The Big East was expected to be down in 2009 and it may very well play out that way by season’s end.  However, one month into the season and the conference appears much better, deeper and more challenging than anyone expected prior to the season. 

There have been a number of surprises but perhaps none larger than the play of the Syracuse Orange.  Sure, the Orange stand at 2-2 and that’s nothing special but a closer look tells a whole lot more.  Syracuse fell just short of an opening day upset of a decent Minnesota team and could very easily be 3-1 right now.  Greg Paulus has been nothing short of fantastic and Syracuse is a legitimate bowl contender one month into the season.  Can they manage to win four more game this season?  It may be difficult but I wouldn’t count out the Orange.  The only non-conference game remaining on the slate is a home date with Akron and the Orange play USF, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Rutgers all at home.  A 5-7 finish sounds a little more realistic but if the Orange continues to progress the rest of the season the way it did in September six wins is definitely a possibility. 

The play of the Connecticut defense has also been a huge surprise.  The Huskies were gutted in the NFL draft and despite the return of standout LB Scott Lutrus a drop off in production was almost a certainty.  Well so much for that!  The Huskies have been nearly as dominate on defense as last year.  Even more impressive, UConn has done it without Lutrus who was injured in the opener at Ohio and has yet to return to action.  UConn currently ranks #7 in the nation in total defense and #7 against the run.  Connecticut is for real and don’t be shocked if the Huskies walk into Heinz Field and hang another loss on the league’s pre-season favorite, Pitt, in two weeks. 

Another surprise has been the steady play of the new look Cincinnati defense.  Remember, the Bearcats lost 10 starters from a season ago and installed a new scheme to go along with a new defensive coordinator.  The defense will not blow you away statistically but ranks #16 nationally in the only category that really matters, scoring defense.  The Bearcats offense has been fantastic but without a steady defense Cincinnati would not be where they are today – a top 10 team with national title aspirations. 

The biggest disappoint has to be Rutgers.  The Knights may be 3-1 but they are an ugly 3-1.  The opening day loss to Cincinnati was just plain awful and the offense has yet to find its groove as we enter October.  The offensive line has not performed anywhere close to the level expected of a line returning five starters and the ultra-talented Anthony Davis at LT.  The Knights were expected to go through some growing pains at QB and it looks like that question may have been answered in true freshman Tom Savage.  The freshman has been pretty good since assuming the starting role but was injured last week in a win over FIU and missed the Maryland game on Saturday.  Also, the Knights have some issues on defense that must be addressed and cannot be ignored.  Sure, the defense has looked light years better over the past three weeks than its opening game against Cincinnati but look at the opposition:  Howard, FIU and Maryland.  Let’s just say none of those teams will be confused with the Florida Gators and despite the improvement the Knights’ defense ranks #60 in the nation. 

The Pitt defense has also been a big disappointment.  In its only two real tests against decent passing opponents the Panthers failed with flying colors.  Buffalo ripped through the Pitt secondary for 433 yards and last week NC State’s Russell Wilson threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns.  Pitt currently ranks #63 in the nation in total defense and #87 against the pass.  That simply won’t get it done this season with explosive passing teams like Cincinnati and West Virginia still on the schedule. 

Some other notable surprises include:
• The emergence of Pitt freshman RB Dion Lewis
• The emergence of USF freshman QB B.J. Daniels
• The explosiveness of West Virginia’s passing offense
• The improvement of QB Bill Stull at Pitt
• The total domination of the UConn rushing attack led by sophomore Jordan Todman and senior Andre Dixon

Some other notable disappointments:
• The early season struggles of USF against the run – however, this problem all but disappeared last week in Tallahassee
• The obscene number of dropped passes by Syracuse’s great WR Mike Williams
• The struggles of the Rutgers rushing attack

And finally, some things we’ve learned through the first month of the season:
• Top to bottom the Big East is much better than anyone believed prior to the season.
• Tony Pike and the Cincinnati offense are ridiculous! 
• UConn’s defense is fantastic!
• The Rutgers offensive line was overrated.
• The Pitt defense was overrated.
• UConn has a brewing QB controversy on its hands. 
• Pitt RB Dion Lewis may be even better than LeSean McCoy and has all but wrapped up the Big East Rookie of the Year award.
• WVU QB Jarrett Brown is dangerous to both the opponent and his own team on any given snap.
• Syracuse QB Greg Paulus was no publicity stunt after all. 
• The Big East has three unbelievable WRs: Mardy Gilyard (Cincinnati), Jonathan Baldwin (Pitt) and Mike Williams (Syracuse). 
• WVU RB Noel Devine is capable of a TD on every touch – the only problem is the Mountaineers refuse to give him the ball. 
• USF’s defensive line is capable of dominating any game, and yet capable of giving up 200 yards rushing to just about any opponent. 
• UConn DE Lindsey Witten is the best player no one’s ever heard of.
• No matter how many turds Rutgers schedules the Knights can’t mask all its problems. 
• USF may be even more dangerous with B.J. Daniels at QB than Matt Grothe.
• Rutgers will only go as far as the young arm of freshman QB Tom Savage will take them.
• Louisville LB Jon Dempsey is a one-man wrecking crew on the Card’s defense.
• Pitt NT Mick Williams is an absolute beast!
• WVU LB J.T. Thomas is a man child!
• If you give too much attention to USF DE George Selvie the rest of the D line will destroy you. 
• Louisville is still a train wreck, but…….
• The Cards have shown just enough to make me think they will shock a team or two in the league this season.
• Either Doug Marrone is the second coming of George Halas or Greg Robinson was really that bad as head coach at Syracuse.   
• UConn has the best tandem of RBs in the league, bar none!  (Todman & Dixon)
• Louisville QB Justin Burke can be good................and really, really bad!