The best: Miami. Not that it matters; in Coral Gables, they tend to set their sights a bit higher. The Hurricanes dropped out of the league’s top spot for the first time in its three football seasons, but Miami might be one of the few disappearing 1980s icons (Ronald Reagan, power ties) to make a big comeback in the ’90s. Miami lacks a clear starting quarterback but has everything else, including a tailored schedule, to contend for the national title.
The rest: The Big East was one of the nation’s oddest leagues a year ago. Boston College won at Notre Dame, but big bust Syracuse lost to Miami and West Virginia by a combined 92-0. After West Virginia won its first Big East title in impressive fashion, its fans spent the off-season insisting that the Mountaineers were the best team in the country-at least that part of the country not occupied by SEC champ Florida, which blitzed the Mountaineers 41-7 in the Sugar Bowl. The Mountaineers have probably lost too many good players to contend for the championship this year. BC lost standout quarterback Glenn Foley and head coach Tom Coughlin and is looking for leaders under new coach Dan Henning, an NFL veteran who has never led a college program. Virginia Tech and Syracuse ought to be good enough to go bowling. Pittsburgh, still looking to the long term under local legend Johnny Majors, will be down again this year. Temple, which averaged fewer than 8,000 fans per game at spacious Veterans Stadium last season, can’t go much lower, unless it drops out of Division I-A football altogether.
Key game: Miami at Virginia Tech, Oct. 29.
Fast fact: Temple has beaten only two Division I-A teams in three years.
More Top Picks Best Leather Boots For Wide Calves
The picks: 1. Miami; 2. Virginia Tech; 3. West Virginia; 4. Syracuse; 5. Boston College; 6. Rutgers; 7. Pittsburgh; 8. Temple.