Santa get ready

It’s Christmas time and everyone is busy shopping for those last second gifts that everyone has on their wish lists. Even teams have a wish list, let’s take a look at the Big East Conference and its football teams and see what they have on their wish list this year. Santa is going to be very busy.

West Virginia

The Mountaineers finished with 9 wins this season and defeated hated rival Pittsburgh. They are headed to the Gator Bowl to face Bobby Bowden in his last game as head coach of FSU, a fitting in seeing as WVU is where he started his legacy as great coach. So what could Mountaineers fans wish for? It’s simple, another Pat White and Steve Slaton to enter the system. Ok, both are gone to the NFL and Jarrett Brown and Noel Devine have been very good this year but lets be honest, when White and Slaton where there, the team was in the BCS and contending for national title considerations, this year with Brown they struggled at times (the lose at USF was bad) and both will leave after this year. The program is solid but it will be hard to return to their recent glory with such playmakers leaving for the NFL. Santa, please send another Pat White and Steve Slaton.

Syracuse

Where to begin, Santa might have to get a government grant to pay for all the wishes that the Orangemen need. They won 4 games and we competitive in most of their games, Paulus, the Duke point guard turned quarterback was decent at times and then at others looked terrible. Mike Williams, a star receiver quit the team middle of the season and the Orange had few weapons to turn to. So trying to narrow this down is a bit hard but they need a quarterback on for their main wish list item. Paulus was a one-year answer and the depth chart behind him is bad at best. They wish McNabb could come back and lead the team to greatness once more but the reality is brutal. They are improving but without a leader to take the program in the right direction and compete in the Big East they are doomed to be the bottom dweller every year. Santa, please send a quarterback, one that can run, he is going to have to, to save his life from a bad offensive line.

Louisville

Another team that has a wish list that is just as long as Syracuse and finds themselves at the bottom of the conference. Louisville was a great team under Bobby Petrino, his spread offense was feared across the league and is working again in Arkansas. Kragthorpe was fired after a terrible season and WR Trent Guy, the best kick-off returner and wide receiver is leaving for the draft leaving the Cardinals searching for offense. The defense was solid this year and was able to keep many games close and a win over Syracuse kept them from finishing last. So what do the Cardinals need the most? They have a new coach, Charlie Strong, the defensive coordinator from the Gators and formally Michigan. Strong is a great defensive mind and will bring stability back into a program that just a few years ago was one of the best in the country. So the number one wish on their list is a quarterback. Justin Burke was decent and freshman Froman suffered injuries so they do not have a true answer at QB. Victor Anderson is a good running back and will return, he just needs someone to hand the ball to him. Santa, please send a solid starting QB that can make it a full season without injury.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh had a great season and almost won the Big East, only to loose to Cincinnati on a last second touchdown. Senior QB Stull had a good season after being booed off the field last year and freshman Dion Lewis made national headlines as he ran all over the Big East and set the single season mark for yards in a season passing the legendary Tony Dorsett. Not winning the Big East and missing the BCS by a point hurts the team and their fans that filled Heinz Field, not easy to do for a college team especially during the blistery cold of winter. The team looses Stull to graduated and Dickerson, a possible first round pick at TE. Lewis returns as well as a solid defense. The QB position will be key but as long as Lewis is there, whoever fills in will have a much easier time. So what they need is another year of Lewis, if he has another season like he did this year they could win the Big East next year and go to a BCS bowl. Santa, please send another year like 2009 of production from Dion Lewis.

Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights had a rough start at the beginning of the season and turned to true freshman Tom Savage to lead the team and he responded, leading the Knights to a 9-4 season and a dismantling of UCF in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Savage at times was brilliant and others he was a freshman, but he had two great targets, Sanu and Brown. The receiving tandem was one of the best in the nation, Sanu, many believe he is NFL ready was a big target as well as a Wildcat leader as well, giving the Knights a new weapon to use. The offense was inconsistent down the stretch but came to life in St. Petersburg and looks poised for a break out year. The defense was solid and with great recruiting pipeline that Coach Schiano has built, the Knights are ready to keep playmakers on the field. So what would the Knights like this X-Mas? Santa, please send a schedule with UCF on it next year, that was fun.

Cincinnati

Welcome to the coaching soap opera that is Cincinnati. The Bearcats win the Big East, heading to the Sugar Bowl and their coach, Brian Kelly, leaves them for the Notre Dame job. We aren’t going to get into this debate quite yet about Kelly leaving but it hurt the players, the interim coach leaves for Buffalo but will coach the team in the bowl game and the Bearcats go back to Central Michigan to hire Butch Davis, the same school that Kelly came from. Got to love the drama here. The Bearcats loose Tony Pike after the bowl game along with Gilyard, the man that saved Cincinnati in the Pittsburgh game, but they are loaded with play makers and QB Callaros is ready to take over, proving himself as he ran over USF and became a fan favorite. So for Christmas, what do they want the most? Santa, please bring Cincinnati a coach that doesn’t leave after three years because of money and greed, abandoning a program on the eve of its biggest game.

South Florida

To us, South Florida students and alum, this one is personal. The season began well, high hopes even with the lose of Matt Grothe, BJ Daniels took over and the upset over FSU put the dreams of the fans and program high, but the usual mid-season collapse occurred and the team fell apart, injuries and coaching controversy have led the Bulls to the International Bowl and the athletic department handing out free student tickets. The Bulls are young at offense; Daniels has proven he can beat teams by himself, out gaining FSU and Louisville in total yardage by his own legs. The defense is the major question mark as seniors like Selvie, Nate Allen, and Kion Wilson graduated and Pierre-Paul may leave early for the NFL. Fans are angry at the team, trying to understand what they are doing, no depth behind Daniels, strange offensive calls, and now the controversy that Leavitt struck a player during halftime at the Louisville game (the issue is being resolved by USF, stay tuned to know the outcome). The wish list is huge for USF and because it is a local issue we want greatness for this team because the expectations have been set so high. Santa, please bring us a winning season next year, without the collapse in the middle of the year.

So the Big East has quite a list for Santa to pick up, some are easy and some might bankrupt Santa, enjoy the lists and tell us what you think. Happy Holidays everyone!