PITTSBURGH (AP) -The Big East didn’t need to add an extra game, book an empty stadium, negotiate a TV slot or split into divisions to get what the SEC, Big 12 and ACC already enjoy.
No, an exceptional season by Cincinnati and a very good one by Pittsburgh, plus an astute schedule maker, gave the conference parity with some of the other top conferences without all the extra muss and fuss.
Finally, after 19 seasons, the Big East is playing a football championship game.
It’s a de facto one – No. 5 Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0 in Big East) already owns a share of the Big East title, and No. 14 Pittsburgh (9-2, 5-1) can claim only the other half. The real payoff to the winner of Saturday’s sold-out game at Heinz Field is the BCS berth and all the rewards, monetary and otherwise, that go with it.
d the BCS rankings concur – that Cincinnati also could play for the national title next month. That’s a lot of ifs, but also a lot riding on a single game.
“Whoever set up the schedule this way in the Big East, we’ll call them geniuses because it pits the two best teams in the league over a long period of time,” Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said.
The latest game in a relatively new rivalry – the schools have met only eight times, seven of them Pitt victories – would have been even bigger if then-No. 8 Pitt had beaten rival West Virginia last week.
Instead, the Mountaineers won 19-16 on a final-play final field goal, dashing the Big East’s chances for a showcase finale matching top 10 teams in a season that began without a single Big East team in the AP Top 25.
“That’s been our goal from the beginning of the year, so we’re going to go out and win the Big East,” Pitt linebacker Adam Gunn said. “We were talking about this being a perfect ending to our careers, the biggest game we’ve played. It doesn’t get any better.”
Pitt probably hasn’t played a bigger game to close a regular season since 1981, when it was unbeaten and No. 1-ranked before losing 48-14 at home to No. 11 Penn State. Cincinnati probably hasn’t played a bigger regular-season game, period; the Bearcats can finish 12-0 for the first time.
edge any interest in the vacant Notre Dame job.
“I wouldn’t say it was easy to get to 11-0, but 11-0 is not going to matter if we lose to Pitt,” receiver Mardy Gilyard said.
Cincinnati’s challenge is obvious. The Bearcats need to overcome Pitt’s home-field edge and open up a Tony Pike-led offense that averaged nearly 38 points in its last five games. Pike threw six TD passes in a 49-36 win over Illinois last week and has eight in his last two games despite being slowed by an arm injury.
“You’ve got to take notice that you’re seeing a guy that’s pretty special,” Kelly said.
Pitt already did; Pike was 26 of 32 for 309 yards and three touchdowns, one to Gilyard, in Cincinnati’s 28-21 victory over Pitt last season.
“I think we underestimated him (Pike) last year,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We won’t this year.”
While Cincinnati’s record is perfect, its defense isn’t. Each of the Bearcats’ last three opponents scored at least 21 points, and Connecticut lured Cincinnati into a run-and-gun game before losing 47-45.
Pitt probably doesn’t want to get into a high-scoring game, considering a Wannstedt-coached Pitt team hasn’t won in regulation when an opponent scored 28 or more points. Pitt beat Notre Dame 36-33 last season, but it took four overtimes.
day.”
Teams with good running games trouble Cincinnati, which allowed an average of 191 yards rushing in its last three. Pitt freshman Dion Lewis has gained a conference-high 1,446 yards behind a big, experienced and accomplished line.
“Their offensive line – they look just mean on film,” Cincinnati linebacker Andre Revels said. “Their stances are aggressive. They come off the ball aggressive. It’s going to be a real aggressive game.”
However, the Panthers aren’t one-dimensional; 6-foot-5 Jonathan Baldwin averages 20.1 yards on his 48 catches and Dickerson’s 10 TDs match Gilyard for the Big East receiving lead.
“I think we could have a mismatch with their secondary,” Pitt tight end Nate Byham said.
A mismatch in this game would be a surprise, given how much it means to both teams.
The Panthers understand that a second consecutive loss might doom them to a relatively minor bowl, a major disappointment after they won nine of their first 10 to reach the top 10.
“We’re sitting here at 9-2, but we want more,” Byham said. “This isn’t what we want. I won’t be happy if we go 9-3.”
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