Wednesday, August 3, 2011

WVU and Syracuse Lead the Conference...in Awesomeness

A big congratulations to West Virginia and Syracuse for cracking the Princeton Review's Top-20 Party School list. WVU is a perennial contender for the top spot, but actually fell out of the Top-5, into 6th. Morgantown has a tremendous reputation, which includes couch burning, bottle-tossing, and general riff-raff...activities that this writer never took part in during his five years on campus.

Syracuse came in at number 12. An underrated party school, the Cuse should probably be higher, mainly because there is nothing else to do in upstate New York. Seriously, what the hell do you do in Cuse, try not to get mugged? All joking aside, Syracuse is a good spot, and also the home of where this author got engaged to his Syracuse-alum wife...in a bar of course.

As for the rest of the conference...what the hell? Only two schools in the Top-2o Party School list? How lame can the Big East be? This is more important than the BCS. At least none of you squares made it on to the Stone Cold Sober list with BYU.

Side Note: It's nice to see that the three schools I applied to back in the day all made the list.

Here's a look at the full list.

Top 20 Party Schools aka Fun Schools:

1. Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
2. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
3. University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.
4. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
5. University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.
6. West Virginia University, Morgantown, W. Va.
7. Penn State University, University Park, Pa.
8. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.
9. University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
10. University of Texas, Austin, Texas
11. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
12. Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
13. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
14. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis.
15. DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind.
16. Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
17. Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
18. University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
19. University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt.
20. University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.

-courtesy of big lead sports

WVU is the Big East Favorite

So much for easing into the job. It will be a trial by fire for Dana Holgorsen after WVU was piked to win the conference. Honestly, it would be a trial by fire even if WVU wasn't. There's always pressure in Morgantown to win, especially with the way things went down for Holgorsen to be in the position he is in at this time. The drama-filled offseason ends with the start of camp this month, and there's no doubt the first-year head coach is looking to put the Summer behind him.

The enthusiasm surrounding this Mountaineer team is very high. The offense will be led by one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country, Geno Smith. The junior is also a darkhorse pick for the Heisman. The defense is anchored by a strong line, but will have some questions in the linebacking unit. However, the trust in Defensive Coordinator, Jeff Casteel gives Mountaineer fans faith that it won't be an issue.

The schedule is interesting. LSU and Pittsburgh are at home, but road games at Maryland, Syracuse, and South Florida will make things difficult for WVU to run the table. This is a team that has been 9-4 for three straight years. That number should increase this season if the Holgorsen offense catches on quickly. However, there is no lock of winning the league, especially having to play in Tampa, possibly for the BCS bid. WVU doesn't exactly have the best track record at South Florida.

Regardless of the media prediction, WVU is a perennial favorite in the conference. Consistent play has given the school that reputation. However, the Mountaineers haven't been to a BCS game since 2008, and the natives are getting restless. Will this be the season? Or are there just too many questions surrounding the new head coach and system? One things for sure...WVU will beat Marshall.

2011 BIG EAST FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL (first place votes in parentheses)

1. West Virginia 188(21)

2. Pittsburgh 162(2)

3. USF 151(1)

4. Syracuse 98

5. Cincinnati 96

6. Connecticut 76

7. Louisville 60

8. Rutgers 33

-courtesy of bigeast.org