Three BIG EAST teams emerged from the month of September with perfect records as Louisville stands at 5-0, Rutgers is 4-0 and Cincinnati is 3-0. The Cardinals enjoy a bye this week, but Rutgers and Cincinnati are both in action at home and will play in front of near-capacity or sellout crowds. As of late Wednesday, less than 2,000 tickets remained for Rutgers’ game against Connecticut at the 52,454-seat High Point Solutions Stadium. Cincinnati’s game against Miami (Ohio) – the most played nonconference rivalry in college football – is an advance sellout at Nippert Stadium. Last week, USF enjoyed a record attendance of 69,383 at Raymond James Stadium for the Bulls’ game against Florida State.

 

The perfect starts by Louisville, Rutgers and Cincinnati have pushed all three teams into this week’s USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Louisville has climbed to No. 16 in the ranking following back-to-back road wins. Rutgers entered the poll last week and stands at No. 21 this week, while Cincinnati is No. 23 on the heels of the Bearcats’ win against then-No. 25 Virginia Tech last Saturday. 

 

 

This week’s BIG EAST schedule begins Friday, with an ESPN-televised matchup between Pittsburgh and Syracuse at the Carrier Dome (7 p.m. ET). The Orange are 1-3, having played one of the more challenging schedules in the nation thus far. Syracuse’s first four opponents are a combined 17-3. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is 2-2 as the Panthers look for their third straight win.

 

BIG EAST football returns to Philadelphia Saturday as Temple hosts USF at Lincoln Financial Field in the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week. The young Owls, who had 15 true or redshirt freshmen see action in their most recent game against Penn State, had won five straight games, dating to last season, but have dropped their last two. USF won its first two games of the season, but looks to snap a three-game slide.