Big East Football Power Rankings after Week #10

With the calendar now turned to November, the Big East title picture is starting to take place. What we know is that if Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or West Virginia wins out, they win the league title. Louisville and UConn were essentially eliminated from the league title with their second conference loss of the season in Week 10, and Syracuse and Rutgers, while basically eliminated from the Big East title race still have something to play for: their pride.

Teams and rankings are listed below and make sure to take a look at our Week 10 football recap. For more Big East football coverage be sure to check the Big East football standings & weekly Big East scores. After ten weeks each team has played at least three conference games. Here’s how they rank:

1. West Virginia (6-2, 3-0): Despite coming into the UConn match-up on a four game winning streak, the Mountaineers had yet to win a game on the road this season. They did that emphatically Saturday, becoming the first team in nearly two calendar years to win at Rentschler Field. The Mountaineers still have Cincinnati, Louisville, Pittsburgh and South Florida, but if they play the way they did in the second half Saturday, they’ll likely win out.
2. Pittsburgh (6-2, 2-1): These aren’t your father’s Pitt Panthers, as they overcame a 17-3 halftime deficit, and four overtimes, to win at Notre Dame. The nation got to know Shady McCoy, as the sophomore rushed for over 100 yards for the fifth straight game, and kicker Connor Lee made five field goals in the victory. The Panthers host Louisville this weekend- a team they haven’t beat since the Cardinals joined the Big East four years ago.
3. Connecticut (6-3, 2-2): I give the Huskies the slight nod over Cincinnati because they beat them head-to-head, but this team needs to get a lot of things figured out in a hurry. We’ve seen more blocked punts, fumbles, interceptions and overall sloppy play in the last four games than we had in the previous year and a half. The schedule is favorable with Syracuse and South Florida, but the dreams of a repeat Big East championship seem to have disappeared.
4. Cincinnati (6-2, 2-1): There is no denying that this team is completely different with Tony Pike at quarterback. The junior- who is one of four quarterbacks who’ve seen time for the Bearcats this season- threw for 281 yards in the win, despite still nursing a broken non-throwing arm. Back-to-back road trips to West Virginia and Louisville will show what this team is made of.
5. Rutgers (3-5, 2-2): While the rest of the conference beat up on each other Saturday, the Scarlet Knights got to sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Mike Teel won’t have the game that he did two weeks ago, but with Syracuse coming to town, Rutgers winning streak should continue.
6. Louisville (1-2, 5-3): We knew Louisville would have a let-down after the big South Florida win, but no one could have predicted the loss at Syracuse. The Cardinals now have an up-hill battle ahead of them to get bowl eligible, as they have the four hottest teams in the league- Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, West Virginia and Rutgers- left on their schedule.
7. South Florida (6-3, 1-3): No one knows how to squash early season expectations quite like the South Florida Bulls. It took all of four games to go from No. 10 in the country, to out of the top 25, and out of the Big East title race.
8. Syracuse (2-6, 1-3): I’ve been saying all year that Syracuse would beat somebody in this conference- but no one expected it to be Louisville for the second straight season. The Orange won’t get bowl eligible, but give them credit for fighting to the end.