Da Geek's Mid Season BIG EAST POWER RANKINGS Bowl Projections

1. WVU falls at the top of this list both as a homer pick and because they have done more to establish themselves as the clear front-runner in this conference than anybody else.  Simply put they hold the keys to the BCS Bowl car and I see them driving it all the way to Miami, New Orleans, or Tempe.
2. The second place team in these power rankings is going to have to go to Cincinnati for me.  This team is really the only other offensive juggernaut in the conference.  And low and behold they have started to find a stride on the defensive side of the ball.  They could be a contender in the end.  The game being played at Paul Brown against the Mountaineers will let the league know who is pretending or contending. Cincinnati Bowl hopes are married to that of the Notre Dame the Coaching irony alone makes it a bit of a compelling story.  For you see the Champs Sports Bowl may take the Irish one time out of the 4 years that it has this contract.  I am certain that if Notre Dame is kept out of the BCS then it is Orlando for them.  This places Cincinnati likely in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte. 
3. The surprise entry in the top three would have to be the opportunistic Rutgers Scarlet Knights.  They have proven to be quite willing to take the ball away from the other team. A few miscues, and a lack of offense against UNC is the only thing separating RU and an undefeated season.  It should be noted that yours truly called the win over that new ACC team from Oakland.  Suffice to say, Rutgers has a shot at being undefeated when the Mountaineers come to town.  Will they be ready to end the streak?  Only time will tell.  But for now they have moved into the number three spot in this poll and likely will be getting the nod to play in the Pin Stripe Bowl at seasons end.
4. The next team on this list is the USF Bulls.  While, they took a beat down to sPitt in the burgh, I don't think that it was necessarily indicative of all bad thins to come.  They simply had a horrible game.  They are obviously missing some NFL talent on defense and this has hurt them. But in the end they have the speed and I dare say the Coaching to make a run toward the top end of this Conference.  As it stands now they are relegated to the fourth spot.  Just ahead I hasten to add the team that smoked them two weeks ago.  As for Bowl Game hopes.  I see this team making a return trip to the Beef O'Bradies Bowl at years end.
5. sPitt oh sPitt what pleasure I took in watching you fall wearing your ACC life jackets all the way down.  Yup my yinzer friends you took a beat-down in Jersey.  I kept waiting to see if your quarterback would survive not only the Scarlet Knights but your own 4 person fan base.  Alas, your team is not as bad as that game reflected. much like the Bulls you simply didn't come prepared to play and much to Coach Graham's credit he said just that.  You have a task in entertaining UTAH this weekend and that could prove to be a very entertaining game.  I actually, see your squad getting back to winning ways.  I would suggest to you that you keep your ACC chants a little more muffled until you actually accomplish something but you may take that for what it is worth.  As for Bowling at the end of the Season this could get interesting.  The BVAA Compass bowl is available but I am not entirely sure that this game comes to sPitt it might be that your team fills an at large bid somewhere else as I see the other ACC team getting a look there.
6. So that brings us to our second defector in these power rankings.  The Orange who like WVU are on a week off will be preparing to play the Mountaineers in a rematch of last years letdown in Motown.  The glaring difference is the fact that the Mountaineers offense is seeing the top side of 40 at a much greater rate than the Orange are holding teams to under 23.  Advantage EERS!  As for why they reside in this poll at number 6 it is because they have played moderately well thus far with a gutsy win over Wake and about 3 quarters of good ball against USC.  Where they lost me was giving up the scoring they did against Tulane.  The upside for the Cuse this week is they shall not give up any more ground.  As for Bowling at the end of the Season they need to win some that they should and can ill-afford to give up the games they shouldn't.  They will likely need some help. But if at seasons end they have six wins. I think that they are going to go to the ACC's other bowl the BVAA Compass. 
7. Wow oh wow what a complete drop of the ball I made when I said that Louisville would be a legit player in the Big East this year.  They are proving to be a bigger player in packing their bags for the Big 12 right now more-so than making any impact on the Conference championship.  While I stand by my position that Strong is the right man for this job.  They simply don't have the Jimmys and Joes to get it done this season.  I tip my hat to staff writer Greg for making thi.s point when I made my preseason power rankings.  Finally, there will be no bowling for Louisville this year.  
8. Finally, U Conn gets on the list.  Unfortunately for them it is the end of this list.  They have a shot to do some damage at the bottom of the conference as they are stout on the line but they sorely miss their NFL running back talent and Paul's offense is more than just a work in progress it is simply in need of a whole lot of work.  I am pretty sure that this seasons focus for U Conn is making overtures to the ACC to join their comrades in arms sPitt and Syracuse.  But just look out ole UConn, BC doesn't like you very much. As for Bowling no soup for you!!!

• Some notes for the blog:  First this blog will now do its own poll starting next Sunday.  Much like the Harris and BCS Polls we feel that more needed to be shaken out before we could place a relative value on the teams.  So look forward to our Poll next Monday.
• I am hopeful that each of you will come on here and debate and converse on these posts.  I would caution you though that mean spirited attacks will get your comments tossed.  (Last statement was directed at our infrequent troll)  
• First off thanks go out to all who have voted in the polls that are being placed at the top of this page.  I think any positive pub is great positive pub.  The fact that both Dustin Garrison and Geno Smith were back to back Capital One Impact players of the week speaks volumes of our ability to support our players on a national level.
• Finally, I want to thank all of the 15 listed West Virginia Sources for WVU information listed to the left of the blog.  Each of them bring a little different piece of this Mountaineer story together and I for one want you to read them all.  

GO EERS!!!

Da Geek