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Former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has received close to $8.7 million to not coach his alma mater, and the number will only grow.

Weis was paid $2,054,744 of buyout money from Notre Dame from July 2010 to June 2011, according to the Chicago Tribune, which obtained the figures from Notre Dame's Form 990 it must submit to the IRS.

Fired after the 2009 season, Weis received an initial buyout payment of $6,638,403, bringing the total to $8,693,147. He is slated to receive additional payments through December 2015.

The original $6.6 million payout was to be followed by "much smaller payments," according to previous documents. Weis also received $469,727 from Play by Play sports — now known as Notre Dame Sports Properties — and an additional $1,095 of unspecified "other reportable compensation."

The first glimpse at what current head coach Brian Kelly makes shows that Kelly took in $2,424,301, though $1,762,334 of "other reportable compensation" indicates all or part of that payment is a "one-time payment to Coach Kelly," the Tribune reported. As reporter Brian Hamilton notes, that money might have helped with any buyout Kelly owed Cincinnati after leaving the Bearcats in December 2009.

Kelly's base compensation is $617,846. The form did not include payments from "external sources."

Athletic director Jack Swarbrick made $1,026,942.

Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti says he already has a short list of candidates to become the next head coach of the Scarlet Knights.

So what exactly is he looking for?

“I think there are a lot of criteria," he said Thursday. "No. 1, we want the right kind of person. Understanding and being able to have your arms around the culture of the tri-state area I think is critical to being successful at Rutgers. So much of it has been built around being able to recruit on a somewhat regional level, that I think not only having a great understanding, but having really deep and strong relationships in the tri-state area. I think those are two very critical factors in this whole thing.”

Who fits the description? Here are a few possibilities:

Temple coach Steve Addazio. In his first season as the head coach at Temple, Addazio went 9-4 and brought the Owls back to a bowl game. He has ties to the tri-state area, having grown up and coached in Connecticut. He also served as an assistant at Syracuse in the 1990s and he clearly has established ties in the past year in the Pennsylvania area. That state has been a huge recruiting area for Rutgers, particularly given what has happened to Penn State.

Florida International coach Mario Cristobal. One of the brightest up-and-coming coaches in the country, Cristobal has done for FIU what Schiano did for Rutgers. He completely resurrected a program mired in misery, taking it to its first-ever conference title and back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time, too. FIU is obviously a much younger program, but Cristobal has got the coaching and recruiting chops. Plus, he worked under Schiano at Rutgers from 2001-03, so he has a familiar with the recruiting area. Cristobal was also a candidate for the Pitt job before ultimately deciding he wanted to stay in the South Florida area. What could Rutgers say to change his mind?

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco. A defensive mastermind like Schiano (who also served as defensive coordinator this past season), Diaco is from Cedar Grove, N.J., and has some coaching experience in the Big East. He was an assistant at Cincinnati under then-coach Brian Kelly before leaving to join Kelly with the Irish.

1. It’s impossible to know whether Gunner Kiel will turn into the Next Great Notre Dame Quarterback or just another guy. But the last-minute decision by Kiel, from Columbus, Ind., to spurn LSU and drive to the South Bend campus only three hours from home is a warming balm for Irish fans frustrated with the pace of head coach Brian Kelly’s progress. A pair of 8-5s is noticeably lacking in face cards. Notre Dame endorsed Kelly a few days ago by adding two years to his contract. Kiel endorsed him by showing up.

2. USF announced the other day that it has scheduled a home-and-home with Nevada, beginning with a trip to Reno on Sept. 8. The Wolf Pack will play in Tampa in 2015. That’s a nice get by the Bulls, but they buried the lead. More important is that in 2012, as it did three years ago, USF will play Florida State and Miami. They also played Florida and Miami in 2010. As the Big East and ACC struggle to create schedules in the wake of their realignment, here’s hoping USF continues to play the state’s bigger names.

3. Speaking of which: here are the five most interesting intersectional games for next season, excluding the traditional non-conference rivalries: Boise State at Michigan State on Fri., Aug. 31; Alabama vs. Michigan in Cowboys Stadium on Sept. 1; West Virginia at Florida State on Sept. 8; Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati at FedEx Field on Sept. 29; Notre Dame at Oklahoma on Oct. 27.

Be sure to check out today's ESPNU College Football Podcast with Ivan Maisel and Todd McShay, who break down many of the remaining December bowl games, including Dec. 29's Champs Sports Bowl between Notre Dame and Florida State.

