ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

What we learned from Week 6 in the Big East:

1. West Virginia isn't going away quietly: The Mountaineers had issues in their first four games, mostly turnovers. But once Big East play started, they had a familiar look about them: dominating. West Virginia rolled past Syracuse as it played a mostly clean game. Assuming Bill Stewart's club can keep up that kind of discipline, the Mountaineers will challenge the winner of the South Florida/Cincinnati game for the Big East title.

2. Pitt's running game can be special: The Panthers rumbled for 221 yards on the ground against UConn, which statistically had one of the best rush defenses in the country. Dion Lewis and Ray Graham each averaged 6.6 yards per carry. Graham's emergence has made the running game even more formidable, as well as tremendous play by the offensive line, and Pitt sets up its play-action passing game off those runs. With Lewis and Graham just true freshmen, the Big East will have to deal with these guys for a long time.

3. UConn isn't over the hump: Every year, it seems, the Huskies fight for recognition and respect as something more than just a solid midlevel program. But collapses like the North Carolina game (up 10 in the fourth quarter) and Pittsburgh (up 15 late in the third) do nothing to change that image. Whether it's depth or a lack of an explosive offense, UConn just has trouble closing out games. Until it figures that out, this program won't make the jump to the next level.

4. Syracuse is a long way from rebuilt: The Orange have been a nice story early in the year with the effort they've given. But since Big East play has begun, Syracuse looks more like the old Syracuse. Saturday's loss to West Virginia was nearly as one-sided as the Rich Rodriguez/Greg Robinson routs. The great Greg Paulus experiment looks like it needs to go back to the lab for tweaking, and injuries have trimmed an already barebones roster. Doug Marrone still has plenty of rebuilding work ahead.

5. Louisville hasn't quit: Given all the rumors spinning around their head coach, the Cardinals had several opportunities to give up against Southern Miss. They trailed 16-7 at the half. They watched the Golden Eagles go back up 23-22 with 2:13 left. But Louisville came back with a game-winning field goal, proving that the players haven't quit on Steve Kragthorpe even if many fans have. It may not count for much in the end, but at least the Cardinals salvaged some pride this week.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

What we learned in Week 6 of the Big East:

1. The Big East is one big jumbled mess.

South Florida, supposedly the league's best team, fell on its face at home. Connecticut got bombed on the road. There are no unbeatens left in the league and there won't be any Top 15 teams by Sunday afternoon. Except for Rutgers and Syracuse, everybody has a chance to win the conference. Who's the Big East's best team? Who knows?

2. Pittsburgh is back ... maybe.

It's dangerous to suggest the Panthers turned a corner by beating South Florida on Thursday night. A lot of people thought last year's season-ending upset of West Virginia was a program changer -- and then Pitt went out and lost this year's opener to Bowling Green. The Panthers are always going to live on the edge with their style of play. But with a 2-0 league mark and young team that seems to be getting more confident each week, they are once again relevant in the Big East.

3. West Virginia isn't back ... yet.

The Mountaineers had shown signs of breaking out on offense and building a dominant defense the past couple of weeks. Saturday's 24-17 victory over Rutgers at home did little to inspire more confidence. The offense scored just once after halftime, and quarterback Pat White didn't finish the game for the second straight week. He got hit in the head and was to be examined for a possible concussion. The defense gave up too many points to a struggling Rutgers offense and will now be without one of its best players, middle linebacker Reed Williams, for the rest of the season. This still isn't the powerful West Virginia of the past few years.

4. Cincy boys can survive.

I should have known better than to pick against Brian Kelly in any game in which Cincinnati has better or equal talent. Even with Plan D at quarterback in freshman Chazz Anderson, the Bearcats put together maybe their best overall game in a 33-10 spanking of host Marshall. Their last three wins -- Miami of Ohio and Akron were the other two -- won't get anybody's blood boiling. But as Cincinnati finally enters league play this week against Rutgers, Kelly's team has as good a chance as anyone of winning this conference.

5. South Florida and Connecticut have warts.

The Bulls and Huskies were the only Big East teams to play each of the first six weeks, and both looked worse for the wear in Week 6. Luckily, each has a much-needed bye week now to rest up and shore up some trouble spots. South Florida needs to learn how to avoid mental lapses and tighten up a secondary that's giving up too many big plays. Connecticut needs to integrate quarterback Zach Frazer's downfield passing abilities into its offense and get him more reps with the first team offense. If they can get fresh and righted, both teams will still be major factors in the second half.