Big East Sports Blog

Wake Forest proved the old saying to true; it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.  Unfortunately, they proved this theory correct at the expense of the Connecticut Huskies.

Trailing 10-0 at halftime, Wake Forest scored 24 unanswered points in the second half for the come-from-behind win over No. 25 UConn 24-10 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Saturday.  With the win, Wake Forest notched the second most wins in school history (9-4), only behind last year’s win total of 11.

UConn, playing in only its second ever bowl game, got off on the right track by scoring the game’s first 10 points and going into the locker room up 10-0.  Larry Taylor scored UConn’s only touchdown on a 68-yard punt return and Tony Ciaravino booted a 29-yard field goal to complete the scoring in the first half. And the game for UConn.

The second half belonged to Wake Forest.  The Demon Deacons took advantage of UConn’s struggling offense.  The Huskies managed only nine first downs in the game and didn’t score an offensive touchdown.  UConn had an extremely difficult time keeping up with Kenneth Moore, as Moore caught 11 passes for 112 yards and was named the game’s MVP.

Wake Forest got a 38-yard touchdown run from Josh Adams to cut the lead to 10-7.  A 20-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Riley Skinner to John Tereshinski put the Demon Deacons ahead 14-10, a lead they would not relinquish.

Riley Skinner completed 29 of 38 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions, and Josh Adams rushed for 81 yards and one score for Wake Forest.  Micah Andrews closed the deal for Wake with a 9-yard touchdown run with under 30 seconds to play to put things out of reach for UConn.

Tyler Lorenzen was just 13-for-26 for 98 yards against the Demon Deacons defense, which harassed and disrupted Lorenzen constantly.  UConn was unable to convert on two different fourth-down attempts during the fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, it was an exceptional year for Connecticut.  The Huskies boasted nine wins in 2007.  They were co-Big East champions and were ranked for the first time in school history.  For the year UConn had, the building blocks are in place to turn in an even better year in 2008.

The Bearcats used two words to ground Southern Miss in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Saturday night: Ben Mauk.

Mauk completed 30-of-52 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns as No. 22 Cincinnati defeated Southern Miss 31-31 in the second annual Papajohns.com Bowl on Saturday. 

The win was Cincinnati’s 10th of the season, marking only the second time the Bearcats recorded 10 wins in a season, in school history.  The only other time Cincinnati previously won 10 games in a season was 1951.

Mauk was named the game’s most valuable player, becoming only the third quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards at Cincinnati.  The loss for Southern Miss (7-6) was a tough pill to swallow.  It was the final game for head coach Jeff Bower guiding the Golden Griffins, after having spent 17 seasons at the helm at his alma mater.

Southern Miss started the bowl game off on a good note, taking an early 7-0 lead on a Jeremy Young 10-yard touchdown strike to Shawn Nelson.  Their early lead, however, would be short lived.

The Bearcats stormed back, scoring 21 unanswered points.  Two touchdown passes from Mauk to Dominick Goodman (14 yards, 5 yards) and a 29-yard pass to Earnest Jackson put Cincinnati on top 21-3.

Mauk essentially ended the game in the third quarter, putting the Bearcats up 28-14 with a 10-yard strike to Antwuan Giddens.

Jeremy Young finished the day 18-of-32, passing for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he was intercepted three times, all three by Cincinnati’s DeAngelo Smith.  Damion Fletcher gashed the Bearcats run defense, rushing for 150 yards on 22 carries.  Entering the game, the Bearcats were holding their opponents to just over 100 yards rushing per game.

The Bearcats get the Big East off on the right foot in this bowl season.  Next up for the Big East, UConn will clash with Wake Forest in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 29th at 1 p.m.

It’s true what they say: bad thing come in threes.  

They ended the 2007 regular season with a stunning 13-9 home loss to Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl.  They lost their chance to play in the BCS Championship game. Now, they’ve lost their head football coach. It certainly hasn’t been all sunshine and chocolate clouds for WVU in the month of December.

On Monday, former head coach Rich Rodriguez officially signed on to become the next head coach at Michigan, leaving the Mountaineers to begin searching for his successor.

 Terry Bowden, former head coach at Auburn, has stated that coaching at West Virginia would be a dream job.  Bowden grew up in Morgantown, while his father, Bobby Bowden, was the head coach at West Virginia.  Bowden has been out of the coaching loop since 1998.

West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong will have 15 days to name an interim head coach to lead the Mountaineers into their Fiesta Bowl contest with the Oklahoma Sooners on Jan.2. 

