Big East Week 7 Report Card: Mountaineers Moving Up

We moved this to Tuesday as we sent out a plea for prayers for Rutgers' fallen player, Eric LeGrand. Again, we ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he will need all of us pulling for him. Moments like this should make us appreciate all the things in life we take for granted. Perhaps we take college football for granted at times. The players sacrifice so much in so many ways to entertain us on Saturdays. With that in mind, the grades from last week's contests:

West Virginia 20, South Florida 6

Everyone saw this one and saw how bad USF's offense is this season. Quarterback B.J. Daniels took his team out of it with the late interception that let the Mountaineers take a 17-3 lead into halftime. At that point it was over, as USF has now failed to score a touchdown in each of its first two Big East games. The defense did a great job stopping Noel Devine, but Geno Smith made enough plays to make it a comfortable win.

Grades:   West Virginia: A

                 South Florida: D- (only because the defense played so hard)

Cincinnati 35, Louisville 27

Most entertaining game of the weekend. Bilal Powell made what has to be considered one of the most spectacular runs of the college season when he went 80-plus yards for a touchdown. You have to give a lot of credit to Louisville—the Cardinals pushed the Bearcasts and pushed hard. This is a much- improved and dangerous Louisville team.

Grades:    Cincinnati A

                  Louisville B(ilal)

Pittsburgh 45, Syracuse 14

The Orange were brought back to earth by the Panthers. There's a talent gap between the two and it showed. Yes, Pittsburgh was supposed to win this game but the margin of victory turned out to be the surprise.

Grades:     Pittsburgh:  A

                   Syracuse:    C-

Rutgers 23, Army 20 (overtime)

The Rutgers victory was the secondary thought on Saturday. Eric LeGrand's injury overshadowed anything else that went on during this game. It will be a tough week of practice for the Scarlet Knights as they think about their fallen teammate.

Grades:     Rutgers:   B+

There you have it, a briefer edition this week. Check our piece on Eric LeGrand if you get a moment and please make time to remember him in your prayers.