Odds To Win 2011 Big East Championship

Future Betting Odds

The last time that the Big East factored into the national title picture was in 2002 when Miami lost to Ohio State a year after beating Nebraska in the title game. Miami has long since moved onto the ACC, and despite the fact this conference is considered one of the six majors in college football, it has not come close to living up that billing in recent years.

Last season was a perfect example when Connecticut won the Big East and earned a bid to the BCS Tostitos Fiesta Bowl with an 8-5 record. The Huskies were promptly crushed by Oklahoma 48-20.

This year could be a different story if West Virginia can finally play to the level of talent on its roster. Bodog has opened the Mountaineers as the favorite to win the Big East at 9/5 and a 25/1 favorite to win the BCS Championship. They return eight starters on offense including quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver Tavon Austin. Smith threw for 2,567 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, while completing close to 65 percent of his passes. Austin led the team with 53 receptions for 757 yard. When you add WR’s Stedman Bailey and Bradley Starks to the mix, you have the makings of a very prolific passing game.

West Virginia returns just four starters on defense, but the line should remain solid with DT’s Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller and CB Keith Tandy will be back to provide some veteran leadership in the secondary. This unit’s biggest challenge will be its ability build an effective linebacking corps basically from scratch.

The Mountaineers always have trouble in its annual ‘backyard brawl’ with Pittsburgh, but two other potential pitfalls on the schedule include a home game against LSU on Sept. 24 and a season-ending trip to Tampa to face South Florida. The Bulls have been opened as second favorites to win the conference at 5/2 as the program continues to show the ability to win after finishing 8-5 for the third straight year. South Florida has enough talent to once again foul-up West Virginia’s plans but will need a much more consistent effort from QB B.J. Daniels if it is to have any chance at finishing on top of the Big East this year. Daniels passed for just 1,685 yards and 11 TD’s, while throwing 13 interceptions and completing less than 60 percent of his attempts. None the less, he has shown flashes of greatness that should keep him in the starting role this season.

The Bulls return six starters from a defense that was ranked 22nd in the nation in points allowed. MLB Sam Barrington and CB Quenton Washington are two of the best in the conference at their position and Skip Holtz’s recruiting efforts in his two years at South Florida have been able to bring a wealth of talent into the program that should be able to quickly step and fill the void.

The other perennial power in the Big East, Pittsburgh is the third favorite to win the conference at 7/2. The Panthers are also coming off a disappointing 8-5 record overall and a 5-2 record in conference play. These results ultimately cost Dave Wannstedt his job, as once again his team played well below its capabilities. In his place at head coach is Todd Graham, formally at Tulsa. Look for Graham to employ a wide-open style of offense in an effort to better utilize the talents of QB Tino Sunseri.

Pitt returns eight starters on defense including DE Brandon Lindsey and FS Jarred Holley. These two players will be intramental in helping the Panthers transition over to Graham’s 3-3-5 scheme. The overall talent level of Pittsburgh will keep it competitive in a relatively weak conference, but if Graham can quickly harness all this talent and finally get this team playing up to its capabilities, the Panthers at 7/2 are the value pick of the Big East.

Rounding out the odds to win the conference are Cincinnati at 7/1, Louisville at 10/1, Syracuse at 15/1, Rutgers at 20/1, and last year’s champs Connecticut once again in the back of the bus at 22/1.

Note: The Big East future lines listed above were current odds at the time the article was written. Please click here!! to get the up to the minute odds to win the 2011 Big East title.