Off the field turmoil regarding conference expansion/implosion continues as we look at the updated standings for the Big East's quarterbacks and defenses against opposing QBs using the Positive Impact Factor (what's this?). There's a couple of new names on the list this week in Teddy Bridgewater and Gary Nova. If Will Stein and Chas Dodd can't get back on the field this week, they'll be dropped from the next standings (that seems pretty likely to happen).
Here's the updated standings:
| Rank | Quarterback | Team | Touches | Total TD | Neg Play | XNeg Play | XPos Play | PIF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | B.J. Daniels | South Florida | 213 | 11 | 32.9 | 3.3 | 5.2 | 69 |
| 2. | Zach Collaros | Cincinnati | 171 | 13 | 33.3 | 17.5 | 7.6 | 56.8 |
| 3. | Will Stein | Louisville | 102 | 5 | 38.2 | 15.8 | 4.9 | 50.9 |
| 4. | Chas Dodd | Rutgers | 137 | 6 | 46 | 10.3 | 4.4 | 48 |
| 5. | Ryan Nassib | Syracuse | 217 | 12 | 37.8 | 19.8 | 5.5 | 48 |
| 6. | Teddy Bridgewater | Louisville | 111 | 5 | 35.1 | 27.6 | 4.5 | 41.8 |
| 7. | Geno Smith | West Virginia | 275 | 16 | 37.8 | 30 | 5.8 | 38 |
| 8. | Tino Sunseri | Pittsburgh | 247 | 6 | 40.1 | 26.8 | 2.4 | 35.5 |
| 9. | Johnny McEntee | Connecticut | 192 | 6 | 50 | 26 | 3.1 | 27.1 |
| 10. | Gary Nova | Rutgers | 76 | 4 | 56.6 | 28.6 | 5.3 | 20.1 |
The top five and #7 all stayed the same this week. B.J. Daniels and Zach Collaros had a bye week. Will Stein and Dodd didn't touch the field. Ryan Nassib is now only a hair behind Dodd (the PIF in the chart is rounded) after turning in a 62.5 PIF against Tulane in a win. Geno Smith's rating is making a rapid ascent even if his position didn't change. Smith's 65.3 against UConn was the highest rating in the Big East last week and so was his percentage of touchdowns produced (8.2% of his touches went for scores). Teddy Bridgewater and Gary Nova both turned in a game in the low 50s this past week but earlier appearances this season hurt their averages. Tino Sunseri was the latest victim of the #1 Big East PIF ranked Rutgers defense which forced him into three INTs and a 3.1 PIF. Johnny McEntee played better than his average against West Virginia but the improving Mountaineer defense caused a turnover on a fumble from McEntee which changed the whole course of that game.
Now for the defenses:
| Rank | Team | Touches | Total TD | Neg Play | XNeg Play | XPos Play | PIF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rutgers | 196 | 4 | 48 | 45 | 2 | 9 |
| 2. | Cincinnati | 199 | 9 | 38.7 | 52.5 | 4.5 | 13.4 |
| 3. | South Florida | 222 | 8 | 40.5 | 31.3 | 3.6 | 31.8 |
| 4. | West Virginia | 224 | 5 | 40.2 | 28.7 | 2.2 | 33.4 |
| 5. | Connecticut | 262 | 11 | 43.5 | 26.5 | 4.2 | 34.2 |
| 6. | Syracuse | 290 | 13 | 37.2 | 18.3 | 4.5 | 48.9 |
| 7. | Pittsburgh | 291 | 9 | 39.2 | 10.2 | 3.1 | 53.7 |
| 8. | Louisville | 186 | 7 | 38.7 | 10.7 | 3.8 | 54.3 |
Rutgers' defense is #1 for the second week in a row. The highest rated quarterback the Scarlet Knights have faced is Ohio's Tyler Tettleton who has a PIF of 55.5. He threw 3 TDs in the game against Rutgers but held to a 36.5 PIF in the loss. Navy's Kriss Proctor will present their toughest challenge yet (64.2 PIF, 7.8% of his touches are TDs) this Saturday. Connecticut's loss allowed idle USF to move up.. Cincinnati didn't budge from #2 during the bye week. The rest of the standings didn't change. The in-conference matchups will be interesting this week to see if trends hold. The Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville and South Florida defenses have allowed a combined 35 QB touchdowns at a rate of 4%. Therefore, you would expect some points to be put up by QBs in these games.
Check out previous weeks of the Big East Positive Impact Factor: