The Big East Conference got the 2010 season off to a resounding thud this past weekend.

WVU RB Noel Devine fileted the Chanticleers in Week One. (Icon SMI)

Pittsburgh lost at Utah in a ugly overtime debacle, Cincinnati went down without a fight to Fresno State, Connecticut is still trying to tackle Michigan’s QB Denard Robinson, and even Rutgers struggled for two plus quarter against Norfolk State. Norfolk State.

Despite the carnage, there were some players that  absolutely excelled individually while their teams did the exact opposite. With that in mind, let’s break down the fantasy stars from each team in the Big East after Week One.

West Virginia – The Mountaineers beat Coastal Carolina 31 – 0. Running back Noel Devine tallied 23 carries for 111 yards and one score. With Devine you should also keep track of the ‘Long’ category as the senior seems to take one score 30 or 40 plus yards for a score per game. Nothing  new here as Devine’s long against CC was 39 yards.

Syracuse – Being a host of a radio show in Central/Northern New York it gives me great pride (and cause for concern that the world is ending) to write that the Orange are 1 – 0 on the year for the first time in seven years. The Orange hammered Akron (SportsNation fans should like that) 29 – 3. Quarterback Ryan Nassib passed for two touchdowns, running back Delone Carter rushed for 91 yards on the ground and one score. But it’s all about defense for the 2010 Orange. The Syracuse defense held Akron to 166 total yards and just nine first downs. It was just the Zips, but SU has a solid defense.

Cincinnati – The Bearcats lost game one of the Butch Jones Era to Fresno State in California 28 – 14. Much like his predecessor Brian Kelly, Jones seems to favor the pass game. Quarterback Zach Collaros threw the ball 41 times (219 yards – 1 TD) in the loss and he connected with five different targets. Cincinnati wideout D.J. Woods caught six of those passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. Huge Recruit/transfer WR Vidal Hazelton was lost for the season with a torn ACL, so dig into your archives and check out Marcus Barnett as an option. The aerial assault is something to keep an eye on, but there was nothing special out of week one from any UC player.

Connecticut – Hammered 30 – 10 by Michigan, the Huskies Jordan Todman, a running back I covered in the Big East season preview, rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries and scored UConn’s lone touchdown. As for the Husky defense, you may want to stay away from that unit when Connecticut faces spread option offenses or quarterbacks with speed (Cincinnati, West Virginia, and maybe even South Florida).

Louisville – Another Opening Day Loser from the Big East (I am nothing if not a pessimist). The Cards lost the Governors Cup to rival Kentucky 23 – 16 at home. Most of the Cardinals 2010 hype (if there is such a thing) revolves around running back Victor Anderson. Yet, it was Bilal Powell who did the damage for UL on the ground. Powell rushed for 153 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown, while Anderson only managed 32 yards on 8 carries.

Pittsburgh – In a game some confused for an exciting contest, the Panthers lost to Utah 27 – 24 in ugly fashion. In reality the Utes should have won that game comfortably as Pitt was lucky to force OT. All Big East performers RB Dion Lewis and WR Jon Baldwin for the Panthers had good not but not great games. Lewis rushed for 75 yards while Baldwin caught 4 passes for 71 yards. Both players scored a touchdown a piece. Bigger things ahead for both and for Pittsburgh as quarterback Tino Sunseri adapts to being the starter. Keep an eye on Panthers wideout Mike Shanahan (not this guy), who caught 4 balls for 51 yards. The 6 foot 5 Sophomore receiver was a big target for Sunseri throughout the game.

Rutgers – A 31 – 0 winner over Norfolk State. Sounds good until you look further and realize that the Scarlet Knights led 6 – 0 in the third quarter! Heesh. Rutgers running back Joe Martinek carried the ball 20 times for 109 yards and one score, while qb Tom Savage (no relation to Fred nor Ben) threw for 148 and a TD. Not great numbers for a school with high hopes against a FCS program. I mean, I didn’t even realize Norfolk was a state.

South Florida – USF beat down Stony Brook in the debut of Skip Holtz as head man for the Bulls. Star QB in the making B.J. Daniels threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 23 more yards and another score. 10 different Bulls caught passes and seven different players carried the ball at least one time.

Stay in touch with Matt on the Matt Mc’s Sports Fix on WNER 1410 ESPN Radio North Country New York.

Related posts:

1. Big East Philosophy Week 9 review – DE-FENSE and a couple big injuries
2. Big East Philosophy Week 9: Is Pitt the likely BCS rep?
3. Big East Philosophy: Friends of Coal indeed with week two preview
4. Big East Philosophy: good thing the ACC had a bad week
5. Big East Philosophy: Cincy and Rutgers breakout on Step Up Saturday

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