Big East Football Recap

Nov 10, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats cheerleaders perform during the third quarter against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. Cincinnati defeated Temple 34-10. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

It was another crazy weekend in college football and the Big East teams were not exempt. Those who watched got to see some amazing games.

UConn and Pitt kicked conference action off on Friday night and it was a doozie. After a big first half that earned the Huskies 24 points, the team failed again to score a point in the second half of the game. This time they didn’t need one, though. Their defense was able to hold the driving Panthers to 17 points in the second half to get their first Big East win of the year. It is better late than never.

Final Score: UConn 24, Pitt 17

After a slow three quarters that left Army and Rutgers all tied up 7-7 to start the fourth, Rutgers came alive and scored 21 unanswered to finish off the visiting team. In the fourth quarter Gary Nova threw a 31 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman to start the rally. That was followed up by a two yard Savon Huggins scoring run and a Duron Harmon 73 yard fumble return against Army to wrap the game up. The win and Louisville’s upset, leaves Rutgers all alone at the top of the Big East.

Final Score: Rutgers 28, Army 7

Syracuse rolled in to Louisville an underdog and rolled out a champion. The Cardinals were undefeated all season and ranked 9th overall in the standings. The Orange didn’t care about that, though, and they handed Louisville their first loss. Syracuse’s quarterback, Nassib, threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns, guiding the team to 524 total yards on offense. It was his last home game of the season and he gave his fans an exciting going away present. The loss leaves Louisville in second place in the Big East and 9-1 on the season.

Final Score: Syracuse 45, Louisville 26

Cincinnati went into Temple with uncertainty at quarterback; they came out with a new field general. Senior Brendon Kay led the team to a big victory over the owls and he was anything but conventional. The first time starting quarterback threw for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns, rushed for 71 yards, and added five receiving yards to his stats before the day was over.

Final Score: Cincinnati 34, Temple 10

With the end of the college football season nearing an end, teams are fighting for position to make it to a bowl. Let’s take a look at the standings and how the Big East stacks up in bowl eligibility.

Rutgers, 4-0 conf., 8-1 overall – Bowl Eligible
Louisville, 4-1 conf., 9-1 overall – Bowl Eligible
Cincinnati, 3-1 conf., 7-2 overall – Bowl Eligible
Syracuse, 4-2 conf., 5-5 overall
Temple, 2-4 conf., 3-6 overall – NOT Eligible for Postseason
Connecticut, 1-4 conf., 4-6 overall
Pittsburgh, 1-4 conf., 4-6 overall
South Florida, 1-4 conf., 3-6 overall

Next week, Louisville is off, but Cincinnati will have the chance to tie up the top of the conference when Rutgers travels to Nippert to face the Bearcats. If UC can continue their win streak on Saturday, Rutgers will take their first conference loss and Cincinnati will have the chance to be Big East Champions again. The Bearcat’s last two games are against 1-4 UConn and 1-4 South Florida.