Big East Football Power Rankings after Week #12

We’re headed down the home-stretch of the Big East season, with each game giving us a slightly clearer picture of how the conference picture will look. The game everyone is talking about is that Saturday, when Pittsburgh travels to Cincinnati. For now though, here are your Week 12 Big East Power Rankings.

Teams and rankings are listed below and make sure to take a look at our Week 12 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:

• Cincinnati (8-2, 4-1): With games remaining against lowly Syracuse and a trip to Hawaii, it comes down to this weekend for the Bearcats. It’s pretty simple, beat Pittsburgh at home Saturday, and the Big East championship is essentially yours.
• Pittsburgh (7-2, 3-1): It’s put up or shut up time for the Panthers, as they travel to Nippert Stadium to take on Cincinnati. Even if the Panthers win Saturday, their closing stretch- West Virginia at home, at UConn- far from guarantees an easy road to a Big East championship.
• West Virginia (6-3, 3-1): Remember the last time the Mountaineers went to Papa John’s Stadium? It was 2006, and both they and Louisville were ranked in the top 5, and playing for a potential National Championship. The stakes have changed for this weekends match-up, but the Mountaineers still need to win for any hope at a conference championship.
• Connecticut (7-3, 3-2): The Huskies are feeling good as they beat up on Syracuse and have a healthy Tyler Lorenzen back under center. They have a struggling South Florida team this weekend, before a bye week and a visit from Pittsburgh on Dec. 6.
• Rutgers (5-5, 4-2): While Rutgers probably got too much hype before the season, they’re not getting the credit they deserve for their incredible turn-around. After a 1-5 start who could have imagined this team would be bowl eligible- a feat they can accomplish by beating lowly Army at home on Saturday.
• Louisville (5-5, 1-4): The Cardinals played their hearts out Friday, coming up just short against Cincinnati. With West Virginia and Rutgers left, can this team figure out a way to steal a win and get bowl eligible?
• South Florida (6-4, 1-4): With four losses in their last five games, no team in college football has had a worse month and a half than the Bulls. Having played their way out of anything meaningful, can they motivate themselves this weekend when they host UConn on Senior Night?
• Syracuse (2-8, 1-5): The Greg Robinson era is officially over at Syracuse, as the coach was fired on Sunday. He’ll be allowed to coach the Orange against Notre Dame and Cincinnati to close the season. How sweet would an upset in South Bend be this weekend?