Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

1. Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0 Big East): The Bearcats won by 21 points on the road at Syracuse, and their margin of victory in conference play actually went down. That's dominance.

2. Pittsburgh (7-1, 4-0): The Panthers should be well rested after their first bye week going into this week's game at home against Syracuse. The last three games -- Notre Dame, at West Virginia and Cincinnati -- will define the season.

3. South Florida (6-2, 2-2): Amazing how much difference beating West Virginia makes for South Florida's outlook. Taking the reins off B.J. Daniels was a good idea.

4. West Virginia (6-2, 2-1): All hope is not gone for the Mountaineers, but at this point running the table might be the only way to make this a special season still.

5. Rutgers (6-2, 1-2): I asked last week if Rutgers-UConn was a real rivalry; the Scarlet Knights won last year's game by two points and this year's by four on a touchdown in the final minute. That's one way to make it a rivalry.

6. Connecticut (4-4, 1-3): The Huskies are just a few fourth-quarter plays away from being 8-0. They've been through a lot this month. Let's see if they can regroup and get to a bowl game.

7. Syracuse (3-5, 0-3): The Orange's first four conference games (South Florida, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Pitt) are the toughest ones you could schedule. Syracuse has to hope for a strong closing kick against the weaker teams in the league.

8. Louisville (3-5, 0-3): A stadium record-low crowd of just over 21,000 watched the Cardinals escape with a 21-13 win over Arkansas State. Those 21,000 may be the last to see a Louisville victory this year.