September 14, 2003
Big East Week 3 Wrap-up
The lack of a marquee game in the Big East this past weekend means this will be a short tour through the remaining contests:
- Miami handled East Carolina, 38-3, but on a day where USC and Florida hit the 60-point mark, the Canes were unspectacular. Defense led the way - Miami has 5 defensive touchdowns in three games - and Frank Gore plowed through the nation's worst rush defense. Gore looks to be getting more comfortable in his running style, which yields results when he doesn't try to juke through the defensive line. This week's game against Boston College will provide a better test for Miami than the hapless Pirates did.
- Syracuse's pass defense "failed again," and costly fumbles helped doom the Orangement to a 30-20 loss to Louisville in their home opener. The good news is that Syracuse did well on offense, compiling 446 yards. The bad news remains that opposing quarterbacks circle the Syracuse game and ask their parents to make sure to tape it. Louisville's QB, Stefan LeFors, averaged 17 yards a completion on Saturday. While Syracuse can stay at home this week, the visitor is Central Florida. Their QB, Ryan Schneider, lit up the Orange for 440 yards last year.
- UConn gave BC a decent game, falling 24-14 at home, but the Huskies failed in this quest to make this game a rivalry. The Eagles were led by tailback Derrick Knight's 170-yard performance, offsetting a defense that allowed nearly 400 yards to UConn. BC needs to tighten up for the Canes and take away the run.
- Rutgers beat Army 36-21, but it needs to dominate games like this one to move up in the conference. Instead, the Scarlet Knights allowed Army to threaten with two fourth-quarter TDs directed by the backup quarterback. Not good. A bright spot was fullback Brian Leonard, who had 132 yards rushing while other runners struggled. Leonard played out of a 1-back set on occasion, something that Coach Greg Schiano might want to look at more.
- Turnovers killed West Virginia against visiting Cincinnati, as the Mountaineers lost the ball five times in a 15-13 loss. This is a tough defeat for WVU, because it's the kind of game that went the other way during last year's 9-4 season. Now WVU stands at 1-2 and still has Maryland before beginning conference play. Helped by a persistent light rain, the Mountaineers held UC QB Gino Guidugli to 146 passing yards, but WVU QB Rasheed Marshall threw for just 125 yards and the entire team ran for a meager 118.
- Pitt fared better against Ball State, although there were still some apologies for the lackluster 42-21 win at home. The game didn't yield much in the way of understanding, except with the obvious: Rod Rutherford is an excellent quarterback and Larry Fitzgerald is an excellent receiver. Princell Brockenbrough looks to be developing as a decent second option for Rutherford, something Pitt will need against better opponents. Unfortunately for fans, they don't get a much stiffer challenge this week, facing another MAC team in Toledo.
Virginia Tech and Temple were both off this week, but Tech has a Thursday night tilt with Texas A&M that will provide a nice measuring stick for both teams. Miami-BC probably will be the best Saturday Big East game, although WVU-Maryland should be interesting, too - it's a must-win for both teams.
Please note that all comments are subject to the Fanblogs Comment Policy.
