By Paul Sykes
Six of eight Big East football teams skirmished Saturday. Cincinnati and South Florida took the day off, preparing for an ESPN event Thursday in Tampa.
- Louisville snapped a three-game losing streak by virtue of a dramatic 64-yard kickoff return by Trent Guy to set up a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Payne. U of L travels to Connecticut for a noon game Saturday.
- West Virginia did little wrong in a 34-13 pasting of Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. The usual suspects produced for the Eers, Noel Devine with two touchdowns and 91 rushing yards, quarterack Jarrett Brown tossing for 244 on 22-30 passing. The 4-1 Mountaineers host Marshall next (wonder if Matthew McConaughey will show?) while 2-4 Syracuse takes a week off to mend.
- Pittsburgh rallied from a late third quarter 21-6 deficit to top Connecticut, 24-21. Pitt nailed the victory on Dan Hutchins’ final play of the game 18 yd. field goal. UConn (3-2) gave up 147 yds. in the final 15 minutes while managing six of their own. Pitt (5-1) travels to Rutgers for a Friday night fight. The Huskies host Louisville Saturday.
- Rutgers stepped out of conference, smothering Texas Southern 42-0. The defense continues to shine in Jersey, creating four turnovers, serving up seven sacks and allowing a minus 25 yards rushing. They’ll need a similar effort if they expect to beat Pitt Thursday night.
A good week for the Big East. The Big East is 26-5 for the year if you eliminate Syracuse and Louisville, 32-12 otherwise. Pitt leads the conference standings at 2-0. Cincinnati, South Florida and WVU are 1-0.