The Big East was expected to be wide open this season and from my perspective it still is.  However, after the first month of games we’ve seen a clear separation between the top and bottom of the league.  Outside of Louisville and Syracuse, every other Big East team had legitimate title dreams in 2009.  Below the Big Ragu examines each of these preseason contenders and tries to separate the real “contenders” from the “pretenders” after one month.

CINCINNATI
The Bearcats started the season unranked and have elevated all the way to #8 in this week’s AP Poll.  Cincinnati deserves the recognition received thus far but the road becomes considerably more difficult in the coming weeks.  Following a bye week, the Bearcats next outing will be a tough road teast at #23 USF in a match-up of the leagues two most impressive teams so far.  The winner of the Thursday Night battle will assume the pole position in the Big East race with a ton of work still ahead. 

Offensively the Bearcats have been sensational behind the passing of QB Tony Pike and dynamic playmaking ability of WR Mardy Gilyard.  The Bearcats can score with anyone and few teams have the defensive prowess to contain the Cincinnati attack.  RB Jacob Ramsey gave the Bearcats rushing attack a big lift last week with a 100+ yard outing against Miami (OH).  On defense Cincinnati has been far better than anyone could imagine but they are still a work in progress.  In its only outing against a truly quality offense, Oregon State, the Bearcats passed but even stiffer challenges are ahead for the new look Cincinnati defense.

The Big Ragu’s Take:  “CONTENDER”
Cincinnati is without question the team to beat right now in the Big East.  However, my concern for the Bearcats is did they peak too early?  Cincinnati charged out of the gates and looked like a Top 5 team in its Labor Day win over Rutgers.  However, the past two weeks have been a different story.  The Bearcats have struggled too much for my liking with Fresno State and Miami (OH) and I’m not completely sold on the defense just yet.  Let’s see Cincinnati contend with the suddenly explosive Pitt Panthers and West Virginia’s track stars before anointing them as BCS worthy.  The schedule is a mixed bag with UConn and WVU at home but tough road tests at USF and a final weekend trip to Pitt still ahead.  

CONNECTICUT
The Huskies are a very dangerous team right now.  The defense has been fantastic and it appears the offense is finally starting to develop into a more balanced attack.  Defensively the Huskies lead the Big East in total defense and rank #4 nationally.  UConn is surrendering a paltry 2.2 yards per carry on the season.  UConn is not flashy but they are rock solid in every phase of the game on defense. 

Offensively, the Huskies have the best tandem of running backs in the league.  Sophomore Jordan Todman and senior Andre Dixon have been tremendous and both are on pace to surpass 1,000 yards on the season.  The passing game is still a work in progress but the recent emergence of back-up QB Cody Endres has been a pleasant surprise.  He’ll get the starting nod next week at Pitt and the job appears to be his to lose once former starter Zach Frazer is completely healthy. 

The Big Ragu’s Take:  “CONTENDER” 
This is a tough call because UConn still has some limitation on offense but the defense is simply too good for the Huskies not to be considered a real threat in the title chase.  The schedule is no friend to the Huskies as they have to travel to Pitt, Cincinnati and WVU in the coming weeks.  If the Huskies can manage 2-1 record over that stretch they could be right in the thick of things down the stretch.  In my opinion, the Huskies are the most underrated team in the league right now and I expect UConn to walk out of Heinz Field with a win on Saturday.  But in the end I’m not sure if they have the horses to run with Cincinnati and WVU.

PITT
The steady improvement of Bill Stull is one of the biggest stories in the Big East so far in 2009.  Stull has been rock solid and his play was the single biggest concern entering the season.  In addition to Stull’s emergence, freshman RB Dion Lewis exploded onto the Big East scene and has all but locked up the Rookie of the Year Award in one month. 

However, and this is a big however, the Pitt defense has been a major letdown this season.  Sure, the Panthers looked dominant against one-dimensional Navy, and out classed Youngstown and Louisville but NC State and Buffalo ripped through the Pitt secondary with relative ease.  Pitt has been terrible against the pass and currently ranks #82 nationally in that category.  With Cincinnati and West Virginia still on the schedule this problem had better be rectified soon or else any shot at a Big East title is gone.

