Big East: Rough weekend for ranked teams

After this past weekend’s results, however, it certainly can’t be called a power conference. Not after six weeks of play anyway.

The highest ranked team heading into the weekend, South Florida, again found prosperity tough to handle, losing at home. Meanwhile, the other ranked conference team, Connecticut, just plain got handled, losing big to North Carolina.

The upside is Pittsburgh, a program steeped in tradition, once again making noise.

The Panthers began the season on a horrible note. After beating then-No. 2 West Virginia to finish off 2007, Pitt stunningly fell in the 2008 opener to Bowling Green.

It looked like another long season was ahead for coach Dave Wannstedt. Yawns followed his team’s sloppy decision over Buffalo, one-point victory over Iowa and a desperate rally to beat downtrodden Syracuse.

That all changed Thursday night following a 26-21 victory over No. 10 South Florida.

"A great win for our kids, our coaches and our program," Wannstedt said. "We just kept coming back and coming back."

Now the question is, are the Panthers back for good? Fans in the Steel City hope so after watching Wannstedt put together some nice recruiting classes with limited results in the last couple of years.

As for the Bulls, it’s again time to regroup. Last season, USF rose to grab the No. 2 ranking before falling to Rutgers in Piscataway.

"Defensively we didn’t play very good; offensively we didn’t play very good; special teams were not very good," said South Florida coach Jim Leavitt after the Pitt loss.

The latter – special teams – certainly wasn’t good to Connecticut either. North Carolina’s Bruce Carter blocked three punts against the Huskies, including one recovered in the end zone, in a 38-12 Tar Heel rout.

In the third quarter of that game, the Kenan Stadium lights went out, causing a 22-minute delay. But the lights had already gone out on UConn’s new ranking. Huskies quarterback Zach Frazier, playing in place of injured Tyler Lorenzen, was intercepted three times.

"We just couldn’t get anything going," said Huskies coach Randy Edsall. "We couldn’t get any momentum. We couldn’t make a big play."

Aside from Pitt, the only other Big East team that overcame adversity was Cincinnati. Using what was realistically its fourth string quarterback – Ben Mauk was ruled ineligible and Dustin Grutza and Tony Pike were injured – the Bearcats easily clawed past Marshall in Huntington, W.Va.

West Virginia, meanwhile, nudged Rutgers 24-17 at Mountaineer Field. The Scarlet Knights have now lost 14 straight to the Mountaineers and are 0-16 all-time in Morgantown.

Louisville was off after a 26-21 loss to Connecticut. The Cardinals play Memphis this week. Syracuse was also off after falling to Pittsburgh. The Orange visit West Virginia this Saturday.

Scoreboard:

Pittsburgh 26, South Florida 21
Cincinnati 33, Marshall 10
West Virginia 24, Rutgers 17
North Carolina 38, Connecticut 12

Team of the Week: Pittsburgh

The Panthers are suddenly relevant again in college football after moving to 4-1 and 2-0 in Big East play after the victory at South Florida. Pitt is also in the driver’s seat in regard to the conference race with upcoming home games against Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia. The team plays at Cincinnati and Connecticut.

Disappointment of the Week: South Florida’s defense

The Bulls entered the Pittsburgh game with the Big East’s No. 1 defense, but stumbled mightily, allowing LeSean McCoy to have his ninth career 100-yard rushing day and giving up 374 yards.

Player of the Week: LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh

Last season, South Florida bottled up McCoy, holding him to a career-low 55 yards. On Thursday, though, McCoy led Pitt’s offensive attack, rushing for 142 yards in Tampa. He had two touchdowns.

Freshman of the Week: Chazz Anderson, QB, Cincinnati

With three potential starters out, Anderson found out he’d be Cincy’s QB at a team breakfast Friday morning. The redshirt freshman then ate Marshall for lunch, completing 16-of-26 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns with but one interception.

Bad memories

Connecticut’s loss to North Carolina unearthed memories of last season’s 66-21 nightmare at West Virginia. Fans started filing out of the Tar Heels’ Kenan Stadium with UNC up 38-6. And not only did UConn give up three blocked punts and three interceptions, but committed 11 penalties for 97 yards. "I told [the team] I think we had more penalties [Saturday] than we did in the first five games." For the record, the Huskies had 20 over the five-game span.

Concerns in Morgantown

While West Virginia got past Rutgers, Mountaineer quarterback Pat White again missed part of the game. This time, though, it wasn’t because of his sore thumb but because of grogginess after a hit. He may or may not play against Rutgers. But that’s not as much of a concern because of the effective play of backup Jarrett Brown, who was used as a third-down battering ram against RU. What is a concern for WVU is the loss of middle linebacker Reed Williams, who is "done for this year," according to coach Bill Stewart. Williams, coming off shoulder injuries, sparked a defensive uprising when he returned to the lineup. He may look for a medical redshirt.

RU ready for a QB change yet?

Maybe not, but Rutgers coach Greg Schiano isn’t getting much from starter Mike Teel. Yes, Teel was the victim of numerous dropped passes against WVU, but still finished with a 14-of-32 day against the Mountaineers for 170 yards. He also failed to take advantage of an opportunity near game’s end. The Scarlet Knights took possession at the West Virginia 45 with 1:54 to play. Four passes (three incomplete) later, RU was cooked.

Not running on empty

Cincinnati ran the ball against Marshall as well it has all season. The Bearcats received a 99-yard performance from Jacob Ramsey on 17 carries. Overall, UC gained 203 rushing yards, 162 in the second half of the 33-10 victory.

As promised

Highly touted Pittsburgh freshman receiver Jonathan Baldwin played a bunch against South Florida and made an early impact, delivering a 52-yard TD score to help tie the game at 7. He finished with a pair of catches for 59 yards.

A peek at Selvie

All-America junior defensive end George Selvie didn’t start in South Florida’s loss against Pittsburgh. That was the second straight game he started on the bench because of injury. Selvie did, however, enter with 10:22 left in the second quarter. He had two tackles, one for a loss.