Pitt Panthers: Redemption Week Can't Come Too Quickly for Big East After Week 3

After three weeks of play, the West Virginia Mountaineers have solidified their hold on the conference's top spot. With wins over two FBS opponents and one FCS to open the season, the Mountaineers have the conference's best resume.

How to describe week three in the Big East, except for the Mountaineers?

*Forgettable."

*Hangover."

*Yes, it really can get worse."

Along with West Virginia, Syracuse won, albeit over FCS competition.

Louisville lost at Oregon State.

Cincinnati lost to North Carolina State in the featured ESPN Thursday night game of the week.

Just to push the needle in a little deeper, UConn lost to Big East-reject Temple.

No. 1 Mountaineers Slip a Little With Big Lead Over Maryland But Win; LSU Next

Too bad the spirited rivalry between border-state rivals West Virginia and Maryland can't induce the Terrapins to leave the ACC, where they are legacy members, and join the Big East.

Maryland asked the Mounties to renew this rivalry which, based on yesterday's 31-17 WVU win, doesn't appear to be a fortuitous move for the Terps.

WVU raced out to a 28-14 lead in the second half, then let Maryland storm back.

The Big East's top quarterback Geno Smith passed for four touchdowns to put away the Terps and allow the Mountaineers bragging rights as the only conference team to beat a BCS conference team.

All West Virginia has to do to keep the Big Mo is win on the road in Death Valley before a very hostile LSU crowd.

West Virginia is known in the conference as having the rudest fans (remember the coin hurled at Pitt assistant basketball coach Tom Herrion last season?). The tables will turn Saturday night. Mountaineer players and traveling fans will be insulted and harassed by liquored-up LSU fans.

A 8 PM CST kickoff allows time for plenty of bourbon to flow in the stadium built alongside the Mississippi River.

By Default, Rutgers & Pitt Tied for Second In Conference Rankings

Neither Rutgers nor Pitt played this week. Rutgers is 2-0 with wins over Stony Brook and Florida International.

Pitt is 1-1 with a victory over FCS New Hampshire and a loss at Utah.

Greg Schiano kept his Scarlet Knights out of the news.

Dave Wannstedt hasn't been able to stem the flow of bad news coming from the Steel City with injuries and late-night police action.

Both squads face ACC competition in week four.

Rutgers hosts 0-2 North Carolina, 30-24 losers to Georgia Tech yesterday.

Pitt hosts Miami Thursday evening in a payback game scheduled as part of the 2005 legal agreement to end the Big East's lawsuit against the ACC.

Idle South Florida, No. 4 In Big East, Hosts Western Kentucky On Saturday

Western Kentucky visits Tampa this week, allowing South Florida to continue to recuperate after last week's 38-14 loss to Florida.

The Hilltoppers are 0-15 in their last 15 games, and have started the 2010 season with losses to Nebraska, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Skip Holtz still has issues at wide receiver: senior Dontavia Bogan has an ankle injury.

If Holtz knows what he's planning to do against the Hilltoppers, he isn't saying. "Do you turn a flip Evan Landi to X?" he told reporters this week.

Holtz also criticized sophomore QB B.J. Daniels for running on reads. "Running the ball and doing some of the things he does well athletically take a lot of emotion, where playing quarterback takes a lot of poise. Those are two totally different things in the middle of game day," Holtz said.

The Bulls can probably rest easy this week. Western Kentucky does a good job of bringing out the best in everyone they play.

Ranked No. 5 In Big East, Syracuse Beats FCS Foe Maine; FCS Colgate Next

The Syracuse Orange get to feast twice on FCS competition. This past week Maine visited the Carrier Dome. Next week in-state rival Colgate drops by. Syracuse schedules for success.

Syracuse, 2-1, is one of three teams in the Big East with a winning record.

Yesterday's game against Maine was no pushover until the second half. The Orange were trailing before halftime until Ryan Nassib threw a touchdown pass to Jose Cruz to put the Orange up 17-14 at the break.

The Orange cruised in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered points.

Nassib is Syracuse's game player. He threw five touchdown passes and amassed over 250 yards.

Louisville, Big East No. 6, Loses Again But Looks Better Than UConn & Cincinnati

Traveling to Corvallis, Ore., was never going to be an easy task for Charlie Strong's Louisville squad.

Amazingly, Louisville was driving for a game-tying score in the final minutes of play when Card quarterback Adam Froman was intercepted.

Louisville had two opportunities to score in the red zone in the first half, too. Had they succeeded, Louisville, not Pitt and Rutgers, would be ranked as the second-best team in the Big East.

Almost winning on the road can be dangerous for a young team. Moral victories cut both ways. During the week off, Strong must refocus and re-energize his team.

An emerging contender at this point in the season, Louisville has a chance to become the Big East's success story in 2010.

Charlie Strong is a well-respected coach in college football. Many fans are pulling for the Cards, especially when they play to win until the final whistle, as they did at Oregon State.   

No. 7 UConn Epitomizes Big East Woes In Loss To Castout Temple

What's wrong with UConn?

There's a lot for Huskies and Big East fans to be disgruntled with in UConn's 30-16 loss to the Owls before 18,702 Saturday.

Remember Temple? The Big East kicked the Owls out in 2001, but let them hang around until 2004, the first season after Miami and Virginia Tech bolted for the ACC.

Instead of considering Villanova to represent the Philly TV market, perhaps the Big East should consider re-admitting the Owls.

How could a Huskies offense that was picked so high score just 26 points against FBS opponents in two games?

The only bright spots for the offense were the line and Jordan Todman, who ran for 192 yards and scored one touchdown.

And the defense isn't up to par either.

Huskies outgained Temple only 390-356 in total offense.

Temple running back Bernard Pierce had 169 yards on 26 carries. He caught a touchdown pass in the first half and ran for two short scores in the second.

Maybe UConn can find itself next at home when Buffalo comes to Hartford.

How Far The Champions Have Fallen: Cincy Ranked Last In Big East

North Carolina State's coach Tom O'Brien ran his record to 3-0 for the year, and might have bought a little job security with a rout of the reigning Big East champs.

Despite having only four days after the Central Florida game to prepare for the Bearcats, O'Brien's team appeared to be rested and ready to outrun Cincinnati in a 30-19 victory.

Just as with UConn, the obvious question to ask about the 2010 edition of the Bearcats is this: What's wrong?

Cincinnati quickly fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. The Bearcats no-huddle offense appeared to pose no problems for the Wolfpack.

The Wolfpack tried a no-huddle offense of their own, and drove 92 yards on nine plays for their second score.

Scoring to cut the deficit to seven points, Cincinnati was then undone by Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson's 12-yard touchdown pass.

Wilson can claim he owns the Big East. Last season he passed for 322 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-31 upset of the Pitt Panthers, just one of three defeats for Dave Wannstedt's squad in 2009..