The Big East has been out of the national championship picture since Miami and Virginia Tech left the league two years ago.

West Virginia is hoping to do something about that.

After the Mountaineers went 11-1 and beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to finish No. 5 in the final poll, coach Rich Rodriguez is entertaining notions that this year's team could be even better.

"We've got a quote in our locker room that says, 'The problem with most people is not that they aim too high and miss, but aim too low and hit it,"' Rodriguez said. "We're going to aim high and see what happens."

He wasn't more specific, but aiming THAT high isn't something that's been done often in Morgantown, W.Va.

There's the annual dronings of league titles and Bowl Championship Series berths. But national championships? West Virginia has yet to snare one, and that talk usually occurred when Virginia Tech and Miami were the opponents.

There were 11-0 regular seasons in 1988 and 1993 which were followed by bowl losses. Teams with lofty preseason expectations in 1998 and 2004 went 8-4.

For 2006, the groundwork was laid in the middle of last season when Pat White took over at quarterback, and Steve Slaton at running back. West Virginia used a triple-overtime win over Louisville as a springboard to a third straight Big East title and first BCS berth.

The roles are reversed this time. West Virginia is no longer the underdog, Louisville isn't the favorite.

"How are you going to deal with high expectations? How are you going to keep your team from getting their heads too big?" Rodriguez said. "Those are legitimate questions but they are not a big concern to me. We think we know our guys."

West Virginia's top preseason issue was finding a capable backup for White. Adam Bednarik, last year's starter until midseason, was lost for 2006 after having shoulder surgery.

Rodriguez also is concerned about keeping a solid two-deep roster over a 12-game schedule.

"We have quality, but not the depth you'd think a Top 5 or Top 10 team would have," he said.

Louisville, whose 9-3 record missed expectations, returns Big East offensive player of the year Brian Brohm at quarterback and running back Michael Bush, who led the nation with 24 touchdowns. The Cardinals led the Big East by a wide margin with 482 yards of offense and 43 points per game.

"We think we should have won it last year," Brohm said. "They won it. They went down to the Sugar Bowl and beat Georgia so they deserve all the credit. But we're going in at it as we should win the Big East, and that's what we're going to try to do."

West Virginia's weak schedule has only three teams with winning records from 2005. The biggest obstacle appears to be Louisville, picked to finish second in the league behind the Mountaineers.

Their showdown is Nov. 2 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Louisville's first tough test is Sept. 16 at home with Miami.

A capsule look at the teams in predicted order of finish:

WEST VIRGINIA -- Pat McAfee made 11 of 18 field goals as a freshman ... White didn't get his first start until the eighth game of the 2005 season. He finished with 952 rushing yards, breaking the school record by a quarterback of 936 yards set by Major Harris in 1989. ... Slaton scored 19 TDs last season and set a single-game school record with six against Louisville.

LOUISVILLE -- Nine starters return on defense, but All-American Elvis Dumervil is off to the NFL. The Cardinals also lost leading tackler Brandon Johnson at linebacker. ... 6-foot-6 sophomore Mario Urrutia and junior Harry Douglas will look for more catches with the departures of Joshua Tinch and Montrell Jones, who combined for 110 receptions and 1,429 yards. ... Brohm is returning from a right knee injury that ended his season in November. ... Bush needs 819 yards and eight rushing TDs to set school records.

PITTSBURGH -- The Panthers went 5-6 in coach Dave Wannstedt's first season, considered one of the most disappointing in school history. ... Greg Lee, the league's top receiver as a junior, declared for the NFL draft but wasn't selected. ... Junior college transfer Lowell Robinson, who returned three of his seven interceptions for touchdowns in 2005, has been moved to wide receiver. ... Craig Bokor, a defensive tackle, will start at offensive guard to improve depth on the line. ... Freshman Kevin Collier is vying to replace leading rusher Rashad Jennings, who transferred to Liberty to be near his ailing father.

RUTGERS -- Sophomore Mike Teel is expected to take over for QB Ryan Hart, the school's career passing leader. The Knights have a solid 1-2 ground game in TB Ray Rice (1,120 yards, 5 TDs) and FB Brian Leonard (740, 11). Leonard needs 19 points to become the leading scorer in school history. ... The Knights' 45-40 loss to Arizona State in the Insight Bowl was their first bowl appearance since 1978.

SOUTH FLORIDA -- Sophomore Ricky Ponton (373 yards, 2 TDs) is the likely candidate to replace departed Big East rushing leader Andre Hall. ... The Bulls return 15 starters from the team went to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in their ninth season of existence, losing to North Carolina State. .... QB Pat Julmiste is a running threat with 336 yards and nine TDs a year ago. ... DL Julian Riley, a backup at Florida in 2004 and 2005, won a waiver of the one-year transfer rule. ... Along with Louisville and Cincinnati, the Bulls are entering their second year in the league.

CONNECTICUT -- Junior LB Danny Lansanah heads a defense that was the stingiest in the Big East with 297 yards per game. ... The Huskies had three starting QBs last year and their first losing season since becoming a full Division I-A program. ... UConn recently opened new practice facilities, replacing a small 50-year-old building and a doublewide trailer that acted as a coaches' meeting room.

CINCINNATI -- Sophomore Dustin Grutzka was fourth among league quarterbacks last season with 1,799 yards passing but tied with two others with a league-worst 11 interceptions. ... Five freshmen started on defense last year when the Bearcats surrendered a league-worst 31 points per game. ... Cincinnati plays seven teams that went to bowls in 2005.

SYRACUSE -- Under first-year coach Greg Robinson, the Orange suffered the first 10-loss season in 116 years of football. ... Following two defections, Brian White was hired as offensive coordinator, and Phil Earley as the new quarterbacks coach. ... Must replace three of five starters on the offensive line ... The defense ranked 21st nationally against the pass last season.