ESPN College Football

Temperatures dipped into the low 40s as Cincinnati practiced at Nippert Stadium earlier this week. Trevor Canfield didn't mind.

"I hope it stays this cold for Thursday night," the senior offensive lineman said. "There aren't any palm trees around here."

You can't blame the Bearcats for seeking any possible advantage when South Florida comes to town. This is a must-win game for two teams trying to stay in the Big East hunt.

Cincinnati (5-2, 1-1) is coming off a 40-16 pounding at Connecticut and can't afford another loss, especially at home. South Florida (6-2, 1-2) is hanging on for dear life after dropping two of its past three.

"You're really behind now," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said about his team's chances. "You have to win the rest of them and hope a lot of other things happen. Can it happen? Sure, but you've got to beat Cincinnati, that's for sure."

These two teams played one of the most exciting Big East games of the season last year. Cincinnati scored 31 points in the first quarter, then staved off a furious Bulls rally to survive 38-33.

But the Bearcats might not be equipped to handle another shootout. They've scored only 29 points in their last two games and have gone 0-for-25 on third down in that span. That's a mind-boggling stat for a team that's been so good offensively under Brian Kelly.

"I've been in situations where we've been in the 70-percentile on third downs, and now we're in the zero percentile," Kelly said. "We're smart enough to figure out well before we're 0-for-25 that we've got to be working hard in those areas, and we are. We've just got to make plays. Our biggest issue has been picking up third-and-3, third-and-4."

Kelly repeatedly dialed up passing plays in those situations at UConn with no luck. Tony Pike and Chazz Anderson combined to complete just 19 of 47 passes and throw three interceptions. Meanwhile, running backs Jacob Ramsey and John Goebel averaged seven yards per rush but got only seven carries combined. Kelly said he was just taking what the defense offered.

"The opportunities we had were to throw the football, and we didn't throw it effectively enough," Kelly said. "That was the big issue."

The other issue is who will be doing the throwing? Pike, coming back from a broken non-throwing arm, felt numbness in his arm while warming up to start the second half at UConn and couldn't continue. Kelly said he had to wedge Anderson into a game plan set up for Pike, who has a much stronger arm. Kelly has not announced a starter for the South Florida game.

"[The offense] has been disappointing for us," Canfield said. "We're playing a second- or third-string quarterback, and that's tough on everybody. But we're going to get it done."

South Florida has held the lead in the fourth quarter of both its losses but couldn't get it done against Pittsburgh or Louisville. Once ranked as high as No. 10 in both polls, the Bulls are in danger of being buried at the bottom of the Big East standings. They have revenge on their minds from last year's loss at home.

And whoever loses might have to wait until next year to compete for the Big East title.