With Syracuse gearing up for it’s Big East opener, every Tuesday from here on out Inside the Loud House will release it’s Big East power rankings. Check back each Tuesday to see where teams have risen or fallen each week.
Louisville: The Louisville Cardinals have been the hype of the Big East from day 1, and until the Cardinals lose a game they will stay there. The Cardinals have not looked very spectacular in their last six quarters of football for the FIU game and the second half of the North Carolina game, but I doubt that means anything to Cardinal fans or Louisville head coach Charlie Strong, as the results were both the same endingwith W’s.
Sep 22, 2012; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Kyle Flood celebrates after the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Rutgers defeated Arkansas 35-26. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-US PRESSWIRE
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights are 4-0 for the first time since 2006, and have a huge win over an SEC team under their belt. First year head coach Kyle Flood has appeared to pick up right where Greg Schiano left off, and the Scarlet Knights are primed to make a run at the Big East title this season. With two out of their next three conference games at home, the Scarlet Knights could find themselves in a great position for a showdown with Louisville on the final week of the regular season.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats have probably the most impressive conference win, but yet are the least talked about out of the three unbeatens. Cincinnati thrashed Pittsburgh before their bye week this past Saturday, and have a big matchup at home against a Virginia Tech team coming off of a loss to that very same Pittsburgh team just two weeks ago. The Bearcats aren’t going anywhere, and have the greatest name for a quarterback in the country.
Pittsburgh: The Panthers had the slowest start in the conference, losing to both Youngstown State and Cincinnati to start the season. Since then however, the Panthers have appeared to find their swagger. With a big win over Virginia Tech followed by a blowout win last week over Gardner-Webb, the Panthers’ improvement on both sides of the ball absolutely keeps them in the hunt for the Big East championship. Following a bye week, the Panthers head to the Carrier Dome for an absolutely critical game with Syracuse on October 5.
Syracuse: The Orange have played the toughest schedule to date in the Big East, and it isn’t even close. You still have to pull out some wins, though. The Orange hung tough with USC, and lost close games to Northwestern and Minnesota. I’m giving Syracuse brownie points for their schedule, but a lone victory over an FCS team is nothing to be happy about heading in to your conference opener in week 5.
Temple: The Owls are another team that have played a pretty difficult schedule but haven’t had any impressive wins. With losses to Maryland and Penn State, the Owls lone victory was a win over Villanova in week one. With their first Big East game in quite some time coming up against South Florida coming up, the Owl can definitely move up the rankings with a victory.
South Florida: The Bulls are coming off of a bad loss to Ball State. Aside from that, the Bulls could have easily been in much better position. In a mistake plagued loss to Rutgers which was a game that many Bulls fans thought they should have won, the Bulls road only gets more difficult. A visit from the Florida State Seminoles should really indicate where this team is at, and we can see if the Bulls can actually live up to their preseason hype.
