While our Big East expert Vince Mullins visits places that sound too tropical for cold-weather folks to hear….Fantasy College Blitz has brought in their Fly-Over Country correspondent, Daniel Freer, to handle the Big East this week.  Yes, Daniel knows the difference between a grain elevator and a skyscraper.

With Week Five bringing in more Big East conference action, Week Four was a week that saw the conference schools post a respectable 5-2 vs non-conference foes…even more respectable considering four of those games were on the road…including the impressive South Florida 17-7 win at Florida State…engineered by Bulls frosh QB B.J. Daniels (photo, thanks TampaBay.com)…who made the Seminoles regret letting the local Tallahassee product take his college game 200 miles south to Tampa.

And, note, Daniels did not carve a tomahawk on his head.

Cincinnati 28   Fresno State 20

My FRONTRUNNER FOR THE HEISMAN (yes, you heard it right), Bearcats QB Tony Pike, continued to pass his way all over opposing defenses, riddling the Bulldogs from the San Joaquin Valley for 300 yards and 2 TDs, with 177 of those yards going to top WR Mardy Gilyard.  Do not fret over the final score, Bearcats fans and others, Fresno State is not a bad team…they lost an OT heartbreaker at Wisconsin, and, played Boise State a heckuva lot better than Pac-10 Oregon did.

Next Game:  vs Miami-Ohio. Look for more offense from Pike, Gilyard, and company as this edition of the longest continually played rivalry game west of the Appalachians could be the biggest blowout in its history….in the Bearcats favor.

Connecticut 52   Rhode Island 10

The Huskies may not be world-beaters on offense, but they made the Rams of Rhode Island sheepish.  UConn QB Cody Endres threw for 289 yards and 2 TDs, while the steady backfield of Andre Dixon (98 yards rushing, 1 TD catch) and Jordan Todman (70 yards rushing, 3 TDs) made their way through the URI defense.

Next Game: at Pittsburgh (October 10)….UConn will be off this coming week.

Utah 30   Louisville 14

Not a lot of highlights for the Cardinals on their trip to Salt Lake City, as they met the not-so-happy Utes after suffering their first loss since 2007 at Oregon last week.  QB Justin Burke threw for 181 yards and rushed for 1 TD, against a defense that is one of the best in the nation….inclduing BCS programs.

Next Game:  vs Pittsburgh. There may be some life in the Cardinals offense this week, as the Panthers sometimes give up points…but can score a lot on teams, too.

North Carolina State 38   Pittsburgh 31

A tough loss for the Panthers, who have played much better ball than the Wolfpack have this 2009 season.  RB Dion Lewis did produce 95 yards rushing and scored 2 TDs, with QB Bill Stull throwing for 206 yards and a TD…that TD going to WR Jonathan Baldwin.

Next Game:  at Louisville. Another good week to play your Panthers top skill position players.  This game will be close, but the Panthers have a little more on both sides of the ball than do the Cardinals.

Rutgers 34   Maryland 13

Nice win on the road for the Scarlet Knights, even if the Terrapins are one of the ACC bottom-feeders this season.  The Rutgers world-class offensive line opened some holes for RB Joe Martinek, who ran for 147 yards and 2 TDs on the Turtles defense.

Next Game:  vs Texas Southern. God bless the easy non-conference sked for Rutgers…and it cannot get any easier than bringing in one the worst programs in FCS football.  The Scarlet Knights will be playing guys next week not even listed in the media guide.

South Florida 17   Florida State 7

Matt Grothe may be Mr USF Football, but B.J. Daniels made a statement in challenging that in the future.  Although he went only 8 of 21 passing…Daniels threw 2 TDs, including a long one to WR Sterling Griffin.  But, the key with Daniels was his legs, rushing for 126 yards on a FSU defense that throttled BYU last week in Provo.  Note the South Florida defense is one the best fantasy defenses around,…notching 4 turnovers and 5 sacks on an offense that scored 55 the previous week.

Next Game:  at Syracuse. See below for the USF-Syracuse preview.

Syracuse 41   Maine 24

The Orange got their first easy game of the season…first against someone not from the Big Ten who went to a bowl last season.  Delone “Biceps” Carter ran for 72 yards and 3 TDs against the Black Bears, while Greg Paulus (photo, right, thanks Scout.com) threw for 270 yards and 2 TDs in another solid performance.  Could the ‘Cuse have a hot team on the field…and not just because there is no air conditioning in the Carrier Dome?

Next Game:  vs South Florida. This may be a tough game for the Orange, as South Florida has a defense that has smacked all opponents so far in 2009.  Interesting will be that QB Paulus will have more game experience than USF QB Daniels.   A good measuring stick on how far the ex-Duke point guard (Paulus) has come along as a college QB will be how well he performs against the Bulls this week.

West Virginia  (Off Last Week)

Next Game:  vs Colorado (Thursday, October 1).  The Mountaineers will be climbing all over and herding the Buffaloes in Morgantown this coming Thursday night.  The Buffs are one of the weakest teams among BCS schools, and look for QB Jarrett Brown, RB Noel Devine, and the rest of the WVU offense to produce early and often against CU

Related posts:

1. Big East Bookend: End of the Grothe Era
2. Big East Bookend: Weeknight Spotlight is on
3. Big East Bookend: To forgive is Noel Devine
4. 2009 BIG EAST ALL-FANTASY TEAM
5. Big East Bookends: Bulls on Parade?

Tags: B.J. Daniels, Big East, Greg Paulus, Heisman Trophy