The Big Ragu's Take: “PRETENDER”
I’m going to get ripped by Hutch and Noodles for saying this but I’m just not buying Pitt.  Stull has been a great story so far but I think he and the Panthers offense will be exposed this week against UConn.  In addition, I just can’t see Pitt scoring with Cincinnati and WVU for 60-minutes.  Of course they may shock me and I’ll be right back here eating crow as a result but for now there are just too many warts to ignore on this pre-season beauty.  The schedule actually sets up pretty good with UConn, USF and Cincinnati all at home but right now the Panthers are flawed just enough to lose at least two of those three games.

RUTGERS
This team has improved greatly since its Labor Day implosion against Cincinnati but they’ve done it against garbage. The offense is still not clicking and the defense has yet to prove they can stop anyone with a heartbeat.  Of course, they’ve only played one team with a heartbeat so we’ll soon find out but not until the Knights get fat on one more donut, Texas Southern. 

The good news for Rutgers is the QB situation looks to be settled with true freshman Tom Savage looking every bit like a future star.  The bad news is the offensive line has struggled despite returning five starters from a season ago. 

The Big Ragu’s Take: “PRETENDER”
The Knights were supposed to be a favorite because they had the most manageable schedule in recent memory.  Four turds and home dates with the other primary contenders were supposed to keep the Knights right in the thick of the race until its season finale with long time nemesis, WVU.  But the offensive line has failed to live up to expectations, the defense has struggled mightily against the pass and the offense has absolutely no identity what so ever.  And finally, until we see Rutgers actually play and compete with a quality team we won’t really know how far the defense and the young QB have come. 

SOUTH FLORIDA
Next to Cincinnati, the Bulls have been the most impressive team in the league to date.  The defense struggled out of the gates but has found itself over the past two weeks with road wins at Florida State and Syracuse.  Perhaps only Pitt has a more formidable defensive front and the back seven is led by safety Nate Allen who has emerged as the team’s leading tackler.  The one defensive concern for the Bulls is their ability to stop the run.  They did it against FSU and Syracuse but otherwise opposing runners have found some cracks in the impenetrable front wall. 

But the big story for USF is not the defense it is the emergence of freshman QB B.J. Daniels who looks to be a flat out superstar in the making.  The big concern for USF entering the season was what would happen if Matt Grothe goes down?  Well, we now have an answer to that question, it is a guy who is probably even more dangerous steps in and that’s not good news for the rest of the Big East.  Dare I say this kid looks like the next Pat White with a better arm?  Well, I’m going to say it because he has the potential to be that good. 

The Big Ragu’s Take: “CONTENDER” 
I picked USF before the season mainly because of Grothe and a great defense.  But with Daniels running wild and throwing the ball downfield to game breakers like Carlton Mitchell this team could be even better than I imagined before the season.  But now comes the hard part for USF.  Can they avoid yet another late season tail spin?  Can they finally conquer their cold weather blues?  History says no but I’m not so sure this isn’t the year the Bulls do just that.  The schedule is manageable with Cincinnati and WVU heading to Tampa but trips to Pitt and UConn could be trouble, particularly if the weather gets dicey. 

WEST VIRGINIA
WVU may be the hardest team to develop an opinion on in this whole group.  First the positive, WVU’s passing offense is as dangerous as any in the league, including Cincinnati, but it can be dangerous to both the opponent and Mountaineers.  First year starting QB Jarrett Brown has been both magnificent and awful and been so in the same game.  Brown is a true gun-slinger that isn’t afraid to rifle a ball into double or even triple coverage because his arm is so strong and he can be very accurate.  However, as a result Brown has tossed five interceptions, including four in the Mountaineers only loss of the season, and his recklessness at Auburn is the only reason WVU is not unbeaten and ranked at this moment.  With RB Noel Devine and other lightning quick weapons spread all over the field this WVU team can score on any given play.  If Brown can take care of the ball there's probably not a defense on its schedule that can stop this offense.  

The defense has been a mixed bag.  WVU is solid against the run and horrid against the pass.  The Mountaineers need to find an answer on the corners if they hope to contain other dangerous passing teams like Cincinnati and Pitt. 

The Big Ragu’s Take: “CONTENDER”
WVU has been its own worst enemy with an absurd 14 turnovers in its last three games and they will be lucky to finish fourth in the league if they don’t solve their turnover woes soon.  But if they take care of the ball there isn’t a Big East defense capable of stopping them.   The schedule is tough with road test as Cincinnati and USF looming but the Mountaineers get UConn and Pitt at home.  A 1-1 split at Cincinnati and USF should keep WVU in the mix until the final weekend.