CardinalSports.com - Forde ranks the Big East's best, worst

October 2, 2012

Pat Forde
Yahoo! Sports

On Tuesday, Yahoo! Sports' Pat Forde ran down forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (unedited game film sold separately in Columbus) including the Big East's best and biggest bust.

Here is what Forde had to say about the Big East:

POINT OF PRIDE: Big East 4, ACC 3 head-to-head.

DON'T MENTION: The losses to Youngstown State (Pittsburgh), Ball State (South Florida) and Western Michigan (Connecticut).

BEST TEAM: Cincinnati (29). The Bearcats have only played three games, but the results have been good so far. They were the better team Saturday while beating Virginia Tech in Landover, Md., despite having to rally for the winning score in the final seconds. They blew out Pittsburgh in their opener, a victory that The Dash believes will only look better as the season progresses. As dual-threat quarterback Munchie Legaux geauxs, so geaux the Bearcats.

BIGGEST BUST: South Florida (30). A team considered the preseason league favorite in some quarters is a last-minute touchdown against Nevada away from being 1-4 and on a four-game losing streak. As it is, a three-game losing streak that includes a loss to Ball State is pretty bad. The Bulls have won just three of their last 13 games.

DON'T SLEEP ON: Pittsburgh (31). The Panthers were horrendous to start the season, losing to Youngstown State and badly to Cincinnati. They were also a minus-4 turnover margin in those games. In the two games since - emphatic wins over Virginia Tech and Gardner-Webb - they're a plus-5. If Pitt holds onto the ball it should have a chance to win every remaining game.

PSYCHO TEAM Connecticut (32). Pitt has been plenty psycho, but the 3-2 Huskies are the most inconsistent. They've neither won nor lost two in a row. They've lost at home and won on the road. They lost by three to an ACC team (North Carolina State), then won by three against an ACC team (Maryland). They lost by six to a MAC team (Western Michigan), then won by seven against a MAC team (Buffalo). Nobody knows what's next.

BEST HEISMAN CANDIDATE: Teddy Bridgewater (33). Don't be fooled by the Louisville quarterback's pedestrian numbers at Southern Mississippi on Saturday (9 of 13 for 85 yards, one touchdown and one interception). That game was played in a monsoon that made passing so difficult, the Golden Eagles attempted only nine passes and completed just two. Bridgewater still is completing 73 percent of his passes and ranks 24th nationally in efficiency.

BEST OCTOBER STORYLINE: Can the league coax two unbeaten teams into November? Rutgers has a great chance to be 8-0, with three manageable home games (UConn, Syracuse and Kent State) plus a trip to Temple. Louisville and Cincinnati could meet on Friday, Oct. 26, with one or both undefeated. There could at least be something more than basketball to watch in the Big East a month from now.

Yahoo! Sports' Pat Forde ran down his top teams and quick notes for each conference Tuesday. For the full Forde Yard Dash: Click Here

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