The Big East LOVES to have center stage.
The conference that has too many basketball teams and too few football teams puts its two big guns on display Thursday night before a national television audience on ESPN.
The Cincinnati Bearcats, unbeaten at 5-0 and ranked 8th in the AP, 9th in the USA Today polls, comes to Raymond James Stadium to tangle with South Florida, also unbeaten at 5-0 and newly-entered into the polls at 21st.
Something's gotta give.
Tony Pike leads a powerful Bearcat offense that scores points like a basketball team. Pike's prowess and performances in those wins have vaulted him into the Heisman conversation.
Buildup?
Pike's favorite receiver, Mardy Gilyard, a Florida native, already took care of that.
"The coaches, they're all licking their chops. They can't wait to play Coach Tresey down there," Gilyard said.
Coach Tresey is Joe Tresey, the USF defensive coordinator who was Cincinnati DC last season.
He parted ways with Brian Kelly and found a new home at USF.
Gilyard, who lives in Bunnell, there a little trash talk at boyhood pal Chris Robinson, who is a starting linebacker at USF. "I've been calling him for two weeks and he ain't been picking up his phone. "I guess he don't want to fight with me because he knows I'm going to talk junk to him," Gilyard said in an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer.
USF typically doesn't say much before games but middle linebacker Kion Wilson did have one big pre-game thought:
"I don't feel their guys have been challenged up front like we are going to do on Thursday. They haven't been hit and physically abused yet. That's what we plan on going out there and doing."
Wilson's warning is a fair one. These Bulls hit hard and pack power on defense.
Just ask Florida State.
No comments:
Post a Comment