Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Raise your hand if you saw Cincinnati falling three spots in the BCS standings.

I sure didn't, and I have to admit I'm dumbfounded. The Bearcats dropped from No. 5 to No. 8 despite winning 41-10 this weekend over Louisville without starting quarterback Tony Pike.

Cincinnati fell behind Iowa (4), USC (5) and TCU (6). Iowa we all saw coming, since both teams were so close in the standings last week. But USC? The Trojans moved up after beating Oregon State at home by a smaller margin than Cincinnati beat Oregon State on the road. Someone please explain that to me.

And TCU got a bunch of credit for beating BYU on the road. Hey, didn't Florida State do that, by a wide margin? And didn't South Florida beat Florida State at home?

There's no reason to worry this soon. If the Bearcats just keep winning, they'll be in good shape. But No. 8, in my eyes, is ridiculous and a slap in the face to the Big East. I maintain that Cincinnati should be ranked ahead of TCU, USC, Boise State and Iowa. But maybe that's just me.

Thank the coaches, who dropped Cincinnati to seventh this week in the USA Today Top 25. The Bearcats had an average of sixth in the computer polls, but were eighth in two of them. The highest and lowest computer rankings get tossed out.

Pittsburgh moved up to No. 15 in the BCS, and is one spot out of being eligible for an at-large pick. We know, of course, that would never happen. West Virginia is 21st.