Big East Week 11 Prime-Time Entrees: Will Pitt "Stew" the Irish?

Tonight begins the first of three primetime telecast games for the Big East. Yet another chance to put the conference on display for national audiences. These are excellent matchups culminated by the huge Pittsburgh-Notre Dame game Saturday night  on ABC. We've prepared a big pot of Irish Stew for the Panthers to devour!

South Florida (6-2, 2-2) at Rutgers (6-2, 1-2):

Thursday night, ESPN, 7:30 p.m.

Obviously this is a big game for both teams. The two highest-paid coaches in the Big East send their teams into this battle for the third spot in the conference. We know about USF and Thursday nights. The Bulls have more at stake in this one than Rutgers. Once again, USF has climbed back into the polls. The Bulls are No. 24 in the BCS, No. 23 in the AP and No. 24 in the USA Today.

This game features two quarterbacks of the present and future: B.J. Daniels for South Florida and Tom Savage for Rutgers. Daniels is a scrambling playmaker who can pile up major rushing yards. Savage is a classic pocket passer at 6-5, 235 who can really throw the football.

USF will need pressure from its front four, led by George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, if it hopes to take down Rutgers.

The Bulls have something to prove after getting blown out at home by Rutgers last year.

Should be a very entertaining game and it's all-you-can-eat for both teams.

Slight Edge: USF

West Virginia (7-2, 3-1) at Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0):

Friday night, ESPN2, 8 p.m.

Good matchup here for the cameras. The emergence of Cincinnati's Zach Collaros as the starting quarterback is a good story. You've got a guy who was in the midst of the Heisman race, Tony Pike, relagated to the bench. Coach Brian Kelly has deemed him not ready to play as of yet.

The Bearcats occupy the lofty No. 5 spot in the BCS, AP and USA Today polls while the Mountaineers are No. 25 in the BCS and No. 23 in USA Today.

UConn exposed the Cincinnati defense last week and the Bearcats will have their paws full with the shifty, nifty Noel Devine. If Jarrett Brown and Jock Sanders have their games on, this could be another shoot-out for Cincinnati like last week.

Cincinnati has the home-crowd advantage and offensive weapons that have been virtually unstoppable this season. The Bearcats need a big win here to move toward that coming showdown with Pittsburgh.

Edge: Cincinnati

Notre Dame (6-3) at Pittsburgh (8-1, 5-0):

Saturday night, ABC, 8 p.m.

I can't wait for this one. Irish eyes are crying all over the country and fans are calling for the head of Charlie Weis. If the rotund-one is gone from South Bend, will the next Irish coach come from the Big East (whisper—Brian Kelly)?

First thing's first. The Golden Domers have their hands full at Heinz Field. Pitt is on a roll, the Panthers are humming and playing great on both sides of the ball.

After losing to a spirited, but less talented, Navy team last week, how will the Irish fare when they pick on some guys their own size Saturday night.

Bill Stull has taken firm command of the Pitt offense and, no doubt, once they see him, Notre Dame fans will ask why Dion Lewis is not playing for the Irish. Indeed, what team wouldn't want the yardage machine that has powered Pitt?

Notre Dame couldn't stop Navy from running the ball, so how will they handle Lewis? Problem is, Pitt also has an excellent passing attack, so the Panthers can come at you from the air as well.

Pitt stunned Notre Dame last year and will look to do it again.

Can't wait to see how this one plays out.

Edge: Pittsburgh

Syracuse (3-6, 0-4) at Louisville (3-6, 0-4):

Someone's going to get their first conference win on Saturday at noon.

Two struggling team meet at Papa John's in the battle for the Big East basement.

Not much to say here. The Cardinals have played well at times, as has Syracuse. The Orange are struggling with the loss of their best defensive lineman, Arthur Jones, to a knee injury.

Edge:  Louisville

There you have it,  three nights, three large Big East games. Let's dig into that pot of Irish Stew and enjoy the action. See you on Monday when Professor Tom passes out the grades.