Two names that will be off of the potential list are offensive coordinator Calvin Magee or secondary coach Tony Gibson.  Both will be accompanying Rodriguez to Ann Arbor.

The month long manhunt for the next head coach at Michigan is finally over.  Rich Rodriguez is now a Michigan Man.  He’ll trade the Old Gold and Blue of West Virginia for the Maize and Blue of the Wolverines

Rodriguez has agreed to become the new head at the University of Michigan, replacing former head coach Lloyd Carr, who retired as Michigan’s head coach on Nov. 19th after 13 seasons at the helm in Ann Arbor. 

Rodriguez amassed a 60-29 record in his seven seasons as the West Virginia head football coach.  Hired by the Mountaineers in 2001, Rodriguez built West Virginia into a Big East power from the ground up.  During his tenure in Morgantown, Rodriguez guided West Virginia to four Big East Conference Championships, including three straight from 2003-2005.  Rodriguez guided West Virginia to their first ever BCS Bowl victory in 2006, a 38-35 win over Georgia in the Nokia Sugar Bowl.   

Rodriguez had West Virginia poised to play in BCS Championship game until they were stunned on the final game of the year by Pittsburgh, a 13-9 shocker at home.  During the 2007 campaign, Rodriguez led West Virginia to #2 in the BCS standings and #1 in the Coaches’ Poll, both school records.

A year ago Rodriguez was coveted by Alabama to become their next head coach, however, Rodriguez remained at West Virginia.  This time around, Rodriguez jumped at the opportunity to patrol the sidelines in the Big House. 

He was beloved and revered at West Virginia and for a long time, when Mountaineers football comes to mind, you’re going to think of Rich Rodriguez.  You’re going to think of his suffocating no-huddle offense.  But as good as West Virginia football has become, there aren’t a whole lot of ‘Michigans’ out there.  When they come knocking on your door, you better let them in.

Certainly reviving the Wolverines football program will be no easy task, and where Carr has failed, Rodriguez certainly must succeed.  Under Carr, Michigan has lost four of their last five meetings with Ohio State, (including three straight losses) and has dropped four straight bowl games. 

Rodriguez’s spread offense will surely be a bit of a culture shock in the Big House.  The Wolverines offense has largely been built around the traditional pocket-passer quarterback suck as Elvis Grbac, Tom Brady, and Brian Griesie.  One thing is certain: a change was needed in Michigan.  Rodriguez, and his offensive scheme, will bring just that.

He wasn’t their first choice.  Les Miles was wooed multiple times, only to turn down Michigan repeatedly.  Greg Schiano said thanks, but no thanks.  He’s the first head coach hired by the Wolverines outside the Michigan family since Michigan coaching legend Bo Schembechler was hired from the the University of Miami-Ohio in 1969. 

The path to bring a new face on the sidelines in Ann Arbor wasn’t easy, but during any journey, there are always bumps and obstacles along the way. 

Rodriguez’ arrival to the Maize and Blue doesn’t mean that this time next year, we’ll see Michigan in the BCS Championship game either.  But for the Michigan fanbase that has been screaming for a shakeup and aching for a new era, it won’t take long for the Big House to become Rodriguez’ house.

December 22nd will feature the second-ever PapaJohns.com Bowl held in Birminghame, Alabama, pitting Big East member Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Southern Miss (7-5), a member of Conference USA. Last year, in the inaugural Papa Johns Bowl, Big East member USF defeated C-USA’s East Carolina by a final score of 24-7. While the exposure and TV time from a playing in a bowl game is a great benefit for many programs, the extra 6 weeks of football practice is what most coaches will tell you is the true reward. College Sports Fans has partnered with CUSA Fans to provide a preview of every college football bowl game this season including the 2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl preview which is now live.

> Find Cincinnati Bearcats apparel & Southern Miss hats & clothing online at DFN Sports sites.

The WVU Mountaineers continue to control their own destiny in the Big East after surviving a scare at home against Louisville last night, 38-31. The game featured 7 turnovers, 4 by Louisville and 3 by WVU, as fumbles plagued both teams. Louisville trailed by 17 in the 3rd Quarter and was able to tie the score at 31-31 before Pat White’s 50-yard run proved to be the winning touchdown.

With the loss, Louisville drops to 5-5 (2-3 Big East) on the season while West Virginia improves to 8-1 (3-1 Big East) with 3 games remaining for WVU. The Mountaineers are @ Cincinnati on Nov. 17th, host #13 and Big East leading UConn on the 24th and host Pittsburgh on December 1st. If they can win out, WVU would earn the Big East’s automatic BCS Bowl game berth.