1) West Virginia (2005: 11-1; 15 starters return)

The Mountaineers won the Sugar Bowl on the legs of freshman quarterback Pat White and true freshman running back Steve Slaton. Both are a year older and stronger this year.

You can’t make too much of an argument against the Mountaineers winning their fourth straight Big East title (two were shared)…or can you?

For the Mountaineers, it comes down to one game: November 2, at Louisville.

What happened last year between the two teams?

Trailing 17-0 at the break as the sun set, the Mountaineers came to life, rallying to force overtime and pulling the game out on 208 total yards and a conference-record six touchdowns from Slaton.

That game was the biggest game of 2005. It will be the biggest game of 2006. Winner gets the BCS bid. Simple as that.

The Mountaineers only have one more significant test on the road: against archrival Pitt on November 16.

All other hurdles are at home. WVU starts the season with the first of seven years of games against intra-state rival Marshall; Maryland visits in a Thursday night affair (and Mountaineer Field is a madhouse for night games; just ask anyone from then-#2 Virginia Tech’s 2003 team); and the final two weeks bring South Florida and Rutgers to the University City.

2) Louisville (2005: 9-3; 19 starters return)

Louisville’s first season in the Big East was mostly a success. The Cardinals were undermined by the stereotypical road “trap game” (USF), a furious second-half rally (WVU), and an injury to Heisman candidate Brian Brohm that kept him out of the Gator Bowl loss to Virginia Tech.

Plenty of talent, including Brohm and running back Michael Bush, are back in Bobby Petrino’s nest of talent this year. The only significant loss is sack master Elvis Dumervil on the defense line.

The schedule is tough, but the two biggest obstacles, Miami (FL) and West Virginia, both have to come to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, where the Cards have won 12 straight and are 16-1 under Petrino. Payback is the rule of the day, as Miami, WVU, and USF all come to Louisville having won the previous match-ups.

On the road, Louisville will find the going much easier, with only a trip to Piscataway to play Rutgers and Pittsburgh to play Pitt the only real challenges.

The Louisville fans are among the most rabid I’ve seen come to Morgantown, and they will have a lot to cheer about this year.

Pitt is the X-factor in the Big East this year. As previously said, they host both West Virginia and Louisville, the two teams ahead of them in the pre-season rankings.

Also, it’s the second year at the helm for coach Dave Wannstedt; you have to figure the team is going to be better acclimated to Wannstedt’s system.

The question is about Pitt’s sterling freshman class: if they can contribute immediately and at a high level, the Panthers are a force.

Pitt is also aided by a friendly schedule: UofL, WVU, Virginia, and Michigan State all come to Heinz Field; the road schedule has only two teams (Central Florida and South Florida) that can be considered bowl contenders this year.

4) Rutgers (2005: 7-5; 16 starters return) 

Rutgers’ goal this year: make back-to-back bowl games. They’ve never done it in program history.

Stop laughing.

The Scarlet Knights have plenty of talent back on both sides of the ball, but have two significant holes to fill with the graduation of starting quarterback Ryan Hart and his favorite receiving target, Tres Moses.

Brian Leonard returns to bulldoze on the ground, however, and coach Greg Schiano is showing why he was one of the nation’s best coordinators before taking the Rutgers job.

The schedule is tricky, however, with trips to West Virginia, South Florida, and Pitt on tap.

South Florida pulled off the upset of the season last year, crushing Louisville at Raymond James Stadium and qualifying for the school’s first-ever bowl game.

Their task this year is much more difficult: trips to Louisville and West Virginia close out the season, and they also must play George O’Leary’s resurgent UCF program on the road. Pitt and Rutgers are the two best teams that will head south to Tampa.

Also, the team’s unquestioned star, running back Andre Hall, is gone, leaving the ground game in the hands of sophomore Ricky Ponton. Pat Julmiste had almost twice as many interceptions as touchdowns last year, so don’t count on the passing game being too helpful, either.

6) Connecticut (2005: 5-6; 15 starters return) 

Connecticut’s 2005 was injury-prone, forcing Randy Edsall to delve deep into his depth chart, particularly at quarterback, where three different players threw at least 50 passes.

Top rusher Terry Cauley returns, as do all three of the quarterbacks that saw time last year, with Matt Bonislawski the front-runner to start.

The schedule is a mix of good and bad; with the exception of West Virginia and Pittsburgh, the Huskies have to be considered, if not favorites, slim underdogs to win all of their home games. Trips to South Florida, Rutgers, and Louisville could prove to be too much, though.

7) Cincinnati (2005: 4-7; 17 starters return) 

Cincinnati was often overwhelmed in their first season in Big East football, but return plenty of experienced players for 2006. That’s the good news.

The bad news?

Their road schedule reads thusly:

Ohio State.

Virginia Tech.

Louisville.

West Virginia.

Connecticut.

That’s four ranked teams out of five games. The Bearcats will be lucky to get one road win this year; the home schedule is do-able, but Cincinnati isn’t exactly known for intimidating football atmosphere. Maybe they can sneak Carson Palmer in for a few downs.

Syracuse lost 10 games in 2005, defeating only “mighty” Buffalo. Although they only have 12 starters back, they do have 42 letter-winners.

Great. A lot of backups from a 1-10 team having to play more.

And they wanted Paul Pasqualoni’s head why?