Big East: Points at a premium for league teams

There weren’t a lot of style points earned by Big East teams this past weekend.

In fact, there weren’t a lot of points earned at all.

Among the five conference teams in action, only one, Louisville, scored over 17 points. The Cardinals did so in their 35-28 victory at Memphis.

Otherwise, West Virginia’s supposedly vaunted offense remained in a funk, winning just 17-6 over Syracuse and its then-No. 114 total defense unit in Morgantown.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, moved to 5-1, but struggled to get past now 1-5 Rutgers by 13-10 at Nippert Stadium.

West Virginia did get blue-chip tailback Noel Devine on track. The sophomore ran for 188 yards on 18 carries, but 92 of that came on a late dash that finally sealed the game for the homestanding Mountaineers. Otherwise, the job fell to the WVU defense.

"When we realized the offense wasn’t doing much, we actually got excited because we knew the game was going to come down to us," said Mountaineer linebacker Anthony Leonard. "People are booing the offense? Well, then it’s up to us."

West Virginia fans were booing the offensive coaches for not throwing the ball downfield with strong-armed quarterback Jarrett Brown playing in place of Pat White. Coach Bill Stewart decided to sit White out a game because of concussion symptoms.

The fans in Morgantown booed when WVU threw short pass after short pass, mostly bubble screens, short of the first-down sticks. Brown averaged 3.7 yards per completion and 2.6 per attempt.

For Syracuse, which has had back-to-back solid efforts against Pitt and West Virginia, the close loss wasn’t reason to celebrate.

"This is devastating," said SU tailback Curtis Brinkley, who rushed for 144 yards. "This was the toughest loss I’ve experienced in college football."

The loss was tough to take because Syracuse’s much-maligned defense held West Virginia to 268 total yards. Subtract Devine’s late dash and that’s 176 yards on 51 plays.

Cincinnati’s offense has also taken a step back, but the Bearcats continue to win. Again using Chazz Anderson, the third starter at quarterback this season, UC overcame 12 penalties for 115 yards to win its fourth straight game.

Rutgers, meanwhile, extended the close-but-no-cigar nightmare. Quarterback Mike Teel again had a chance in the closing moments to push the Scarlet Knights to victory, but again fell short.

RU had similar chances in its last two losses — 23-21 at Navy and 24-17 at West Virginia.

Perhaps surprisingly, Louisville also struggled offensively, although the Cardinals left Memphis after putting up 35 points.

The U of L produced its lowest offensive yardage since the season opener. But cornerback Johnny Patrick blocked a punt and Brandon Heath returned it for a score. Patrick also scooped up a fumble and ran it in from 21 yards out in the fourth quarter to down the Tigers. Louisville’s Trent Guy also returned his first kickoff of the season for a score.

"Obviously, our special teams improved a lot," said Cardinals coach Steve Kragthorpe.

Scoreboard:

Louisville 35, Memphis 28
West Virginia 17, Syracuse 6
Cincinnati 13, Rutgers 10

Team of the Week: Cincinnati

Give the Bearcats and coach Brian Kelly credit. No, they haven’t been impressive. No, they aren’t getting much love in regard to rankings (one vote in the latest Associated Press poll). But they continue to win despite a shaky quarterback situation.

Disappointment of the Week: Mike Teel, QB, Rutgers

Teel just can’t seem to engineer a victory in the clutch. He was 19-of-35 passing for 175 yards against Cincy with no touchdowns. His two-minute drill opportunity fizzled this time when his fourth-down pass to a crossing Kenny Britt glanced off the wideout’s fingertips.

Player of the Week: Kevin Huber, P, Cincinnati

You read correctly. A punter. While WVU’s Noel Devine was impressive, much of his yardage came on one long run. Huber, meanwhile, averaged 46.4 yards on nine kicks. The man who entered the game as the nation’s fourth-leading punter placed Rutgers inside its own 20 six times — three times in the fourth quarter.

Freshman of the Week: Chazz Anderson, QB, Cincinnati

With former starter Tony Pike set to return, UC coach Brian Kelly has a decision to make. The reason: Anderson, his redshirt freshman, was 22-of-29 passing against Rutgers for 239 yards and no interceptions.

Back to his roots

Morgantown (W.Va.) High graduate Patrick Shadle returned to his home town as the kicker at Syracuse and booted a 53-yard field goal. It was the longest in Mountaineer Field history.

"I was definitely excited to make that kick," said Shadle.

Not true Britt

If there was one task Cincinnati desperately needed to accomplish against Rutgers it was to hold Scarlet Knights’ receiver Kenny Britt in check. Britt had a big game the week prior against West Virginia and was leading the Big East in receiving, but had just four catches for 51 yards and no scores at Nippert.

One bright spot

Despite Rutgers’ plunge this season, there is one bit of good news. The Scarlet Knights have their tailback back. After being sidelined for four games with a lingering knee injury, Kordell Young returned against Cincinnati to rush for 78 yards on 22 carries.

A royal Payne

Louisville coach kept his promise to shake up the kicking game by handing the primary duties to barefoot placekicker Ryan Payne against Memphis. Payne handled the extra points for the first time this season and handled the first two kickoffs.

Questions, questions

First-year West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, who moved to Morgantown from Wake Forest, was criticized for more than the Mountaineers’ passing attack Saturday against Rutgers. Despite the fact that Noel Devine had 188 yards on 18 carries, the sophomore had just one rush in the third quarter.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds