Outlook:

Once thought to be quickly losing ground to the Mountain West, the Big East in recent years has more than proven that it deserves to remain among the power conference of college football. After Virginia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and Boston College departed for the Atlantic Coast Conference several years ago,a fewprograms have risen to amply fill the void. Going into the 2008 season, there are at least two schools that have legitimate shots at a national title and possibly six programs with great chances of posting winning records.

1. West Virginia - The Mountaineers return a possible Heisman candidate in quarterback Pat White, while running back Noel Devine had many people already forgetting about Steve Slaton last year. The biggest question is whether the program can continue to grow with last season's head coach Rich Rodriguez now at Michigan.

2. South Florida - All their major offensive threats returning this year, most notably dual-threat quarterback Matt Grothe. Last year, this team was ranked has high as No. 2 in the polls and has just as good of a shot of duplicating that success this season.

3. Connecticut - The productive backfield of quarterback Tyler Lorenzen and running backs Andre Dixon and Donald Brown will be crucial for the Huskies if they want to match last year's nine-win mark.

4. Cincinnati - Head coach Brian Kelly has a buzz around this program that it has never really experienced before. However, a whole at running back could prove to be this team's Achilles' heel.

5. Rutgers - The rise of the Scarlet Knights program during the last few years has been meteoric under head coach Greg Schiano. Losing all time leading rusher Ray Rice stings, but the rise of a very productive passing game should level things out.

6. Pittsburgh - Running back LeSean McCoy is a beast and will be important to the Panthers' chances of posting a winning year. Head coach Dave Wannstedt will be gone if Pitt doesn't get the team to a bowl this year.

7. Louisville - The transition over to head coach Steve Kragthorpe's system has proven to have more growing pains than expected. Things could be even tougher this year with the loss of quarterback Brian Brohm and several of last year's top receivers.

8. Syracuse - It very well looks like head coach Greg Robinson's days are numbered at SU. A loss last season to Buffalo would have sealed his spot on the unemployment line, but the win may have kept him around for another season. Robinson's job security wasn't helped at all when last season's top wide out Riverside High School alumni Mike Williams was suspended.

Players to Watch:

Patrick White QB West Virginia - A pre-season Heisman candidate, White led the team in rushing and passing last season, scoring 14 times on the ground and through the air.

Matt Grothe QB South Florida - Built in a similar mold as White, Grothe himself is a bit of a dark horse Heisman candidate. Although rushing for fewer yards than White, Grothe put up more passing yards.

LeSean McCoy RB Pittsburgh - Last season, McCoy scored on the ground 14 times as he rumbled for over 1,300 yards.

Kenny Britt WR Rutgers - Recorded over 1,200 yards receiving last year for the Scarlet Knights, Britt formed a fairly productive duo with Tiquan Underwood, who also broke the 1,000 yard mark receiving.

Georgia Selvie DE South Florida - In 2007, Selvie was a frequent nemesis in the backfield as he recorded 14.5 sacks and made 17 tackles for a loss.

Scott McKillop LB Pittsburgh - McKillop was a true ball hawk least season, making 151 tackles with six for a loss and breaking up seven passes.

Tony Ciaravino K Connecticut - This Huskie went 22-27 on field goals last season, but was a bit sporadic from beyond 50, only hitting one on four attempts.

Max Suter KR Syracuse - Suter returned one kick off for a score last year while averaging over 25 yards per return. He should have plenty of chances to take more kickoffs back this season.

Marcus Edwards PR South Florida - Although he only averaged 7.5 yards per punt return in 2007, Edwards could see more opportunities to field punts with stingier play from the Bulls' defense.