Butch Jones was one of the top names in the coaching rumor mill over the last few weeks and decided to leave Cincinnati for Tennessee. Jones led the Bearcats to a 23-14 mark in three years, which included a share of the Big East title the last two seasons. Jones’ departure is a huge blow to Cincinnati, as the program will be looking for its fourth head coach since 2004.

10 Coaches to Replace Butch Jones at Cincinnati

Which bowls should you tune into? Athlon ranks and previews all of the matchups from the must-see to the ones you can avoid. Although Alabama and Notre Dame is clearly the biggest bowl game, with 34 other contests, there are plenty of other quality pairings to watch this postseason.

Ranking the 35 Bowl Games: Must-Watch to Must-Miss

For another year, the Big East football season almost seemed to be a sidenote.

This is not a sentiment often noted with the BCS: Good thing the championship game is more than a month away.

Otherwise, good luck topping the game of the year in Atlanta. Every play and every decision was magnified in the SEC Championship Game. Every time a running back fought for an extra yard (and it happened a lot) a national championship seemed it was at stake.

Stumbling and limping isn’t the best way to enter a season-defining game.

At least for Louisville and Rutgers, though, both teams will look across the sideline at a team in a similar spot.

Say this for the Big East: The title chase won’t be without intrigue.

Losses by Louisville and Rutgers last week gave Syracuse and Cincinnati a chance to claim shares of the Big East title. Meanwhile, the two teams that scored the upsets -- Connecticut and Pittsburgh -- still have hopes of becoming bowl eligible.

Rutgers and Pittsburgh will play this week in what’s an important Big East game ... for now. The Scarlet Knights are seeking their first Big East title, and Pittsburgh is looking for a bowl game.

After that, it’s off to the ACC for Pittsburgh next season, and then Rutgers to the Big Ten in two years. Elsewhere, UConn and Louisville will face each other this week in a game between teams hoping to get called up to the ACC.

The de facto Big East championship game between Louisville and Rutgers has been established with the Scarlet Knights’ 10-3 win over Cincinnati on Saturday.

But that’s not going to be the big topic around the Big East in the two weeks before the game in Piscataway. The Big East may yet again be the subject of conference realignment talk as reports surfaced Saturday that Maryland is in negotiations to leave the ACC for the Big Ten, a possibility that could cause Rutgers to leave the Big East to be the Big Ten’s 14th member.

Louisville’s not playing this weekend, but the developments from last week loom over the Big East. The fall of the league’s last remaining undefeated team opened other teams to grab some notoriety, either in the standings or rankings.

Rutgers is the only undefeated team in league play, but the Cardinals’ loss re-opened the door for Cincinnati, whose only Big East loss was Oct. 26 to Louisville. The Big East could take another interesting turn when the Scarlet Knights and Bearcats face off in Nippert Stadium this week.

College football's Week 12 schedule is highlighted by two huge battles in the Pac-12. Stanford visits Oregon in a game that likely will decide the South Division champion, while USC makes the short trip to UCLA for the game of the year in the South.