Big East Football Week #12 Recap

The Big East Week #12 recap is below. After you review what happened this past weekend and check out the 2008 Big East football standings, be sure to take a look at our Big East Power Rankings!

Cincinnati 28- Louisville 20:

Dustin Grutza- getting his first game action since September 6- came in for the injured Tony Pike, leading Cincinnati on a game clinching 72-yard drive, as Cincinnati beat Louisville for just the second time in 11 years.

The senior came in early in the fourth quarter for the injured Tony Pike, completing his only pass of the drive on third and 5 and, getting a first down and keeping the drive alive. Running back John Goebel did the rest, rushing for 43 yards on the next two plays and scoring a touchdown to give the Bearcats their final margin of victory. Pike threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns before the injury.

Cincinnati must stay focused after the emotional win, as they host Pittsburgh in a showdown between the Big East’s top two teams this Saturday. Louisville will face West Virginia Saturday. The Mountaineers are coming off a bye week.

Rutgers 49- South Florida 16:

Mike Teel threw for 294 yards and the Rutgers defense forced six turnovers, as the Scarlet Knights defeated South Florida for the third straight season.

Wide receiver Kenny Britt had eight receptions for 173 yards, including a 93-yarder early in the fourth quarter, as Rutgers won its fourth game in a row, improving to 5-5 on the year.

For South Florida it was another, in a string of disheartening losses. Despite accumulating 404 yards of total offense, the Bulls seemed to stall every time they were threatening. Quarterback Matt Grothe threw three interceptions, and South Florida fumbled three times- all in Rutgers territory- losing their third straight game, and fourth in five contests.

Rutgers returns to New Jersey this weekend, when they step out of conference to take on Army. South Florida meanwhile hosts Connecticut, in a rare Sunday night game.

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Connecticut 39- Syracuse 14:

Jasper Howard returned a punt 69 yards, and on the ensuing possession Robert McClain picked off an Andrew Robinson pass, taking the interception 37 yards, as UConn broke the game open late in the third quarter, defeating Syracuse 39-14.

Donald Brown and Jordan Todman each added a rushing touchdown for the Huskies, who improved to 7-3 on the year, and won at the Carrier Dome for the first time in program history.

The game marked Syracuse’s eighth loss in 10 games this season. Curtis Brinkley- in his final game at the Carrier Dome- rushed for 94 yards and score, becoming the eighth player in Syracuse history to get over 1000 yards in a season.

Both teams hit the road this weekend as Syracuse steps out of conference to take on Notre Dame, and UConn travels to play a struggling South Florida team in a rare Sunday night game.

By Aaron Torres
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer

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