College Football Scores: West Virginia Loss Shows Big East Not Fit for BCS

West Virginia's loss to Louisville on Saturday only confirmed what college football fans everywhere have known for sometime—that the Big East stinks and is no longer worthy of an automatic berth into the BCS for its champion.

The Mountaineers, who themselves are fighting tooth and nail to break off into the Big 12, went back and forth with the Cardinals all game but ultimately fell victim to two debilitating fumbles along the way. Not even quarterback Geno Smith, who threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns, could keep West Virginia from suffering its third defeat of the season and its second in conference play.

The loss drops the Mountaineers, the Big East's only Top 25 team, into a tie for third place, at best, depending on what transpires between first-place Cincinnati and third-place Pittsburgh.

My "Spidey Sense" tells me that Big East commissioner John Marinatto is none too pleased by any of this, though he probably doesn't mind too much that the team giving him the most trouble is the one that is itself having a dandy of a time winning on the field.

His league is already fighting for its survival as a member of the BCS now that West Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh are all but guaranteed to leave, and TCU has reneged on its original invitation to make a more sensible move to the Big 12.

At present, Marinatto is charged with the unenviable task of keeping his conference intact just long enough to entice UCF, Houston and SMU to join as full-fledged participants, along with Boise State, Air Force and Navy in football only. A move out by WVU could render his elaborate plans moot altogether.

Though, judging by the way the Mountaineers have played of late, a move up to the Big 12 might not be the best option for their athletic survival. If they can barely swim with guppies like Louisville and Syracuse in the pond of the Big East, then how can they possibly expect to do anything but drown beneath behemoths of Texas and Oklahoma's caliber in the vast ocean of the Big 12?

The same could be asked of current Big 12 members Texas A&M and Missouri, both of whom appear headed for even more treacherous waters in the SEC, despite appearing anything but ready to compete with the best of the best in college football.

Then again, these moves are all about dollars and cents, not wins and losses—as is the Big East's desperate plea for survival in the BCS, even if the league doesn't deserve a free pass.

Unless, of course, you want to count Houston, a team expecting an invitation from the Big East and one likely to go undefeated through Conference USA this season, among those keeping the fledgling conference afloat on the gridiron.

Because we all know West Virginia isn't doing much of anything to help in that regard.