2007 Big East Football Preview

Big East football preview from Maddux Sports. Below you can find our official Big East football preview as well as individual team previews for all 8 big east football teams and our big east predictions. Dont miss Maddux's winning NCAA picks against the weekly college betting lines from the best college sports handicapper.

The Big East proved to be a lot of fun to watch last year as Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia battled down to the final weeks for the conference title. This is certainly one of the toughest leagues to call in terms of win, place and show. Tough and well-rounded defenses, some star power and solid experience will certainly help determine who will be first and who will be last.

If a team can win every game running, then the West Virginia Mountaineers will do it with QB Patrick White and RB Steve Slaton. They are an amazing running tandem. The Mountaineers' defense was able to stop the run last year but not the pass. They've made some efforts to correct that problem. The question is—have they done enough?

Look for the Louisville passing game, anchored by senior QB Brian Brohm, to be even more dynamic than it was last season. This team put an average of almost 38 PPG on the board. Their defense was especially tough. This season the defensive line and secondary need to fill some important holes.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights became one of the most exciting clubs in the conference as their breakout year developed. Last season this club had the best all-around defense in the conference. There's concern at LB this year, but senior SLB Brandon Renkhart should provide solid leadership. The Rutgers' running game will be difficult to stop.

South Florida has a very tough schedule, which will hamper their efforts. QB Matt Grothe starts with a very productive freshman year behind him. The Bulls have a fine, all around defense that includes two premiere corners.

The Cincinnati Bearcats plan to have an aggressive defense designed to pressure quarterbacks. New head coach Brian Kelley will open up the offense to take full advantage of the team's scoring potential. A new QB has not been chosen as of yet.

Although Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt has amassed talent, he has not been able to exploit it. The QB spot has not been filled yet but there's comfort in the fact that so many experienced and talented offensive players return. The defense allowed too many points last year. This year the line-backing unit and secondary, although talented, are not very deep.

The Huskies have a fine running game with featured player RB Donald Brown, but in the past the team's passing attack has been unsuccessful. Although there's talent on both sides of the ball, there is little depth. The quarterback situation has not been solved as of yet, and that's worrisome.

The Syracuse Orange are still rebuilding. There is certainly potential in the running and passing game, but it has not had time to develop. The defense returns experienced and talented players but it's doubtful they can cut down much on the average of 24.6 PPG that they allowed in 2006. This program will blossom in another year or two.

Big East Predictions

1) West Virginia
2) Louisville
3) Rutgers
4) South Florida
5) Cincinnati
6) Pittsburgh
7) Connecticut
8) Syracuse

For more info on the 2007 Big East Conference, view their official website or read up on all the bigeast football team previews below.