Big East is MIA

Bloggers and columnists are signaling the end of the Big East since no conference team is in the USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches poll. All that really tells me is preseason polls are meaningless.

Boise State (16), TCU (17), Utah (18) and BYU (24) are all ranked. Seriously, does anyone think all four of these teams will be in the Top 25 at the end? Does anyone remember Clemson last year? The Tigers were ranked in the top 10 and considered the ACC's premiere team. How did that work out for Tommy Bowden?

Cincinnati is the highest ranked Big East team at No. 29, followed by Pitt (30), West Virginia (31) and Rutgers (32).

My guess ... Pitt, WVU and Rutgers are all in the final Top 25. But really, what does that mean today?

Expectations are high for Vols

Expectations are definitely high for the Volunteers and Our Boy Lane Kiffin. I almost feel bad for him because Urban Meyer is going to enjoy putting it to UT this year when the Vols travel to Gainesville on Sept. 19. Does anyone remember how Meyer repaid Mark Richt last year?

Big East expansion?

This may sound far-fetched and considering it came from the New York Post it just may be, but is the Big East in a position of strength when considering future expansion to 9 or 10 teams?

According to the Post, two sources say the Big East would like to expand to nine teams if it can get ... wait for it ... an ACC team to bolt. The likely schools? Maryland or Boston College. This is a big step up from others who have been mentioned (East Carolina, Memphis, Central Florida, Army, Navy) as likely Big East expansion partners.

The Terrapins and Eagles seem a bit of a stretch for the Big East, especially when you consider the money the ACC is making these days and the academic profile that comes with being in that conference.

Look a little deeper and you can see the logic.

Maryland has always played Big East teams in non-conference tilts and Gary Williams would add another big-name coach to the best basketball conference in the country. Boston College has learned that the jump to the ACC may have been a bit shortsighted. In the down economy the Eagles have learned that traveling up and down the East Coast for soccer and softball aren't fiscally responsible. BC also has many more natural rivals in the Big East.

So is this a pipe dream or realistic in the near future?

"I think we've proven ourselves over the last three or four years," said new commissioner John Marinatto. "I think we are in a much better position."

Maybe this isn't so far-fetched.

Mosaic of the Day

Get your twitter mosaic here.

Thanks to Twitter Mosaic you can see who is following us on Twitter. Now my question is: Why aren't more of you following us? Get to it now. Follow us at twitter.com/eyeandeer.

Bill-bored with Volunteers

I have defended "Our Boy" Lane Kiffin most of the summer. Those days may officially be over.

After reading The Miami Herald online today I was shocked to see the University of Tennessee has decided to tap its large South Florida base to purchase season tickets for the 2009 season with a billboard in Fort Lauderdale on I-95 and Oakland Park Boulevard.

So where's the logic in this move? It seems Gator-commit and Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson standout Demar Dorsey will pass the billboard on a daily basis. I'm tiring of talking about the poor economy, but someone at Tennessee has to reign in Kiffin and the superfluous spending of the Volunteers Athletic Department.

This is simply a waste of taxpayer or donor money. If the teenager backs out of his verbal over a billboard then the Gators shouldn't have really wanted him that bad. Enough of the incendiary ploys by Kiffin and UT. Here's hoping it backfires.

Urban gets a raise

So, here's what two national titles gets you: not as much as Charlie Weis.

Urban Meyer got an extension from Florida - six years, $24 million. That puts him, for now, at No. 1 in the SEC (just about Nick Saban's $3.9 million) but third in college football behind Pete Carroll ($4.4 million) and Chunky Chuck of the Fightin' Irish ($4.2 million.)

Interesting the Gator brass only chose to bump Urban up to the top of the SEC and not to the top of all coaches.

And if Notre Dame is willing to dump $4.2 million on Charlie crap-ass coaching, what would they be willing to pay Urban next year? $6 million, $8 million?

Buckeye hype

Nice video. No doubt it has the Buckeye faithful fired up for the home opener against Navy.

However, I doubt Jim Tressel's days of producing inspirational videos aren't over. Also, Redemption 2? Is that all Ohio State is up to? Seems to me the Buckeyes should be up to about Redemption V. Loss to Florida. Loss to LSU. Loss to USC. Loss to Texas.

We'll keep a lookout for future renditions.

(Hat Tip: Eleven Warriors)