West Virginia coach Bill Stewart is finding out what "Big Brown"
can do for the Mountaineers.
After watching his team struggle in short-yardage situations early in the year, Stewart has turned backup quarterback Jarrett Brown into the team's de facto power back.
Stewart invented the "Big Brown"
package to highlight Brown's athleticism and help the Mountaineers get the kind of tough yards that have been hard to come by during their so-so start.
The formation is simple. Brown replaces quarterback Pat White in short-yardage situations and lines up in an empty backfield. At the snap, he bulls his 6-foot-4 body forward in hopes of converting a first down. More often than not, it's worked. Brown finished with 44 yards rushing, many of them between the tackles, during a 24-17 win over Rutgers.
"He's a long-legged guy that can pick'em up and put'em down more than most players,"
Stewart said. "Once he gets going, he's going. He may not be a 4.3-something like Pat, but top-end speed he's right there."
Brown's play also helps keep White healthy, though he did get banged up during a run late in the third quarter against the Scarlet Knights.
White, second on the NCAA's career quarterback rushing list, is expected to play on Saturday against Syracuse. Stewart would prefer if White lets Brown take all the big hits.
"We have a highlight tape every Sunday and the last two weeks (Brown) has been running over guys, flat over them,"
Stewart said.
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BAD BYE: Success hasn't sat well with No. 24 Pittsburgh in recent years, a main reason why the Panthers would rather have not had 16 days off to enjoy their upset win at South Florida last week.
The layoff is Pitt's longest since a 19-day break caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Pitt has rebounded from its 27-17 opening-game loss to Bowling Green to win four in a row, a possible sign the Panthers (4-1, 2-0 in Big East) are beginning to turn the corner following three consecutive non-winning seasons.
If nothing else, the extra break gives the Panthers extra time to work on defending against Navy's triple-option offense, which they never slowed during a 48-45, double-overtime loss to the Midshipmen last season.
That performance confounded coach Dave Wannstedt, especially when the Panthers went on to allow only two of their final six opponents to score more than 17 points.
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KICK AND BARE IT: The forecast in Memphis for Friday night's game between Louisville and the Tigers is for temperatures in the 70s, which is good news for Louisville kicker Ryan Payne.
Payne, a redshirt freshman, will likely see his first action when the Cardinals play their former Conference USA rivals. Not only will Payne be busy - the teams used to get in annual shootouts before Louisville left for the Big East in 2005 - but he'll be kicking barefoot.
Payne will split time with Chris Philpott against the Tigers after Tim Dougherty was suspended two games for conduct detrimental to the team. Philpott has struggled, making just 1-of-3 field goals this season while Payne has yet to attempt a field goal.
Payne's problem hasn't been length but accuracy, though coach Steve Kragthorpe said he's been pleased with Payne's progress in the past week.
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YOUNG ORANGE: Although Syracuse has five seniors who start on offense and five on defense, of the 58 players who have played this season, 35 (eight freshmen, six redshirt freshmen, eight sophomores and 13 redshirt sophomores) have less than two years of college experience. They've been on a steep learning curve since the season began. That curve will get a little steeper on Saturday when the Orange visit West Virginia, which has handled Syracuse the past few years.
"The thing I know about this team is that we still have room to grow and develop,"
coach Greg Robinson said. "And we have seven games left."
"We've seen that anything can happen (in the Big East). A lot of things have happened that people didn't think would happen,"
said Cam Dantley, who replaced Andrew Robinson at quarterback. "It's going to be a good test for us. It's only our second road game."
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THAT'S CHAZZ WITH TWO Zs: Timothy Anderson goes by his middle name - Chazz - as a way to set himself apart. His father also is named Timothy.
"My dad has the same first name and Chazz is just unique, so I like to go with it,"
the redshirt freshman said. "It's actually 'Chazz' on my birth certificate - my middle name."
Anderson came to Cincinnati from Pickerington Central High School in central Ohio, about a two-hour drive away. He took a redshirt season in 2007, when Ben Mauk led the Bearcats to 10 wins and a No. 17 final ranking, the highest in school history.
He was low on the depth chart when this season began. Injuries to quarterbacks Dustin Grutza (broken leg) and Tony Pike (broken forearm) forced coach Brian Kelly to turn to his two redshirt freshmen, Anderson and Zach Collaros. Anderson made his first career start last week and went 16-of-26 for 158 yards and a touchdown in a 33-10 win at Marshall. Anderson will start against Rutgers on Saturday in Cincinnati's Big East opener.
During his redshirt season, Anderson spent time with Mauk, who gave motivational speeches at churches in his spare time. Anderson also is deeply religious, and has changed his major from architectural engineering to communications so he can do something similar.
"Ben did just a phenomenal job in leading by his actions, showing me how to run the offense and how to be socially and spiritually,"
Anderson said. "We did a couple of speeches together in the offseason."
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HONORS: Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy is proving to be the workhorse coach Dave Wanndstedt envisioned when he brought the highly touted running back to campus. The sophomore was the Big East Offensive Player of the Week for his 142-yard performance in last week's 26-21 win over South Florida. Two of McCoy's 28 carries went for touchdowns and he added three receptions for 23 yards.
Pittsburgh linebacker Scott McKillop earned Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season for his play against South Florida. McKillop has 12 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss in the victory.
Cincinnati defensive end Connor Barwin was selected as the Special Teams Player of the Week after helping the Bearcats to a 33-10 win over Marshall. Barwin blocked two punts, including one that went out of the end zone for a safety. He added three tackles, a sack and a pass breakup while on defense.
