College bowl lineup could see positive changes

When John Marinatto took over as Big East commissioner this summer, he said he was confident the league would emerge in a "very good place ultimately" with the bowl lineup for the next cycle from 2010-13.

Start spreading the news: Marinatto has delivered.

The Big East and Big 12 are close to finalizing a deal to play in the new Yankee Bowl at Yankee Stadium starting in 2010. Once officially in place, the Big East's bowl lineup is expected to look like this for the next four seasons:

BCS (Big East champion vs. BCS), Champs (Big East No.2 vs. ACC), Yankee (Big East No. 3/4 vs. Big 12), Meineke Car Care (Big East No. 3/4 vs. ACC), Papajohns.com (Big East No. 5/6 vs. SEC) and St. Petersburg (Big East No. 5/6 vs. Conference USA).

In all, the Big East will play BCS leagues in five of the six bowls. That's quite an upgrade from a couple of years ago.

The difference in the Big East's projected new lineup is adding the Champs Bowl for the hybrid Gator/Sun model and replacing Toronto's International Bowl (against a Mid-American team) with the Yankee Bowl against a Big 12 opponent.

New York City in late December: the city is decked out for the holidays. Frigid temperatures, chance of snow, the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza.

A storybook Christmas setting, perhaps, but how will it translate for a bowl game between the third or fourth selection from the Big East and the seventh selection from the Big 12?

Both leagues are banking on it becoming a success.

FSU SMALL FAVORITE: How far has USF's program come - or how far has FSU's fallen? Here's one indication: when the Bulls visit the Seminoles on Sept. 26, FSU is expected to be about a 31/2- to 4-point favorite, said Ben Epstein, of VegasVigorish.com.

Epstein said if FSU loses at BYU Saturday by 10 points or more, FSU would be only a 11/2- to 2-point favorite against USF. If FSU upsets BYU, the Seminoles would be favored by 51/2 to 6 points against the Bulls.

FINALISTS NAMED: USF has named three finalists for the building of the facilities for the new athletics district: Hunt Construction Group, Inc.; PPI/Charles Perry Construction, Inc.; and R.R. Simmons Construction Corp. The three groups will make presentations on Sept. 29, with USF expected to award the contract shortly thereafter.

ODDS AND ENDS: The men's soccer team (4-0) opens Big East play by hosting Marquette on Friday and Notre Dame on Sunday. ... Football coach Jim Leavitt was asked whether he would prefer a dining hall or an indoor practice facility. "How about both? Let's be really a Division I BCS school," he said. ... Mayor Pam Iorio will proclaim Saturday as "USF Women's NIT Championship Basketball Team Day" in the city of Tampa. ... Junior Jeff Attinella (Countryside) was named the Big East's Goalkeeper of the Week. ... Former G Altron Jackson has joined the men's basketball team as a manager. ... About 1,000 additional USF student tickets have been made available for the FSU game. For information, go to: www.gousfbulls.com.