Big East Week 1 Review

I don't really know what to say here. The Big East opened up it's season . . . I guess. They played some games . . . I guess. They scored some touchdowns, field goals, and even won some games . . . I guess. I'm as thrilled to write this column every week as the guy dragged onto a double-date who just found out his blind date is the girl with "stability" issues. There will be moments of pure comedy that I won't wait to share with my friends, other moments when I'm terrified, but mostly it will be filled with moments where I just want to bang my head against a brick wall.

So, what happened in Week 1 in the Big East? This . . . I guess.

1. Cincinnati is Poised for a Repeat: Monday truly was 'Nati-day on the Big East. It truly was awesome-nest day of the week for Bearcat fans. In what was the conference match up of the week, Cincinnati tore apart Rutgers on Rutgers home turf. Coach Brian Kelly has never had a quarterback return for a second season in his tenure in the 'Nati, but his year QB Tony Pike finally returned for year two at the healm. He responded with a veritable 'Nati-pult, throwing for 362 yards and 3 TD's, and gave notice to the Big East that the Bearcats appear to be the team to beat this year in the Big East. Rutgers was picked by people like Kirk Herbstreit to win the Big East, and this was not a narrow victory. No one has been that chopped up this bad in central Jersey since Ralph Cifaretto.

2. Speaking of Rutgers . . .: Heads may be about to bowl here, since that opening game was an utter 'Nati-tastrophe. They gave up almost 600 yards, were outgained 2:1, and on top of that dismal performance also lost the turnover battle 3-1. Greg Schiano had a miracle season in 2006, and it seemed that Rutgers was on the verge of taking over the Big East. They were disciplined on defense, pragmatic on offense, and were building a recruiting pipeline to Southern Florida. Well, the Kansas City Royals also made a run at the Division Crown in 2003 and Seth Rogen is sleeping with Elizabeth Banks, so I guess sometimes crazy sh-t happens once. Once.

3. Pitt Can Run the Ball: Some ass-clown at the start of the year said that Pitt would be unable to run the ball and would be forced to pass this year. Well, apparently it pissed Pitt off, as Running Back Dion Lewis carried 20 times for 128 yards and 2 TDs. Yes, it was against Youngstown State, but Pitt can only compete at the highest levels if it can rely on a solid run game to run the clock and force opponents to play their preferred type of smash-mouth football. Having a true freshmen running back emerge in a big way in week one is a great sign of things to come this year for the Panther.