Predicting the Rest of the Season

So here we are at 5-1 and ranked 17th in the nation by the AP and in the Bowl Championship Series rankings. Plus we are sitting atop the Big East and have our destiny in our hands. This is an exciting time to be a Panther fan but now it is time to find out what we actually have. Remember on the preseason podcast I picked us to go 11-1 but also remember this I'm usually wrong about everything. So let's get to the predictions:

vs Rutgers- This seems like another win and with our momentum over the past two weeks I could see this being a slight blowout. Rutgers is not good at all and I can't see them being enough on defense to shut down Shady. Percentage chance of winning- 95%

at Notre Dame- I'm concerned about this game just because of the atmosphere and the implications on the rest of the season. ND is extremely uneven and I'm not convinced that they are a legitimate threat but going into South Bend is always a tough game. Beating ND on national tv would be a great showcase for us and could give us more juice in the rankings. Percentage chance of winning- 75%

vs Louisville-The Cardinals have looked a little better than I expected but then again I expected them to lose 7 games. This is a home game and it could be fairly cold with the usual sloppy mess that Heinz Field becomes late in the season. I think the colder it gets the more conducive it will be to our style of football running the ball. Louisville has an ok defense but again I think we can overpower them. Percentage chance of winning- 85%

at Cincinnati- Now the Bearcats have been playing slightly better than average football up to this point. I don't think they are an elite Big East but then again I don't think that term exists. Historically in the River City Riverboat River Rat River Phoenix Rivalry we have played extremely well. This year will be no different because that trophy is ours and this is the most important rivalry in the nation and not an odd marketing ploy by two athletic departments. Percentage chance of winning- 75%

vs West Virginia- To me this is the toughest game left on the schedule just because it is a rivalry game. That being said I'm convinced Stewart is going to drive the Mountaineers into the ground. Hopefully the Thursday night upset curse doesn't continue and we can get up big time for this game. This game will definitely mean much more for us than it will for them. Still you can never know what to expect in the Backyard Brawl. Percentage chance of winning- 60%

at UConn- I expected this game was going to be the hardest left on the schedule until I watched UConn play Rutgers. Now the way I see it the Cincinnati and WVU games will decide who wins the Big East as I can only see UConn continuing to slide. Traditionally, UConn kills us though so this one could be a little bit of a crap shoot. Percentage chance of winning- 65%

So there you go I think we have every chance to win out, I'm not going to stand by my prediction for the final record other than just saying I said it in August. This schedule is not rough at all and this season is there for the taking. Thank you Big East for being so terrible other than South Florida and us.