Big East Football Week 6 Breakdown
The Big East only offers a slate of four games this Saturday, but as we know every Saturday matters!
Lock of the Week: Connecticut at West Virginia
The Mountaineers are coming off a 55-10 beat down over Bowling Green and are looking to keep that momentum going against the 2-3 Huskies. Geno Smith has continued to shine and added three more touchdowns to his impressive season, bringing his total to 12. However, a deeper look provides a little bit of concern, as he only completed 60 percent of his passes against Bowling Green, and 58.5 percent against arguably the best defense in the nation in LSU. His numbers may be eye popping, but they seem a little inflated. Of course he is still a very talented quarterback, and expect him to have another impressive game to carry the Mountaineers to victory. Look for Smith to focus more on completing a higher percentage of his passes. The small, yet explosive, Dustin Garrison is averaging 7.9 yards per carry on 45 attempts. He also scored four times so far this year. He is the balancing point of this offensive unit and also will need to have a big game to bury Connecticut. The Huskies will also turn to a freshman tailback, Lyle McCombs, to keep the game close. The Huskies are going to have to pound the ball and keep the West Virginia offense off the field. However, West Virginia will put on a show for their fans and walk away with their heads held high in victory.
West Virginia 42 Connecticut 21
Game of the Week! Pittsburgh at Rutgers
The Panthers are riding high, fresh off an upset victory over South Florida, who held a 16 national ranking at the time. Rutgers only blemish on their resume is a two point loss to a talented North Carolina squad. They are coming off an epic double overtime win against Syracuse. Chas Dodd continues to have an impressive sophomore season but Syracuse was able to confuse him all night. He completed only 45 percent of his passes and didn’t tally a single touchdown. The Orangemen may have laid the blueprint to stop this Rutgers offense, so it remains to be seen how the offense fares from here on out. Mohamed Sanu is still clearly the number one option for this offense leading the team in both receptions and touchdowns. Pittsburgh will have to key on him all night in order to attempt to shut down this Scarlet Knight offense. Offensively, Pittsburgh will again relay on junior Ray Graham. He exploded last week rushing for 226 yards on 26 yards per carry. He also scored two touchdowns. Of course you cannot expect him to do that every week, but the Panthers need a big performance out of him every week for their offense to be successful. I’m still taking the home team, as Rutgers’ offense will bounce back and prove too much to stop for the Panthers.
Rutgers 24 Pittsburgh 20
Best of the Rest
Louisville at North Carolina
Louisville has struggled this year, losing to both Florida International and Marshall at home. North Carolina’s only loss was at the hands of the 25th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, on the road. North Carolina will be able to control Louisville in this game. The Cardinals will turn to signal caller Will Stein to lead the upset. They need him to have a big game and continue to protect the football for Louisville to have a chance in this game. Louisville will also rely on their defense to continue their solid performance and will need some game changing plays to cap the upset.
North Carolina 27 Louisville 17
Lock of the Week: 5-0
Game of the Week 4-1
