AROUND THE BIG EAST
	Boston College Miami Pittsburgh Rutgers	Syracuse Temple Virginia Tech West Virginia

Asked if Miami were the team to beat in the conference at the Big East's recent media day, Hurricanes starting tailback James Jackson replied: "I see Miami as the team to beat in the whole NCAA. With the caliber of guys we have and if everyone stays healthy, there's no limit to what we can do."

The Big East honchos need Jackson to be right, because the league enters the 1999 season with lots of people questioning its overall strength after the Big East has gone 2-6 in bowls the past two seasons.

Last year, the Bowl Championship Series-worthiness of the Big East champion (Syracuse) was openly questioned. Many felt that Kansas State was more deserving of the Orange Bowl date with Florida and the Orangemen did little to quiet those Big East bashers, losing 31-10 to the Gators.

And as disappointing as the Big East has been the last couple years, things could be even worse this season.

Two of the Big East's brightest offensive stars, Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb and Miami tailback Edgerrin James, are now NFL millionaires. In all, five of the eight members schools -- Virginia Tech, Miami, Syracuse, Boston College and Pittsburgh -- will have new starters under center.

The league also must replace its 1999 Special Teams Player of the Year (Syracuse's Kevin Johnson) and two of its most productive all-time running backs (West Virginia's Amos Zereoue and Boston College's Mike Cloud). Most of the Big East's brightest stars will be on defense in 1999.

With many of its marquee offensive players gone and the league's credential being questioned (the BCS has added five more computer polls to its selection process), the league needs a heavyweight team. The two most logical suspects appear to be Virginia Tech and Miami.

Tech will feature stellar special teams and one of the nation's stingiest defenses, led by returning All-American Corey Moore (13½ sacks in 1998) and hard-working defensive end John Engelberger, but there are some questions in the secondary where three starters must be replaced. The other question is under center where highly touted redshirt freshman Michael Vick will run the show.

		The Big East is trying to gain respect and get its teams to play up to national championship level. Miami is probably getting back to that level, but I don't think the Hurricanes are back quite yet. Syracuse has lost a couple of games every year when they were the conference favorite. I think Virginia Tech is the best team in the conference. The Hokies have redshirt quarterback Michael Vick, who will be a key for them. They start with four non-conference games and don't have rival Virginia at the end of the year this time. I don't know how that's going to affect the Hokies. The Virginia game, because they play it early, will have a different effect on the Hokies than it's ever had before. Defensively, Virginia Tech is solid, especially with defensive ends Corey Moore and John Engelberger. The Hokies always win a game or two on special teams. Everything will depend on well Vick performs. If the Hokies get by Virginia, they have a championship schedule and could finish as high as 11-0. I'd put Miami second. The big question at Miami is sophomore quarterback Kenny Kelly. They have high hopes for him. Reggie Wayne is one of the underrated receivers in the country. The Hurricanes have a chance to be good on defense, and that's where you'll see the biggest difference in Butch Davis' team. But their schedule is tough. If they can survive the early schedule, the 'Canes will be back in the hunt as a top 10 team.

"If we can keep everybody healthy, we'll be in the (national title) hunt," says Moore. This team is loaded with playmakers, including Michael Vick, who is going to be a great one. If we can put the same guys on the field every week, then we can win all the games on our schedule. Just like Tennessee did last year.

"The question is whether or not we'd be picked to be in the national title game, if we went undefeated. But that's beyond our control. We can only go out and try to win the games on our schedule and then just go to the bowl game they put us in."

The reason that Tech could be left out in the cold, even if it goes 11-0, is its soft nonleague schedule -- with the exception of their game vs. intrastate rival Virginia. The Hokies open up with James Madison, UAB and rebuilding Clemson and should be 3-0 and in the nation's top 10 as they head to Charlottesville on Oct. 2. Those first three games should produce lopsided scores, but will do little to earn the Big East some much-needed national respect.

That task will be up Miami, which plays three top-10 teams (Ohio State, Penn State and Florida State) before Oct. 9 and another national title sleeper in Virginia Tech at Blacksburg on Nov. 13. The Hurricanes are winless against the Hokies during Butch Davis' tenure.

"We don't have the luxury to wait until Week 3 or Week 4 to really get into a groove," Davis said. "We're going to be under the gun from the very beginning (vs. Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic on August 29)."

Are the Hurricanes up to the task? Like Virginia Tech, a lot will depend on how the Hurricanes' physically gifted but new quarterback (Kenny Kelly) and rebuilt secondary perform. Kelly, who played Class-A baseball this spring for the St. Petersburg Devil Rays of the Florida State, has a strong arm and is a great athlete.

He was considered one of the top quarterbacks in the high school Class of 1996, and now it's his turn to run the team. He certainly was impressive as Scott Covington's backup last season, completing 23 of 42 throws for 453 yards, five TDs and one interception. But producing as a backup and a starter are two different things.

Aside from the man running the team, the other major difference between last year's Hurricanes and this year's model will be their defensive philosophy -- which will be a much more attacking style under new cooordinator Greg Schiano, a former defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears.

Last season, the Hurricanes played a bend-but-don't-break style which bent a little too much for Davis' liking, as the Hurricanes were last in the Big East in pass defense (238.4 yards per game allowed).

The Canes' new defensive philosophy will be tested right away against Ohio State. The Big East higher-ups need the Canes to pass that test and to at least look good against Penn State and Florida State this season in order for the league to help its sagging national profile.

It makes sense that in today's college football, where strength of schedule is a factor in determining who goes to the best bowls, that the Big East needs Miami to be strong. But Miami isn't the only Big East school that takes on a preseason top 15 team in its nonleague schedule as Syracuse plays Michigan, Pitt plays Penn State and Rutgers takes on Texas.

"I just get the sense that people are curious about how good we are as a league," says Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese. "Obviously, how Miami fares (against Ohio State, Penn State and Florida State) is a big issue. We lost some great players. The league is going to have a different look. It's like a whole new wave of players, a new cycle. But there are some great early non-conference games. We think we're probably armed to be pretty successful."

At Big East media day, West Virginia coach Don Nehlen seemed angered about all of the emphasis that was being placed on the need for Miami to be great.

"I don't think we need a strong Miami," said Nehlen. "We need a strong West Virginia or you need a strong Virginia Tech or Pitt or somebody. I don't think it has to be Miami. If they are, fine."

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer sort of agrees with Nehlen.

"For the league to get more respect nationally, it can't be just one or two teams carrying the banner," Beamer said. "We need Rutgers and Boston College to keep improving and I think they will. And we need the people at Temple and Pittsburgh to be patient. They've hired quality coaches and they need to give them time to do their jobs.

"I think the overall level of coaching in this league is as good as it's ever been. So if all of these guys are give some time, I think we'll see every program in the league get stronger and as a result, the Big East will get stronger as a whole."

Bill Doherty is a freelance writer based in Bethlehem, Pa. and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.