ESPN College Football

The National Football Foundation announced its members of the 2011 Hampshire Honor Society on Wednesday. To qualify for the honor, a player must:

• Be a starter or a significant substitute in his last year of eligibility;
• Achieve a 3.2 cumulative GPA throughout his entire course of undergraduate study; and
• Meet all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements and graduation.

Eight Big East players were named to the society. They are:

• Rutgers punter Teddy Dellaganna and linebacker Jim Dumont.
• Syracuse center Ryan Bartholomew and linebacker Derrell Smith.
• Connecticut long-snapper Derek Chard and safety John Yurek.
• West Virginia center Eric Jobe and punter Gregg Pugnetti.

Congrats to the honorees.

Looking back on the biggest Big East week thus far:

Team(s) of the week: (tie) Connecticut, West Virginia and Pittsburgh. All three went on the road to hostile environments, and all three shut down opponents who had a lot to play for. This trio allowed only one offensive touchdown in Week 12 while separating itself from the rest of the Big East pack.

Best game: Not a lot of instant classics in Week 12. I'll go with Pitt's 17-10 win over South Florida, which at least had some second-half drama. West Virginia beat Louisville by the same score, but that game never felt more out of reach because of how the Mountaineers' defense shut everything down.

Biggest play: In the second half at Louisville, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith turned to call timeout at nearly the same time as the ball was snapped and hit him in the back. Officials awarded Smith the timeout to the dismay of the home crowd. On the next play, Smith hit Noel Devine for a 48-yard pass play to the Louisville 2. That led to a Ryan Clarke touchdown, and the Mountaineers never trailed after that.

Best call: South Florida couldn't get much going offensively against Pittsburgh. But in the third quarter, the Bulls pulled off a beautifully-executed end around with true freshman Terrence Mitchell, who sprinted 45 yards for a touchdown that tied the score at 10. Unfortunately for USF, it was not enough.

Big Man on Campus (Offense): Isaiah Pead, RB, Cincinnati. There are career nights, and then there are video-game nights. Pead had the latter, scoring five touchdowns and rushing for 213 yards in a 69-38 destruction of Rutgers.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): Kendall Reyes, DE, Connecticut. Created two turnovers with an interception and a forced fumble, and both led to scores in the Huskies' 23-6 win at Syracuse.

Big Man on Campus (Special teams): Gregg Pugnetti, P, West Virginia. Bill Stewart called his punter "our player of the game" after the win over Louisville. Pugnetti averaged 44.9 yards on seven punts and downed two inside the 20 as the Cardinals brought the house at him over and over again.

Worst hangover: Rutgers. Sure, Syracuse and South Florida were virtually eliminated from the Big East race, and Louisville lost its second straight chance at a bowl. But how do the Scarlet Knights give up 69 points to a Cincinnati team that had been struggling for weeks? Things are not good in Piscataway these days.

Strangest moment: In the second half of the Syracuse-Connecticut game, Orange quarterback Ryan Nassib had one of his passes batted into the air by a Huskies defender. Nassib caught the ball himself, and then proceeded to throw another pass. Um, that's a penalty. My favorite part was the referee's explanation: "The quarterback cannot throw two forward passes on the same down." Insert quote from Dazed & Confused's Wooderson here: "It'd be a whole lot cooler if you could."

Now let's look ahead to the penultimate regular-season game for most and -- can you believe it -- already the final regular-season game of 2010 for Louisville and Syracuse (Games listed in descending order of interest/importance; all games Saturday except where noted):

West Virginia (7-3, 3-2 Big East) at Pittsburgh (6-4, 4-1): The Backyard Brawl as it should be: full of meaning for the Big East title. (ABC, Noon ET Friday)

Cincinnati (4-6, 2-3) at Connecticut (6-4, 3-2): The Huskies have to win to stay alive in the Big East title race. Bearcats have to win to stay alive for a bowl game. (ESPN3.com, Noon ET)

South Florida (6-4, 3-3) at Miami (7-4): The Bulls have accomplished many firsts this season. Winning a Big East title won't be one of them. But beating Miami would serve as a nice consolation prize. (ESPNU, Noon ET)

Boston College (6-5) at Syracuse (7-4, 4-3): The Orange's season will be judged a success no matter what happens the rest of the way. But 8-4 sure looks better than 7-5 with an 0-for-FBS record at home, doesn't it? (ESPN, Noon ET)

Louisville (5-6, 2-4) at Rutgers (4-6, 1-4): Loser is eliminated from bowl contention. Cardinals should be more prepared than they were two years ago in a humiliating season-ending loss. (ESPN2, 11 a.m. ET, Friday)

The bell has rung on Week 1. Let's check the stocks.

