games looking like toss-ups (at Notre Dame, at Cincinnati). Plus, they have the rematch with West Virginia at home. So my original prediction of eight wins is still very possible if they continue to improve.

Mike from Piscataway, N.J., writes: Even though Rutgers played Morgan State, the run game was solid with 3 rushing TD's from Jourdan Brooks and Teel played better giving the whole team confidence...So what do you think about Rutgers beating West Virginia next week?

Brian Bennett: Actually, Greg Schiano was critical of the running game, mostly for the way the backs blocked. Yes, the Scarlet Knights played better, but let's remember this was a wildly overmatched Morgan State team. I do think Rutgers will get better (hard to get any worse) but picking them to win in Morgantown when they haven't beaten West Virginia since 1994 seems like a tall order.

Brian from Mt. Washington, Ky., writes: Is Louisville's season done after losing to UConn or do you see them bouncing back? And will Scott Long, Maurice Mitchell, and Troy Pascley be ready for the Memphis game?

Brian Bennett: It was a tough loss, but there are still eight games on the schedule and Louisville will show up and try to win each one. They should win their next two, against Memphis and Middle Tennessee, and they have winnable road games at Syracuse and Rutgers plus three more conference home games. So I think the Cardinals will get to a bowl game, which would be better than last year. I'm not sure about Mitchell and Pascley, but the bye week should help. And Steve Kragthorpe said Monday he expects Long to play for the first time at Memphis.

Matt from Martinsburg, W.Va., writes: Do you believe that West Virginia's win over Marshall will spark a turnaround for the season? Do you think they can still pull of winning the Big East?

Brian Bennett: There were signs of encouragement from that win, but let's not get carried away about beating Marshall. Still, I think the Mountaineers are in a good spot to make a little run here. They have Rutgers and Syracuse at home before getting 12 days to prepare for Auburn's visit to Morgantown. I wouldn't make them the Big East favorites by any means, but I'm not counting them out either. South Florida still has to go to West Virginia to end the season, and UConn has to prove it can beat the Mountaineers.

John from West Virginia writes: I'm a WVU fan and Big East supporter. I was wondering why you would allow some of those other conferences to spray that ignorant nonsense about the automatic bid and about the Big East conference in general on those blog pages. All they are are people that want to incite fights on message boards saying whatever nonsense comes into their heads.

Brian Bennett: It's a free country, John, and people can spout whatever nonsense they want about the Big East as long as it's free of profanity and other abusive language. You should see my inbox sometime.