The Big East continues to battle uncertain times, but at least the league as a bona fide race for the title among three ranked teams. No. 16 Louisville, No. 19 Rutgers and No. 25 Cincinnati are all in the AP poll, giving the Big East three ranked teams for the first time since the end of the 2009 season.

Oddly enough, Big East play begins in earnest Friday when the two outgoing teams, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, face off in the Carrier Dome.

Thanks to some key non-conference games and the two Big East games in the month of September, the league has a pretty good idea of its top contenders (Louisville, Cincinnati and Rutgers), but conference play gives other teams a chance to reboot their seasons, perhaps as soon as this week.

National recognition for the Big East is starting to make a comeback -- if incrementally and only for the top three teams in the league.

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.

Colorado is off to an awful 0-3 start and with a daunting upcoming schedule, an 0-12 record seems likely. The Buffaloes' early struggles and a loss to FCS opponent to Sacramento State made us wonder: Who are the worst BCS teams since 1998?

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.

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.