Big East Notebook

Thirty years ago, the Toronto Blue Jays were created, the
Olympics were in Austria,
Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford to win the presidential race, and the Rutgers
Scarlet Knights were ranked.

The birthplace of college football is ranked again.

“I’m not going to downplay it. It is significant
considering where we started,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano told the Associated Press. “It shows we’re making
progress in the right direction.”

The Knights have benefited from a weak schedule so far—three
I-A opponents with a combined 4-8 record and a I-AA
team, but it wasn’t too long ago that they couldn’t beat anyone.

Much of the success can be credited to Schiano
and RB Ray Rice, who ranks fourth in the nation in
rushing yards per game (151) and T-3^rd in scoring (13.5 ppg).

The opportunistic defense can also be attributed to the
Scarlet Knights’ success. Rutgers has forced turnovers
on 13 different occasions—good for second in the
nation.

Recap: It was another good week for the Big East. The
conference’s teams went 6-2 overall, which has jolted their non-conference
record to 22-7. The only losing team in the conference is Cincinnati
(1-3), which has lost to a pair of ranked teams—Ohio
State and Virginia Tech.

Defensive Cardinals: With Brian Brohm
and Michael Bush going down with injuries, it has been the defense that has
answered the call for Louisville.
Through four games, the Cardinals have allowed an average of 52 yards per game
on the ground—sixth in the nation. The two ranked opponents that remain on
Coach Bobby Petrino’s schedule are run-happy Rutgers
and West Virginia. West
Virginia’s squad ranks No. 3 in rushing offense,
averaging 300 yards per game.

New Beginnings: Syracuse
ended its 11-game losing streak two weeks ago with a 31-21 win over Illinois.
The Orange began a winning streak
Saturday after knocking off Miami of Ohio 34-14. Greg Robinson’s squad has been
stellar putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Orange
have sacked opponents 19 times, tying them for first
in the nation with Arizona State.

A Look Ahead: Rutgers opens
conference play this week at South Florida (Rutgers
is -4 at WagerWeb.com). The Scarlet Knights look to keep their Top 25 ranking
and seek revenge against a Bulls team that beat the Knights 45-31 last year.
… The Big East and MAC have a pair of matchups as Pittsburgh
and Cincinnati host Toledo
and Miami of Ohio, respectively. … Could Syracuse
win a third straight game, this time against a Wyoming
team that is
1-3? The Orange are
-5 at WagerWeb.com