The Big East: The Iron Sheik of College Football

In this image-heavy return to the college football blogging world, I want to address one of my perennial rants: the Big East sucks at college football. Just like the Iron Sheik, who was always considered to be a serious contender but just could not win the title, the Big East returns this year with huge backing from the media.

Maybe it's an obligation that the media feels toward the otherwise college-football deprived East Coast, or maybe it's the college basketball hangover. But something is leading people to believe that the Big East is a real college football conference.

Maybe it's my own inferiority complex with being from Ohio and being jealous that I'm not from the Northeast (or Cincinnati). But the rant will continue. ESPN.com's Bruce Feldman is just one of these evangelists, and states in his recent column: "Expect to hear a lot, especially from SEC folks, about how soft the schedules of WVU and Louisville are. But if they keep winning, commissioner Mike Tranghese will get the last laugh."

Well, I'm not an SEC fan and I will proudly say that I will be the one having the last laugh on this subject. In fact, I'm still laughing at the New York Times' prediction from last year that the national championship game would be a battle between Louisville and Michigan. If you don't think that's funny, you have no soul.

As a refresher, let's take a quick look at the teams in the Big East. There is no more Miami or Virginia Tech, so what are we left with?

Syracuse



Is Gerry McNamara playing for this team? If not, I don't want to hear about them anymore. The Syracuse/Notre Dame matchup from 2005 turned out to be a real nailbiter, with the Irish winning 34-10. Jim Brown was great, but I'll just close my eyes and remember that great Big East tourney run by McNamara.
Cincinnati

Is Kenyon Martin playing for this team? Cincy's big win in 2005 was against Syracuse. Great work. And who could forget the defensive battle against Western Carolina that ended 7-3 in the Bearcats' favor. By the way, Cincinnati kind of just sucks as a city.

Connecticut

With Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone, this team could really give the Bearcats a run for their money. Actually, I think this program is up and coming, and ever since I fell over drunk in the stands watching UConn beat up on Toledo in the Motor City Bowl, I really wish these guys the best.

South Florida

I spent some time in Tampa. It's real nice. Close to the Gulf, lots of palm trees and Yankees fans. After getting shut out 14-0 by NC State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, we'll see South Florida debut against McNeese State (Joe Dumars' alma mater).

Pittsburgh

I love the heart you see from Carl Krauser out there on the field. Wait, wrong sport. I'm not sure if Wannstedt took the coaching job here out of self-loathing for how he fucked up the Bears, but if so, he's doing a great job. Was Dan Marino like 13 when he started playing for Pitt?

Rutgers

Is this in New Jersey?

Louisville

Louisville hung around the top 25 last year, and ended up losing to Virginia Tech 35-24 in the Gator Bowl. That's actually respectable. And having Elvis Dumervil didn't hurt their defense at all. So I'll allow Louisville to be included in the list of "real" football schools this year.

West Virginia

So this is where we come to an impasse. People think West Virginia has a legitimate shot at a national title. They took care of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl (which should quiet the SEC fans down a little), and they have a legitimate offense with Pat White and Steve Slaton, but let's take a look at the schedule. Because this is where it gets dicey: they play Marshall, Eastern Washington, East Carolina, Mississippi State, Syracuse, Connecticut, Louisville, Cincy, South Florida, Rutgers, and Pitt. By far their toughest matchup is with ACC powerhouse Maryland.

The only way this conference can redeem itself is if West Virginia goes undefeated and earns the chance to face the Buckeyes in the national championship.

I'm not going to say that Dan Marino, Donovan McNabb, or even Jim Brown come from an inconsequential conference, but let's face the facts: this is not a Tier 1 college football conference.

Unless the Iron Sheik of college football pulls off a huge upset, this season will just be another loss to Hulk Hogan.