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

Four weeks into the season, and it’s tough to figure what to make of the Big East in 2012. Last week was not good. That much is clear: Big East teams lost to two MAC programs. Syracuse dropped a winnable game against Minnesota and a backup quarterback. Temple’s best chance to upset Penn State in quite a while fizzled with a 24-13 loss.

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.

This week, teams around the nation will move from preseason camp mode and into game-week preparation.

We’re starting to see coaches name starting quarterbacks and settle on position battles.

Although questions are still out there before the season, some weigh more heavily than others. As the preseason winds down, we’re picking who we believe to be “pivotal players,” or in other words, key players who need to step up where their teams need them most.

Athlon Sports’ characteristics of a “pivotal player:”