But if a offensively-challenged Rutgers team puts up 35 on them, I am done with Louisville and its title hopes.
I have to sit back and laugh. We are talking about Rutgers and National Championship implications. If any team in the Big East wins out, personally I don't think they should be in the National title game even if they are one of 2 teams that are undefeated. The strength of the conference as compared to other conferences has to be considered with the polls. The argument that the Big East has 3 teams in the top 15, is useless. They are up there because they have no losses or 1 loss in a pitifully weak conference. An SEC 1 loss team should be in the title game over a no loss Big East team. Common sense if you ask me. The problem is that the SEC team better win because then the questions will fly, what if that no loss Big East team would've played?
I think the best scenario for a playoff to actually come to fruition is that Louisville runs the table, goes the MNC, and gets totally destroyed by TOSU or UM, or whomever ends up there. If Louisville runs the table and wins, or even plays it close in the MNC, it legitimizes the current system. Personally, I am all for a Big East team that has only beaten one legitimate team (WVA) to go all the way and get manhandled in the MNC. Surely no one (cardinal colored glasses wearing fans excluded) believes that UL could play in the SEC week-in and week-out. Tubs just indicated that they (AU) are finally healed up after the physical beating his team took at our hands. ULs kids are small and fast, and could not take the weekly beating that the SEC dishes out. So Go UL. Represent the underdog all the way to the MNC, on the way to the beating of your life.
Well there is some legitimacy to this conference. They do sport 3 top 15 teams. Pittsburgh is a decent team as well and bordered on the top 25 at various times this year. This compares to the PAC-10 at the very least, and probably more favorable. Pat Forde, a well respected NCAA football analyst, did some relative comparisons of Big East vs. other BCS conferences against the same competition, and the scores supported the fact that the Big East did well in the analysis. Based on rankings alone, I would have to say that the Big East can compare to any other conference except the SEC. My only beef is seeing a team that plays no defense getting rewarded and then blown out in the NC game. I would rather see Rutgers dominate both Louisville and WVU and have them make it instead.
I just don't think that Rutgers can make up enough ground in the human polls to get them into contention for the MNC. Even if they were to beat UL, I don't think they would jump up enough to get there. Their SOS is just too low.
Well they will get big boosts in the computer rankings after they Louisville and WVU. But it won't be enough to where they can finish any lower than 2nd in the nation in both polls. Rutgers only chance is to blow out both Louisville and WVU. Hold them both down to 13 pts or less. So basically a 37-13 score. Somewhere in that range. If that happens, then the pollsters might feel the pressure to put them ahead of any 1 loss team.
In a way, the Big East became a tad more "legit" when WV beat the SEC champ last year ... in UGA's backyard, so to speak. Personally, I think Louisville could play in any league and challenge for the crown... whether they could go undefeated is another issue.... but don't knock their talent just because of their schedule.
Maybe West Virginia's offense was that good. Didn't WVU score more points on Georgia in the Subar Bowl last year than they did vs Louisville a couple of weeks back?
