In case you were somehow thinking that Pitt would not be the preseason favorite of the Big East, the media poll results blew that out of the water.
1. Pittsburgh (22 first-place votes) 190
2. Cincinnati 142
West Virginia (1) 142
4. Connecticut (1) 131
5. Rutgers 99
6. USF 79
7. Syracuse 41
8. Louisville 40
That’s 22 first place votes out of 24 for Pitt. The Panthers, narrowly were the choice last year. In the prior 19 years of Big East football media polls, the preseason pick has won it only 9 times.
Cinci gets respect and no respect. Everyone expects them near the top of the Big East, but no one thinks they will win it.
The one guy who voted UConn? A USF beat writer.
USF getting knocked down to 6th is something of a surprise as Brian Bennett has noted the Bulls have been a bit overrated at times — probably owing to their potential with Florida talent. At least that they were that far back from 5th and Rutgers.
Rutgers is roughly where they were predicted in the preseason mags.
Congrats to Syracuse for finally not being picked last in the conference.
But last year, I did notice some of that “wiley veteran who knows his limitations and can win games”-quality in Stull. That’s what Tino needs to develop.
I think Noel Devine and Huggins were in the same suite at the hotel…
The biggest potential issue is the offensive line, they are pretty inexperienced and VERY THIN. One injury and Tino will be running for his life. Does no good to have a talented QB, heisman candidate RB and a first round WR if the line can’t block anyone.
However, I believe that the real reason for Stull’s increase in production and leadership was the fact that he was in his second year as a starting QB. IMO you can’t underestimate the value of having one full year of starting experience and progress under your QB’s belt.
That saying “The game slowed down between my first and second year” is stated for a reason. Expect some mistakes and angst with Sunseri this year, especially in those first three games folks.
Where I think we’ll see the real Tino Sunseri is in 2011. Not to say he can’t do well this first year – many QBs do but the trend is for a first year QB to be adequate… which with our other talented offensive weapons and Cignetti’s savvy may just be enough.
I’d rather have Pitt picked in the middle of the pack, I just get the scary feeling we’re getting setup for a fall. That has how the Wanny era has gone, build up expectations and then smash the hopes of the fans to pieces, over and over again.