Big East Notebook: Syracuse WR Alec Lemon bearing down on record

Alec Lemon figures to become Syracuse's all time leader in catches Saturday. (US Presswire)

Senior wide receiver Alec Lemon needs just six catches to become the all-time leader in catches at Syracuse. That's quite a feat, considering the Orange produced such prolific NFL receivers as Art Monk, Marvin Harrison and, one of Lemon's coaches, Rob Moore.

“That's wild,” Lemon told Bud Poliquin of the Syracuse Post-Standard. “It's something special to be on the list with those guys. Great athletes. Great football players. I try not to think about it.”

The Orange will face Stony Brook in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. Look for the record to fall.

Rutgers QB takes the blame: Sophomore Gary Nova won the starting quarterback job over junior Chas Dodd over the summer, but Nova has been less than impressive so far. In two games against less-than-average competition, Nova has been decent, at best, throwing for 288 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

“I think it's all my fault,” Nova told the Star-Ledger. “The balls you see guys dropping weren't the best thrown balls. I can give them better thrown balls and help them out a little more.”

Nova better get it figured out quick, as Rutgers will face South Florida Thursday night in Tampa. Last season against the Bulls, Nova was yanked in the fourth quarter in favor of Dodd who led the Scarlet Knights to a 20-17 overtime victory.

And how would Nova assess his play to this point?

"Average," he told the paper.

Louisville's Strong to face old colleague: When Louisville and North Carolina meet Saturday, not only will it be a rematch from last season's 14-7 Tar Heel win, but it will also be a reunion for UNC coach Larry Fedora and Cardinal head coach Charlie Strong. Both men coached together while on Ron Zook's staff at Florida.

“Charlie is a great competitor, he is a lot of fun to be around, he coaches hard,” Fedora told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “I had a great time with him on the staff and I had a great time competing against him on the field.”

Strong and Fedora met one other time, in the 2010 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl when Fedora was at Sothern Mississippi, which the Cards won.

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Big East, follow bloggers Evan Hilbert and Matt Rybaltowski @CBSBigEast.