The Big East is going to be a tough conference to handicap this season. There clearly aren’t any National Championship contenders, but there are definitely at least half of the teams in the conference that can claim glory and make it to the BCS. The favorites this year, seemingly as always, are the West Virginia Mountaineers (Current Big East Odds: 1.75 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook). The problem that the ‘Neers have is that they have four road games this year in conference play. The good news is that the “Backyard Brawl” is at home in Morgantown, but four road games in the last six games is going to be awfully difficult to survive.

The South Florida Bulls (2011 Big East Lines: 2.75 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) are the team that could come out of nowhere to win the conference. Of course, the oddsmakers are onto just how good the Bulls really could be with QB BJ Daniels running the ship. It’s only a matter of time until Head Coach Skip Holtz really gets this program rolling, and this could be the year that USF finally gets to the big time.

The other team that is up and coming in the Big East is the Louisville Cardinals (Current Big East Odds: 10 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook). The first year for Head Coach Charlie Strong was a great one for the Cards, and if that’s the case again this season, this could be a shocking team to watch. Louisville made it to a bowl game last year, and it isn’t all that far removed from Big East supremacy. Sure, three out of four on the road to end the season is going to be tough, as will those four road games in conference play. However, we were absolutely shocked at what the ‘Ville was able to do last year as the biggest underdog in the Big East, so this year, we wouldn’t be surprised if this is a team that really has a shot of winning the Big East this season.

2011 Odds To Win The Big East @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 7/17/11):
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West Virginia Mountaineers 1.75 to 1
South Florida Bulls 2.75 to 1
Pittsburgh Panthers 3.75 to 1
Cincinnati Bearcats 9 to 1
Louisville Cardinals 10 to 1
Syracuse Orange 17 to 1
Connecticut Huskies 23 to 1
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 24 to 1