Runway Challenge Week 10

First things first: The conference call with coach Edsall. No new injuries, everyone injured previously (Lunn, Frazer, Dillon) are "good to go" on Saturday.

We still don't know who the quarterback will be. That's on a need to know basis, Edsall said, and we (and you) don't need to know. The decision has been made, and Frazer is healthy enough this week to be in the mix. We'll know on Saturday.

As for the Darius Butler situation, Randy claimed he didn't know anything about Kevin Duffy's New Haven Register story yesterday which Butler said he'd be playing "full-time" wide receiver instead of cornerback. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I have no comment on it," Edsall said. Later in the call, however, Edsall said Robert McClain or Terry Baltimore "just might be starting this week" at cornerback. Hmmmm.

On to my own, personal ramblings. The Huskies are now bowl eligible, so it's time to start thinking about just where they might end up in December or January. A lot has been said about this being a down year in the Big East, including a story in Sports Illustrated this week that said the league is nothing more than a glorified mid-major. The same story said people were too quick to proclaim the league a powerhouse in 2006 when three teams finished in the top 12. Don't get lost in the irony, Mark Beech.

Is it a down year? The league is still 7-7 in non-league games against BCS opponents, and that includes a bad Syracuse team's losses to very good Northwestern and great Penn State. Pitt's game with Notre Dame Saturday could make a statement for the league. Plus, the Big East could well have seven bowl eligible teams out of eight. Don't knock the league because of parity. There isn't a dominant team as of now, but West Virginia (one game away from a berth in the national championship a year ago!) seems to have figured things out and could be on its way to beating another "power" in the BCS.

Here's a breakdown of the remaining schedules for every Big East team, with my very conservative predictions of what might happen and bowl picks.

UCONN (6-2, 2-1)
11/1: West Virginia (L)
11/15: at Syracuse (W)
11/23: at South Florida (L)
12/6: Pittsburgh (W)
Predicted record: 8-4 (4-3)

CINCINNATI (5-2, 1-1)
tonight: South Florida (L)
11/8: at West Virginia (L)
11/14: at Louisville (L)
11/22: Pittsburgh (W)
11/29: Syracuse (W)
12/6: at Hawaii (W)
Predicted record: 8-5 (3-4)

PITTSBURGH (5-2, 2-1)
11/1: at Notre Dame (L)
11/8: Louisville (W)
11/22: at Cincinnati (L)
11/28: West Virginia (W)
12/6: at UConn (L)
Predicted record: 7-5 (4-3)

SYRACUSE (1-6, 0-3)
11/1: Louisville (L)
11/8: at Rutgers (L)
11/15: UConn (L)
11/22: at Notre Dame (L)
11/29: at Cincinnati (L)
Predicted record: 1-11 (0-7)

WEST VIRGINIA (5-2, 2-0)
11/1: at UConn (W)
11/8: Cincinnati (W)
11/22: at Louisville (W)
11/28: at Pittsburgh (L)
12/6: South Florida (W)
Predicted record: 9-3 (6-1)

SOUTH FLORIDA (6-2, 1-2)
10/30: at Cincinnati (W)
11/15: Rutgers (W)
11/23: UConn (W)
12/6: at West Virginia (L)
Predicted record: 9-3 (4-3)

LOUISVILLE (5-2, 1-1)
11/1: at Syracuse (W)
11/8: at Pittsburgh (L)
11/14: Cincinnati (W)
11/22: West Virginia (L)
12/4: at Rutgers (W)
Predicted record: 8-4 (4-3)

RUTGERS (3-5, 2-2)
11/8: Syracuse (W)
11/15: at South Florida (L)
11/22: Army (W)
12/4: Louisville (L)
Predicted record: 5-7 (3-4)

Which would make the Big East standings
1. West Virginia 6-1
2. UConn 4-3
Louisville 4-3
USF 4-3
Pitt 4-3
6. Cincinnati 3-4
Rutgers 3-4
8. Syracuse 0-7

And the Big East bowl shake-out
Orange Bowl: West Virginia vs. Florida State
Meineke Car Care Bowl: UConn vs. Boston College (wishful thinking? maybe.)
Papajohns.com Bowl: South Florida vs. Kentucky
St. Petersburg Bowl: Louisville vs. Memphis
International Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Western Michigan
Cincinnati gets sent somewhere with an opening...

On to the picks. I went long this week, so my sarcastic remarks will be short and sweet.

Game 1: Miami-Fl. (+2.5) over VIRGINIA - Cavs turnaround has been remarkable, which is why I'm not so sure about this pick.

Game 2: Louisville (-14) over SYRACUSE - Greg Robinson's stay on death row growing shorter by the game.

Game 3: CONNECTICUT (+4) over West Virginia - Picked against the Huskies last week and got burned.

Game 4: NOTRE DAME (-4.5) over Pittsburgh - Two immensely overrated coaches. A week ago, I would have thought Pitt had a chance, but that turd sandwich against Rutgers changed my mind.

Game 5: GEORGIA (+6) over Florida - Neither team has really beaten anyone. That includes LSU. Dawgs win over Vandy the only quality 'W' for either team so far.

Game 6: Oregon (+3) over CALIFORNIA - The Big East catches all kinds of flak, but why isn't anyone calling for the Pac-10's automatic BCS berth?

Game 7: Texas (-4) over TEXAS TECH - Vegas has the over for this one at 75.5. Yep. 75.5!

Game 8: GEORGIA TECH (-2.5) over Florida State - Better coaching prevails.

Game 9: OKLAHOMA (-22) over Nebraska - Most exciting conference this season, hands down.

Game 10: MINNESOTA (-6.5) over Northwestern - Just pitcure all those cheese-eaters ice fishing in their shanty's on Lake Wabasha, watching something other than Gopher hockey on their portable black-and-white TVs, and the ensuing mayhem. Here's how I imagine the conversations will go.
"Whatch'ya watchin'?"
"Gophers."
"Dey got a game?"
"Football."
"Oh, ya??"
"Ya."

"Gophers got a good team this year. Darn tootin'!"

Game 11: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (-45) over Washington - Gotta love the 45-point spreads.

Game 12: SACRED HEART (-13) over Wagner - Jeez, I can't even pretend I care about this game. But, I needed a game for the local special, and Yale has been awful this season.

Last week's results
1. UConnhuskies86 7-4-1
SeanO 7-4-1
Caleb 7-4-1
4. Dano 6-5-1
wil 6-5-1
ian 6-5-1
den 6-5-1
8. JZ 5-6-1
gary 5-6-1
rich 5-6-1
kevin 5-6-1
dougo 5-6-1
vinny 5-6-1
14. chip 4-7-1
sammy 4-7-1
16. pete 3-8-1

Standings
1. Kevin 51
Caleb Mandrake 51
3. Vinny from East Haven 50
Dougo 50
5. ian 49
6. Rich 48
7. pete 47
chip 47
9. JZ 45
Den of Stupidity 45
11. DanO 41
12. Wil 38
13. Sammy 37
Sean O 37
15. Gary 29
uconnhuskies 86 29
17. Stretch 21
18. Big Donny Bertolotti 13

Get your picks in by clicking "comments" below.