Big East Week Seven: A Huge Entree of Roast Bearcat or Barbecue Bull?

This is it, Big East fans—you've got yourself a bona fide biggie tonight.

Heavyweights Cincinnati and South Florida are set to go at it in front of 60,000-plus at Raymond James Stadium on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. This one is an all-you-can-eat and then some special.

So will there be roasted Bearcat or barbecue Bull on the menu? You'll have to tune in and find out.

Cincinnati (5-0, 1-0) at South Florida (5-0, 1-0)

Anyone who looks down on Big East football needs to look at the talent on the field on both sides of the football in this game.

Bearcat quarterback Tony Pike and his golden arm direct a pulsating offense that takes care of the football and can score quickly, and often. Pike is a Heisman contender and a possible first-round pick in the NFL draft, along with his favorite target, Mardy Gilyard. Passing is their game, but these guys can also run the football when they want.

South Florida will try to and counter that offense with a solid, talented, hard-hitting defense. Gilyard threw out some trash talk earlier in the week, and South Florida middle linebacker Kion Wilson has a simple reply: "They (Cincinnati) haven't been hit and physically abused yet. That's what we plan on going out there and doing."

Cincinnati has had USF's number—they've beaten the Bulls three straight years. Winner of this game takes a HUGE step toward the Big East title and the coveted BCS Bowl berth. With all the focus on Cincinnati's offense and USF's defense, perhaps it will be the Cincinnati defense and USF's offense that really turn the tide in this game.

If it's close, USF is at a distinct disadvantage with no reliable field goal kicker. The Bulls don't want it to come down to that. The house will be rocking with a loud crowd—only 10,000 less than U2 put in there last Friday—and that is saying something for Big East football.

This is a game you don't want to miss.

Edge: Toss a coin.

Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-0) at Rutgers (4-1, 0-1)

A Friday night national telecast on ESPN (8 p.m.) puts the Big East in the spotlight on back-to-back nights. Both teams have a lot to prove. Pitt has to prove it is a true contender, and this is a perfect game for that. Rutgers must show that it has fully recovered from the opening loss to Cincinnati.

Rutgers' task will be to stop the Pittsburgh ground game, and that's a real challenge. It will also have to generate some offense.

Pitt needs to show that perhaps it had an off day against Connecticut last week. The Panthers don't want to have to make another huge come-from-behind effort.

Winner of this game stays in the Big East title hunt; loser will have some work to do. If Rutgers is the loser, it may see its hopes vanish.

Solid, plenty-to-eat entree for both teams.

Edge: Pittsburgh

Louisville (2-3, 0-1) at Connecticut (3-2, 0-1)

A must win for UConn. A should-win for UConn. The Huskies need to rebound from their defensive collapse against Pitt last week. Although Louisville has more than its share of problems, it still has enough talent to give the Huskies problems in this game.

It's a solid entree for both teams. 

Edge: UConn

Marshall (4-2) at West Virginia (4-1, 1-0)

No love lost here with this in-state rivalry. It's a tough task for the Thundering Herd to go to the Mountaineers' house. West Virginia should have a little too much offensive firepower in this one. Noel Devine is a nightmare, and Jarrett Brown should have a good outing. Look for West Virginia to play well and stay smack in the midst of the Big East title conversation.

It's a light entree for the Mountaineers.

Edge: West Virginia

There you have it. Don't know about you, but I simply cannot wait for tonight's battle in Tampa. That's a LOT of talent on display on highly-motivated, well-coached teams that don't particularly care for each other. It has all the ingredients to be a really, really great college football game.

Fire up your grill early and get ready for some action!