Big East notebook
Louisville, Miami in marquee matchup Louisville hosts Miami in the marquee matchup of three games pitting the Big East against the ACC this weekend.
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said he knows some in the Big East still have bad feelings about the shake up that saw Miami leave and his team join the conference. It won’t be a factor Saturday, though, he added.
“We’re just happy to be in the Big East Conference,” Petrino said. “We certainly had a very good game with them a couple of years ago down there, but as far as them leaving the conference, it really doesn’t play into it as far as anything goes with us.”
Miami is 9-0-1 against Louisville, including a 41-38 home win in 2004, a game where the ‘Canes rallied from a 24-7 deficit.
The Hurricanes are 5-point underdogs, marking only the sixth time Miami hasn’t been favored since the 2000 season.
West Virginia plays Maryland on Thursday, and Connecticut hosts Wake Forest Saturday in the other two Big East/ACC games.
“If we can go out and go 3-0 against the ACC, that’s very beneficial for the Big East Conference,” UConn coach Randy Edsall said. “Not only are we going out and playing for ourselves, but you’re also playing for the conference as well, and what the conference stands for.”
WE KNOW THESE GUYS: Cincinnati and top-ranked Ohio State will be on familiar terms Saturday.
Not only will they be playing for the third time in five years, but the coaching staffs know each other well.
Bearcats coach Mark Dantonio was the Buckeyes defensive coordinator from 2001-03, and Tressel’s nephew, Mike, is the linebackers and special teams coach for Cincinnati.
Ohio State escaped with a 23-19 victory at Cincinnati in 2002 before winning 27-6 in Columbus in 2004.
RAVE REVIEW: Syracuse coach Greg Robinson is fan of the new replay review system.
Even though his Orange ended up losing in double overtime to No. 14 Iowa last week, Syracuse was the beneficiary of two on-field calls that were reversed by the review crew, and he didn’t have to use his one allowable challenge on either one.
On the Orange’s opening drive, the on-field game officials ruled wideout Taj Smith out of bounds in the left corner of the end zone, negating a touchdown catch. As boos rained down inside the Carrier Dome, the replay officials went to work, eventually overruling the call and awarding the Orange a TD.
The same thing happened later when a fumble by Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson was changed to an incomplete forward pass, negating a change of possession.
“I don’t want to be an official,” Robinson said. “I am not a big advocate of the challenge because my job is to coach and their job is to officiate, and they have created a system that has an opportunity to help the game. Now, if it is close, they are putting the buzzer on and saying, ‘Hold on, we are going to look at it.’ I thought the system really worked well.”
RUNNING IT UP: Sure it’s less than a month into the season, but the Big East boasts the top three rushing teams in the nation, and four of the top 20
Connecticut leads the way after a 418-yard yard performance on Aug. 31 against Rhode Island. The Huskies haven’t played since. West Virginia averaged 353 yards in its first two games and Louisville is third at 337 yards. South Florida is ranked 20th at 204 yards per game.
AWARDS: Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, Pittsburgh linebacker H.B. Slades and Rutgers punter Joe Radigan earned this week’s conference awards.
Brohm was chosen offensive player after throwing for 307 yards in the Cardinals’ 62-0 rout of Temple. Slades was the defensive player with 14 tackles and fumble recovery in a 33-15 win over Cincinnati. Radigan averaged 50.5 yards a kick, including a 78-yard punt in the Scarlet Knights 33-0 win over Illinois.