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Big East Preview
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Stewart Mandel's Projected Standings
(Projected overall record in parentheses)
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1
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West Virginia
5-1 (9-2)
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With Miami and Virginia Tech out of the way, Rich Rodriguez's Mountaineers have a clear path to the BCS.
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2
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Boston College
4-2 (7-4)
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BC quietly has strung together five straight bowl trips, but are seeking a replacement for star RB Derrick Knight.
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3
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Connecticut
3-3 (7-4)
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The Huskies picked a perfect time to enter the Big East, with QB Dan Orlovsky among nine returning starters on offense.
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4
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Rutgers
3-3 (6-5)
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Greg Schiano's recruiting in-roads are about to pay off in the form sophomore runners Brian Leonard and Justise Hairston.
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5
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Syracuse
3-3 (5-6)
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It could be the end of the road for 14-year coach Paul Pasqualoni if he can't deliver the Orange from mediocrity.
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5
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Pittsburgh
3-3 (5-6)
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No more Larry Fitzgerald, Rod Rutherford or Kris Wilson means rebuilding time for the Panthers' high-flying offense.
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7
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Temple
0-6 (1-10)
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The Owls bow out of the Big East on a low note, thanks in part to Virginia, Maryland, Toledo and Bowling Green.
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Photo credit: AP
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Cream of the Crop
Dan Orlovsky, QB, Connecticut: This year's Ben Roethlisberger? The home-state hero threw for 3,485 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior.
Walter Reyes, RB, Syracuse: Already the Syracuse career record-holder with 38 TDs, he's also going for three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
Mathias Kiwanuka, DE, Boston College: He was dominant as a sophomore, leading the Big East with 11.5 sacks to go with 24 hurries.
Rian Wallace, LB, Temple: He absolutely exploded last season as a sophomore, notching 148 tackles and 19.5 tackles for loss.
Chris Henry, WR, West Virginia: A master of the home-run ball, Henry caught just 41 passes last season -- and averaged 24.5 yards per catch.
Others: Will Blackmon, CB, Boston College; Adam "Pac Man" Jones, CB, West Virginia; Maurice Lloyd, LB, Connecticut; Jarvis Johnson, SS, Rutgers; Diamond Ferri, S, Syracuse.
Poised for a Breakout
Kay-Jay Harris, RB, West Virginia: Despite losing 1,380-yard rusher Quincy Wilson, the Mountaineers might not lose a beat with this speedster.
Walter Washington, QB, Temple: Started the last four games of 2003, notching 151 rushing yards against Virginia Tech, 117 against WVU.
Justise Hairston, RB, Rutgers: As a freshman, he posted two 100-yard games and scored eight TDs before missing nearly half the season to injury.
Others: Princell Brockenbrough, WR, Pittsburgh; Ryan Neill, DE, Rutgers; Damien Rhodes, RB, Syracuse; Paul Peterson, QB, Boston College; Tony Jenkins, WR, Syracuse.
Burning Questions
Can the conference retain credibility? Without Miami and Virginia Tech, most national observers are ready to write off the Big East as an also-ran conference, perhaps no longer deserving of its automatic BCS berth. It's up to West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Connecticut to rise to the challenge.
How good is Connecticut? Randy Edsall's crew went from 3-8 to 9-3 in just four years in Division I-A, beating such teams as Wake Forest and Iowa State. But in playing their first full Big East schedule, the Huskies are facing a big step up in competition -- who really knows where they stack up among the remaining seven teams?
Is Walt Harris' job in jeopardy? Despite taking the Panthers to four straight bowl games -- they were 11-34 the four years prior to his arrival -- the ninth-year head coach took some serious heat last season when a team with preseason BCS aspirations finished 8-5. Things won't get any easier this fall having to replace 13 starters.
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