Big East:
Climbing the
mountainby Albert Lin,
CNN/SI
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 1998
McNabb is a threat to run or throw. He had 20 TD tosses in '97 against only six interceptions. (Al Tielemans) | |
Projected Order
of
Finish
|
1.
West
Virginia
2.
Syracuse
3. Miami
4.
Boston
College
5.Virginia
Tech
6.
Temple
7.
Pittsburgh
8.
Rutgers
|
|
| |
|
|
Offensive Player of the
Year
|
|
Amos
Zeroue, RB, Jr., West
Virginia
| | Shifty runner should continue to put up huge numbers (1,589
yards, 18 TDs in 1997) as part of an offense that returns
eight
starters.
| |
|
Defensive Player of the
Year
|
|
Gary
Stills, LB, Sr., West
Virginia
| | Pass-rushing terror with 12 sacks among his 67 tackles,
despite missing
time with three injuries (sprained knee, broken thumb and
fractured
kneecap).
| |
|
Newcomer of the
Year
|
|
Brandon
Williams, RB, Fr.,
Pittsburgh
| | Said no to Notre Dame, Ohio State, Syracuse and UCLA;
should get plenty of handoffs in empty Panthers
backfield.
| |
|
Coach on the Hot
Seat
|
|
Terry
Shea, Rutgers, 0-11 in
1997
| | A 2-20 record in his first two seasons, replacing Temple as
league doormat, puts Shea in the
fryer.
| |
|
Conference
Game-Breaker
|
|
Donovan
McNabb, QB, Sr.,
Syracuse
| | Two-time Big East offensive player of the year can do it
with his arm (2,488 yards, 20 TDs) or his legs (404,
6).
| |
|
Most Underrated
Player
|
|
Terry
Murphy, WR, Sr.,
Pittsburgh
| | his JC transfer led the Big East in receiving yards per
game (79.4) and touchdown catches (13), making 46 grabs for
873 yards, but was only second-team
all-conference.
| |
|
Best
Name
|
|
Peppi
Pichette, DT, Sr.,
Temple
| | Runner-up:
Osa
Nosa, DT, Fr., West
Virginia
| |
|
Toughest
Schedule
|
|
Syracuse (Tennessee, at Michigan),
Miami
(UCLA, Florida State) and
Pittsburgh (Penn State, at North Carolina) each have a pair of killer
non-conference matchups, but the edge goes to the
Orangemen, who must travel to the Big
House.
| |
|
Creampuff
Schedule
|
|
West Virginia
opens with Ohio State in Morgantown, but then come three
gimmes—Maryland, Tulsa, at Navy. The showdown with
Syracuse is also at
home.
| |
|
Red-Letter
Games
|
| Ohio State at West
Virginia, Sept.
5 | | A good early measuring stick for
Mountaineers.
|
|
Syracuse at
Michigan, Sept.
12 | | Orangemen could be 0-2 after this one; will they be able to
bounce
back?
|
| Syracuse at West
Virginia, Nov.
7 | | Should decide the conference
title.
|
|
|
Drop This Name to Make Yourself Sound Smarter at the Water
Cooler
|
|
David
Saunders, WR, Sr., West
Virginia
| | Set school record with 76 catches (for 1,043 yards) in
1996, then blew out his knee before last season, during
which fellow senior Shawn Foreman broke his mark by
one.
| |
|
Going
Bowling
|
Locks: Syracuse, West
Virginia
Maybes: Boston College, Miami, Virginia
Tech
No
Way: Pittsburgh, Rutgers,
Temple
| |
|
Top Three
Storylines
|
|
Undefeated
again?
| |
West Virginia probably won't duplicate its 1988 and 1993
regular-season records of 11-0, since Ohio State opens the
schedule, but the Mountaineers could run the rest of the
table and take a Top 10 ranking into their
bowl.
|
| Exploding
oranges
| |
Syracuse's multi-faceted offense—featuring QB Donovan
McNabb, FB Rob Konrad, and WRs Quinton Spotwood and Kevin
Johnson—should make defensive coordinators
cringe.
|
| Picking up the
pieces
| |
Will the West Coast offense finally kick in down at the
State U. of New Jersey and help the Scarlet Knights win a
game?
| |
|