Stock up

1. Ryan Nassib: Making his first start at quarterback for Syracuse, Nassib completed 17 of 27 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns in a win at Akron. That earned him Big East player of the week honors.

2. The West Virginia kicking game: The Mountaineers' kickoff coverage, which had been pretty awful the last couple of years, allowed only 94 return yards on six kickoffs against Coastal Carolina. New punter Gregg Pugnetti averaged 49.2 yards on six attempts, including a 71-yarder.

3. Jordan Thomas: The Rutgers true freshman got 15 touches in the opener against Norfolk State. While he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry, he flashed his speed and quickness and showed he can be an asset to the Scarlet Knights' offense.

4. Steven Bravo-Brown: A true freshman walk-on, Bravo-Brown got thrown right into the fire for South Florida. The receiver had four catches for 48 yards against Stony Brook.

Stock down

1. The Cincinnati offense: The Bearcats were among the nation's top-scoring teams last year, and that figured to continue under Butch Jones. But Cincinnati mustered only 14 points at Fresno State -- none in the second half -- as the offensive line allowed eight sacks. And receiver Vidal Hazelton has been lost for the year to a torn ACL.

2. Pitt's red zone offense: The Panthers were inside Utah's 20 four times but came away with just one touchdown and three field goals. Pitt was one of the best teams in the country in red zone offense the past two years. It will need sevens, not threes, against upcoming opponents Miami and Notre Dame.

3. Connecticut's defensive front: We wondered about the Huskies' secondary. Turns out, UConn got pushed around up front by Michigan last week. The defensive line is undersized and lacks experience. "We've got to get a lot more physical," Randy Edsall said.

4. Louisville's wide receivers: Adam Froman completed just six passes to receivers against Kentucky, and none for more than 15 yards. Junior college import Josh Bellamy was hurt early and Troy Pascley continued to be inconsistent. The Cardinals lack players who can stretch the field and keep defenses honest.

Player of the year race: Offense

1. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Devine assumes the top spot after rushing for 111 yards against Coastal Carolina.

2. B.J. Daniels, QB, South Florida: Daniels was strong out of the gate, throwing for 264 yards and two touchdowns and running for a score versus Stony Brook.

3. Dion Lewis, RB, Pitt: When your career low for rushing yards is 75, that means you've had a great career. Lewis will bounce back.

4. Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: As disappointing as the Huskies were, Todman still had 105 yards and a score against Michigan.

5. Nassib: Might as well give the reigning offensive player of the week some love.

Player of the year race: Defense

1. Robert Sands, S, West Virginia: Had 1.5 tackles for loss and anchored a defense that pitched a shutout versus Coastal Carolina.

2. Alex Silvestro, DE, Rutgers: Silvestro had four tackles for loss against Norfolk State.

3. Greg Romeus, DE, Pitt: Disappointing effort against Utah for the preseason favorite, as Romeus had no sacks or quarterback hurries in the loss.

4. Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: Team's defensive effort was poor, but Wilson continued to be a tackling machine with 12 stops.

5. Mike Holmes, DB, Syracuse: Won the league's official defensive player of the week award for his performance at Akron.

Dion Lewis vs. Noel Devine:

Lewis: 25 rushes for 75 yards (3.0 ypc) and one touchdown

Devine: 23 rushes for 111 yards (4.8 ypc) and one touchdown

Tom Savage vs. B.J. Daniels

Savage: 10-of-19 for 148 yards and one touchdown; rushed six times for 18 yards

Daniels: 15-for-22, 264 yards and two touchdowns; rushed five times for 23 yards and a score