27. Cincinnati

Rivals says: Georgia Tech

I say.....

27. Cincinnati Bearcats

The Bearcats have spent the last three season overperforming, that will end this season. The Bearcats have never had the best talent in the league, that has always been Pittsburgh or West Virginia, but now they don't have the best coaching either and have lost their biggest playmaking on offense. This team has never been big on defense, so the loss of Tony Pike and Marty Gilliard will hurt a lot, no matter how good Zach Collaros ends up being. There is also the big problem of actual competition in the Big East this year. Pitt, UConn, and West Virginia all look prepared to make a run at the division crown, and with the defense still shaky, especially against the run (which is what all those other teams do absurdely well), it will take a miracle for Cincinnati to make a run like it did over the past two seasons.

The recievers are fantastic, so the loss of Mardy Gilliard should not hurt too bad, and no one is worried about the QB situation. Collaros looked great last year in filling in for an injured Tony Pike for two games. The line returns three starters, they are not an overwhelming force, but are good enough and experienced enough to be a threat to any soft defenses and the conference does not have ant real threatening defensive units. There is not a real threat running the ball, but the Cats don't do a lot of that, so no worry.

The defense, however, will not get the job done this year. The secondary is awful and returns just enough starters to stay that way. They were the worst against the run in the conference and only one DT is back. There is not a lot of need for detail here, the D is awful, and it will cost the Bearcats a chance at a decent bowl. The schedule is managable, but a good start is essential for Cincinnati. The Cats play three bowl teams on the non-conference slate, the first is against Fresno State, a potentially dangerous team but if Cincinnati is good they should not have any problems beating them. The second, against Oklahoma, is essentially a guaranteed loss. The Bearcats should be bowl eligible before November and they need to be, the season ends with West Virginia, Rutgers, UConn, and Pittsburgh, a very rough stretch they will be happy to go 2-2 during.