Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Each Monday until the regular season ends, we'll take a look at where the the Big East conference race stands:
Right now, it's a three-team race. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have the inside tracks with 5-0 records. West Virginia is still alive at 3-1.
The Mountaineers play Cincinnati this Friday at Nippert Stadium in basically an elimination game. If they win, it puts several scenarios in play between the three contenders.
West Virginia could claim the league by winning out by virtue of head-to-head victories over Pitt and Cincinnati. If it beats Cincinnati but loses to Pitt, then the Cincinnati-Pitt game on Dec. 5 would decide the crown. If the Mountaineers beat Cincinnati and Pitt but lose to Rutgers in the season finale, they also would be eliminated.
If West Virginia loses this Friday, then the Dec. 5 Pitt-Cincinnati game immediately becomes the league championship game. And a Mountaineers' loss Friday means Pitt can afford to lose to West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and still claim the Big East title simply by beating the Bearcats at home.
Each Monday until the regular season ends, we'll take a look at where the the Big East conference race stands:
Right now, it's a three-team race. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have the inside tracks with 5-0 records. West Virginia is still alive at 3-1.
The Mountaineers play Cincinnati this Friday at Nippert Stadium in basically an elimination game. If they win, it puts several scenarios in play between the three contenders.
West Virginia could claim the league by winning out by virtue of head-to-head victories over Pitt and Cincinnati. If it beats Cincinnati but loses to Pitt, then the Cincinnati-Pitt game on Dec. 5 would decide the crown. If the Mountaineers beat Cincinnati and Pitt but lose to Rutgers in the season finale, they also would be eliminated.
If West Virginia loses this Friday, then the Dec. 5 Pitt-Cincinnati game immediately becomes the league championship game. And a Mountaineers' loss Friday means Pitt can afford to lose to West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and still claim the Big East title simply by beating the Bearcats at home.
Brian Bennett | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big Ten blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008
- Wrote for The Courier-Journal
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Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
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