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It's game week ladies and gentlemen! There are six returning starting Big East quarterbacks this season. Will this fact help the teams raise the level of play from last year? We at BECB are certainly hoping that it will. While we click down the now hours until kickoff on Thursday, we are starting our previews. This post focuses on those returning starting quarterbacks using the Positive Impact Factor (what's this?).
We've already established a rating of 50 as a minimum to be considered championship caliber play. You can win a conference with a lower rating as Connecticut showed last season, but you'll need a good defense, which the Huskies also had. The only quarterback in the Big East playing at the minimum level to win a championship in 2010 was Pitt's Tino Sunseri. The Panthers also had the best defensive PIF in the Big East last season. Add the lack of a championship to the Wannstedt disappointment list. Without further ado, here's the career PIF outlook of the returning Big East starters.
| Rank | QB | Team | Touches | Total TD | Neg Play | X Neg Play | X Pos Play | PIF |
| 1. | Tino Sunseri | Pittsburgh | 417 | 20 | 37.6 | 13.8 | 4.8 | 53.3 |
| 2. | Zach Collaros | Cincinnati | 695 | 44 | 33.8 | 19.9 | 6.3 | 52.6 |
| 3. | Geno Smith | West Virginia | 544 | 25 | 35.3 | 22.2 | 4.6 | 47.1 |
| 4. | B.J. Daniels | South Florida | 767 | 39 | 35.3 | 23.9 | 5.1 | 45.8 |
| 5. | Chas Dodd | Rutgers | 285 | 11 | 52.3 | 14 | 3.9 | 37.6 |
| 6. | Ryan Nassib | Syracuse | 520 | 23 | 46.2 | 22.5 | 4.4 | 35.8 |
In general terms, what you see for the career average in Positive Impact Factor is what you get. There is not a lot of movement over the course of a quarterback's career. However, there have been exceptions where dramatic turns in one direction or another have happened as well as ratings progressing or regressing for certain guys. Zach Collaros had a down year last year with a 44, but in 2009 he turned in an outstanding 76 (good for #1 in the country that season). The main difference was turnovers as he still produced touchdowns at a high rate in 2010.
Some things to look for in 2011: Whether or not Cincy can cut down on the offensive turnovers, if a new offensive system will help Chas Dodd, Geno Smith and Tino Sunseri, will Nassib get his fumble problem under control and if a passing game will emerge at Connecticut with no receivers.