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The second BCS standings are out. As far as the Big East is concerned, it might as well be a grocery shopping list.

To nobody's surprise the Big East has been shut out of the Top 25 of the standings. How could it be any other way, when no league teams are included in any major human polls? West Virginia was No. 20 last week but bowed out after losing at home to Syracuse.

It could be a while before another league team gains entry. If Syracuse were to win at Cincinnati this week to improve to 6-2, perhaps the Orange would gain some attention in the polls (though their computer numbers would still be weak). Pitt is playing better than anybody so far in league action, but the Panthers' three nonconference losses -- especially the blowout home defeat to Miami -- will resonate for a long time in voters' minds. West Virginia will have to get on a nice winning streak to knock the door down again.

Is this embarrassing for the Big East? Certainly. Will it look bad if the Big East's BCS representative is ranked very low or potentially not ranked at all? You bet. But as I've written before, the BCS standings have really no consequence for the league at this point other than public perception.

At least Big East fans don't have to wait breathlessly every Sunday for the new standings to come out. Perhaps you can use that time to go grocery shopping instead.

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The first BCS standings are out, and while it is fun to look at and debate who should play in the national title game, Big East fans have little to talk about.

The highest-ranked league team in the initial BCS standings is, to no surprise, West Virginia at No. 20. The Mountaineers are 19th in both human elements -- the USA Today coaches' and the Harris poll -- but their average computer ranking is just 23. No other Big East school appears in the top 44.

West Virginia can continue to climb the standings if it keeps winning and LSU -- the only team to beat the Mountaineers -- does likewise. But unlike last year, when Cincinnati was challenging for a spot in the national title game while ending up third in the final standings, or even when Pitt was climbing into the Top 10, the BCS numbers are all but meaningless for the Big East this year. No conference team is coming anywhere near the BCS title game, and the league has no prayer of getting an at-large bid for a second team besides the regular-season champion.

So it's win the Big East or bust for all conference teams as far as BCS games go. The standings are just for pride or for debate.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

I really thought Cincinnati would move up to No. 4 in the latest BCS standings after Iowa's loss.

Instead, TCU leapfrogged right past the Bearcats into the No. 4 spot, as Cincinnati stayed at No. 5. The Bearcats have the better computer rankings, and in fact are ranked third in the composite computer numbers, surprisingly two spots ahead of Texas. But TCU has the advantage in both human polls.

It looks like Cincinnati's near second-half collapse against UConn on Saturday may have indeed cost it some style points, at least with Harris Poll voters who jumped the Horned Frogs ahead this week. TCU won big this weekend, but it was over San Diego State, a team that is nowhere near as good as UConn.

Now you have to wonder if, even if Texas were to lose, Cincinnati could jump ahead of TCU for the BCS title game. The closing stretch of games for the Bearcats -- West Virginia, Illinois and Pitt -- will be much stronger than what TCU faces -- Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. So maybe that would turn the tide in Cincinnati's favor in the court of public opinion.

TCU's best win this year is at BYU, which is No. 22 in the BCS standings this week. Cincinnati has beaten Oregon State (23) and South Florida (24) on the road. So you make the call.

Another disappointing showing in the BCS standings is Pitt. Though the Panthers are No. 9 in both BCS polls, they check in at N0. 12 in the overall standings, thank to some weak computer numbers (average computer ranking: 13th). Again, though, the Panthers have almost zero chance of getting an at-large bid at 10-2 and simply need to focus on winning the Big East.

South Florida, as mentioned earlier, is No. 24 and West Virginia is 25th, meaning half the Big East is represented in the BCS standings. Not bad for a league whose BCS merits was being debated in the offseason, huh?

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

A week after falling from No. 5 to No. 8 in the BCS standings, Cincinnati got back to the fifth spot in this week's standings.

The Bearcats benefited from USC's loss at Oregon, and they also jumped back ahead of potential BCS busters Boise State and TCU. Cincinnati's schedule strength the rest of the way should help keep it ahead of those two. The Bearcats remain one spot behind Iowa.

Pittsburgh moved up to No. 13 after its bye week. The Panthers would officially be eligible for a BCS at-large berth by finishing in the Top 14, though the odds of them actually receiving such an invite are somewhere between slim and none -- and much closer to none.

South Florida also returned to the BCS standings at No. 25 despite not cracking the Top 25 of either poll that comprises the formula.

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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Cincinnati is clearly a contender for the BCS title game.

In the first official BCS standings that were released Sunday, the Bearcats are No. 5. They're one spot higher than they are in either the Harris or coaches' Top 25, which make up two-thirds of the BCS formula, because the computers rank Cincinnati No. 4.

The Bearcats are one spot behind Boise State. But since the Broncos' schedule will be weak down the stretch, and Cincinnati will play Pitt and West Virginia (Nos. 20 and 23 in the BCS standings, respectively), the Bearcats have a good shot at jumping ahead of the Broncos.

The tough climb will be to get all the way to one of the top two spots and secure a BCS title-game bid. Texas (No. 3) won't slip unless it loses, while Florida (No. 1) and Alabama (No. 2) look like they will be unbeaten heading to an SEC title-game showdown. And Iowa and USC lurk right behind Cincinnati. The Bearcats have better computer numbers than Texas and much better ones than USC but trail Iowa in that department. Iowa and Cincinnati are in a virtual BCS dead heat.

The Bearcats need to win out and hope for a couple of upsets. But they couldn't ask to be in a much better position at this point of the season

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

The first official BCS standings will come out on Sunday, and ESPN's Brad Edwards has already crunched the numbers from the polls and computers to predict what we might see in the top 10.

In Edwards' mock standings, Cincinnati is No. 9. The Bearcats would have some work to do to get in the top two and qualify for the BCS title game. They are two spots below LSU, which just lost to Florida, and trail four one-loss teams in total, including Ohio State.

Cincinnati's strength of schedule and poll standing should be helped greatly if it can win at South Florida. Eventually, the Bearcats would have to climb above Boise State (Edwards' No. 5), but the schedule argument would help in that case. Virginia Tech, USC and Texas would also have to lose, and whoever doesn't emerge from the SEC title scrum between Florida and Alabama would have to fall far enough behind the Bearcats.

But that's a lot of ifs and a long way down the road. Right now, Cincinnati just has to concentrate on Thursday's showdown in Tampa.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

The first BCS standings are out, and it is not a moment of much significance for the Big East.

The league has only two teams in the initial BCS Top 25, and neither are in a position to threaten for an at-large bid. South Florida is No. 16, while Pittsburgh -- which beat the Bulls in Tampa -- checks in right behind at No. 17. Three non-BCS conference teams are ahead of the Big East's duo: Utah, Boise State and TCU. But the league pair are ahead of the highest-ranked team from the ACC, No. 18 Georgia Tech.

What does it all mean for the Big East? Not much more than bragging rights.

Only by winning the conference and earning the automatic bid can a Big East team realistically expect to play in a BCS game. Theoretically, if South Florida and Pitt were both to win out, the Bulls would finish 11-1 and Pitt would get the automatic bid. USF could possibly keep rising in the standings to where it would have an argument for a BCS at-large bid. But the Bulls would need serious carnage among the teams in front of them, and they are hamstrung by a schedule that does not see them play a team currently in the Top 25 the rest of the season.