Rutgers’ road win over a team that lost in overtime to Louisiana-Monroe and 52-0 to Alabama saved the Big East further embarrassment in Week 4.

Only a week after the Big East went 3-0 against ACC schools, the Big East flopped Saturday with two losses on the road against MAC teams and two losses against vulnerable Big East teams on the road. Even league favorite Louisville struggled at times on the road at Florida International.

The Big East is three weeks away from its conference season beginning in earnest, but the league is already starting to sort out its contenders. A week after Cincinnati dismantled Pittsburgh in the first Big East game of the season, Rutgers used a second-half burst to defeat USF on the road.

The Big East’s first Thursday night primetime game was a dud. Or, rather, a dud for everyone but Cincinnati. This week could present more compelling television with two of the league’s top contenders facing each other in Tampa.

After two weeks of the season, Louisville still looks like the team to beat in the Big East, but the Cardinals are not without company.

The top four in our power rankings remain unchanged since last week, but USF and Cincinnati picked up key wins to signal they may be in the conference title hunt. USF finally turned the tables on its fourth quarter woes, and Cincinnati appears to be just as explosive on offense without Zach Collaros and Isaiah Pead.

Post-Week 2 Offensive Player of the Year Standings

The first week of the season was probably more eventful than Big East teams would have liked. Pittsburgh lost convincingly to Youngstown State. Syracuse squandered a four-touchdown comeback at home against Northwestern. And Rutgers took its time to put away Tulane.

The second week of the season brings more high-profile matchups, including the first conference game of the season on Thursday. The question is if the Big East is up to the challenge.

The Big East may have a degree of smug satisfaction in watching Pittsburgh and Syracuse struggle in their final season in the league before bolting for the ACC.

Certainly, the feeling is warranted. Pitt lost to FCS Youngstown State on Saturday, while Syracuse squandered a four-touchdown second-half comeback to lose at home to Northwestern. Not so fast, though. Future Big East members had embarrassing losses, too, with Memphis losing to UT Martin and Houston losing to Texas State.

West Virginia’s out. Temple’s in.

The Big East’s constant state of transition begins again this season with more changes to come in 2013. Just as this round of Big East realignment begins with a trick, so does the season for the Big East.

Winning the battle in the trenches is crucial to claiming college football's national championship. The SEC has claimed six consecutive national titles, so it should come as no surprise this conference has some of the top defensive linemen. South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney is in for a monster sophomore season, while LSU's Sam Montgomery will make a run at first-team All-American honors. The SEC is represented in the defensive tackles, as four of the top 10 reside from the conference.

Anyone who follows college football knows the Alabama vs. Michigan opener will be one of the most important games of the college football season, encompassing Alabama’s bid to repeat as national champion, Denard Robinson’s Heisman Trophy campaign and more.

The tight end position has been lacking in recent years, but there's a good crop of players ready to emerge in 2012. Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert ranks as Athlon's No. 1 tight end for this season, while Washington's Austin Seferian-Jenkins will only get better after a solid freshman campaign in 2011. Ohio State's Jake Stoneburner and Iowa's C.J. Fiedorowicz are two players who should easily surpass last year's totals, while non-BCS standouts Jack Doyle, Ryan Otten and Gavin Escobar should not be overlooked.