In this the season of Prelude to Christmas Shopping (which incidentally used to be known as Thanksgiving) I thought we would stop and give thanks for the blessings of fantasy Big East football.

Looks like the Syracuse defense (Icon SMI)

Yes, there have been fantasy players to be thankful for in the Big East. Without further delay, because I know the anticipation is killing you, here are some of the players, teams, and things, we are grateful for in the Big East.

Defense

Isn’t defense exactly the reason we can celebrate being free? The ultimate defense was of course the Revolutionary soldiers who bent, but did not break in their upset over England those two hundred plus years ago. Five of the eight Big East teams have their defenses ranked in the top half of the most recent BLITZIndex defense rankings. Yes, the talent level in the conference is down, thus skewing the numbers, but, for fantasy purposes, you can absolutely count on the Big East for defense (not to mention Big East defenses give me something to write about on a weekly basis).

West Virginia is the highest rated Big East defense (3 in the BLITZIndex and 4 overall in NCAA), as the Mountaineers have steamrolled opponents all year. In fact, the most points given up by Bill Stewart‘s boys? 21 points in overtime. We should all be thankful for the ‘Neers and the other defenses in the Big East like Syracuse, South Florida, Pittsburgh, and Connecticut.
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Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and even Connecticut separated themselves on what I coined (rather successfully mind you) Step Up Saturday!

Cincinnati RB Isaiah Pead (23) rushed for a career-high 213 and scored a career-high five TD. (Cincinnati.com)

Week 12 in the Big East was as big a weekend the conference has had all year. All eight league teams were in action against each other and, every game but one (the lone exception happened to be the biggest fantasy Big East football game all year), had title implications.

Shout Out – Cincinnati 69 – Rutgers 38 – Two teams from the Big East combined for over 100 points and for over 1,000 yards in one single game! Our list of breakout performers is littered with players from both teams because this game was a fantasy gold mine. In a losing effort QB Chas Dodd threw for over 330 yards and 4 TDs as, combined, both teams passed for 766 yards and 9 TDs. In a year where there has been nothing but defense (and anemic offense) this game was a surprising and entertaining exception.

Here are the weekend’s players that ‘stepped up’ big just when their team’s needed it the most: Read the rest of this entry →

Pitt's Dion Lewis is ready to high-step into Step Up Saturday! (Icon SMI)

The eight Big East teams will be in action in a conference that is separated by just 2 games from first to worst. It is, as being called by only me:

Step Up Saturday!

On Step Up Saturday the stars have to shine in order to lay claim to the Big East crown, or their teams could end up playing in the BBVA Compass Bowl! No really, that’s a real bowl game, I looked it up.

QB Ryan Nassib and the Syracuse Orange head for a bowl for the first time since 2004 (Icon SMI)

In week 11, thankfully, the defenses took a back seat to actual, honest to goodness, offense (for the most part)! Here are five players who stepped out from, one can only assume, a cave to put up note worthy numbers.

1. Jordan Todman – Connecticut – The junior running back helped bring Connecticut back from the dead by rushing for 222 yards in a 30 – 28 victory over the Big East’s top team, Pittsburgh. For the season, while battling injury and a horrible quarterback teammates, Todman has amassed 1,176 and 9 TDs.
2. Geno Smith – West Virginia – How’s this for a first half? Smith, the sophomore QB, threw 4 TDs against Cincinnati in the opening half on Saturday! For the game Smith also had 174 yards through the air in the Mountaineers 37 – 10 blow out of the Bearcats.
3. Bilal Powell – Louisville – Although Powell didn’t score in the Cardinals 24 – 21 OT loss to South Florida, the senior did account for 140 yards rushing on 31 carries. Not bad for a player coming back from injury after missing the previous game. For the season, even with missing last week, Powell has rushed for 1,207 and 9 scores. Read the rest of this entry →

RB Bilal Powell is thankful it's just a knee bruise - but will he be at full strength? (Icon SMI)

Week 11 in the Big East will have multiple Saturday games! Unlike last ‘weekend’ for the conference, which started on a Wednesday, where one game was played on Saturday, this time we have three games to chose from!

The four total games for the Big East this weekend will once again have a heavy emphasis on defense. I know, it seems like every week in this spot I write about defense. The D in the Big East has been either impressive with great statistics (4 teams in the top 25 of the latest BlitzIndex and 5 if you count TCU), or the defenses are putting up big numbers against mediocre competition. As a fan that can be frustrating. Not knowing if you are watching talented players. As a fantasy player, who cares? The Big East gives you low scores for games, but good scores in fantasy.

Rather than wax poetic about linebackers and defensive tackles, I thought we could concentrate on the other big story line in the Big East at the moment. Injuries. Including Thursday’s Connecticut – Pittsburgh contest, every game this weekend has key players coming back from injury or key players missing time. Read the rest of this entry →