McShay thinks this one will come down to the quarterback position for Notre Dame:

"It just comes down to, can they get Tommy Rees where they want to get him at the quarterback position? He's gonna start again, which surprised me after Andrew Hendrix came in for him. Hendrix's just a sophomore and he looked OK. But he didn't do anything to blow you away. He was 11-of-24 with a touchdown and an interception in that game at Stanford when he came in to relieve Tommy Rees. So ultimately what's been so interesting and so frustrating for coach Brian Kelly is the fact that he came in as the quarterback guru. You think about some of the guys he had success with at Cincinnati: Tony Pike, OK. Zach Collaros, OK. But it seemed like he could just work anyone into his system and it has not been the case at Notre Dame, so that's the big challenge moving forward."

The Champs Sports Bowl conversation begins shortly after the 30-minute mark. The two also touch on Florida State's special teams edge and the fallout from each team failing to meet lofty preseason expectations.

Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3) vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (6-6)

Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Cincinnati take from Big East blogger Andrea Adelson: Most everyone expected the Bearcats to be better this season, with veteran players returning at key positions on offense and defense. But just how much better was the big question. Cincinnati answered that early, jumping out to a 7-1 start to the season behind vastly improved play from its much-maligned defense. Then the season turned.

Quarterback Zach Collaros broke his ankle early against West Virginia and was lost for the regular season. All of a sudden, a team that controlled the Big East was no longer in control at all. The Bearcats lost to the Mountaineers and dropped one to Rutgers the following week, dealing them what would be a death blow to their BCS chances. What perhaps hurts most was this team had a lead on West Virginia in the fourth quarter and could not hold on for the win.

But the Bearcats can still call themselves Big East champions for the third time in four seasons, so that should help take the sting away. Running back Isaiah Pead had another terrific season, becoming the first Cincinnati back in 25 seasons to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. The defensive front played outstanding all season, stuffing the run and getting great pressure on the quarterback with 44 sacks and 106.5 tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Derek Wolfe was a load to handle inside, and linebacker JK Schaffer had 100 tackles for the third straight season.

This was also a team that made a complete turnaround when it came to turnover margin. Last year, the Bearcats were last in the Big East at minus-15 in this category. This year, they led the Big East at plus-11. The good news for Cincinnati is that Collaros is expected back for the bowl game, but he might remind everyone what could have been for the Bearcats this season.

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Vanderbilt take from SEC blogger Chris Low: James Franklin vowed when he took the Vanderbilt job that he was unconcerned about what had or hadn’t happened in the past there.

Never mind that the Commodores had been the rest of the SEC’s punching bag. Franklin saw to it that they punched back, and they’re headed to a bowl game for only the fifth time in school history.

Vanderbilt earned that trip by going to Winston-Salem, N.C., on the final weekend of the regular season and routing Wake Forest 41-7 for its sixth win of the season.

The Commodores were agonizingly close to being an eight- or even a nine-win football team. They lost in overtime at Tennessee and lost three more close games to Arkansas, Florida and Georgia by a combined 13 points.

Vanderbilt leaned on its veteran defense early in the season. The Commodores intercepted 17 passes, which is tied for second in the SEC.

But where they made the most improvement was on offense, especially after Jordan Rodgers took over at quarterback in Week 7. He had plenty of help, too. Junior running back Zac Stacy set a school record with 1,136 rushing yards. The offensive line made major strides, and sophomore receiver Jordan Matthews became one of the SEC’s premier big-play threats in the passing game.

Here are five things I'll be watching in college football this weekend:

1. Can No. 14 Georgia keep it close against No. 1 LSU in the SEC championship game?

The Tigers are one victory away from completing a perfect regular season and earning a trip to the Jan. 9 Allstate BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans. The Bulldogs have won 10 games in a row since losing their first two and they're playing with a lot of confidence entering Saturday's SEC championship game at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. But Georgia hasn't played a defense as physical and menacing as LSU's. Can Georgia's offensive line protect quarterback Aaron Murray, who has thrown 14 touchdowns in his past four games? Will Georgia tailback Isaiah Crowell be able to start and finish a game? Georgia might have the second-best defense LSU has faced this season, behind Alabama's, which held the Tigers to only nine points. Will LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson continue to make big plays?

2. Will No. 10 Oklahoma beat No. 3 Oklahoma State for the ninth straight time?

The Pokes are still in the BCS national championship race, although they'll need some help from voters and computers to pass No. 2 Alabama in the BCS standings. OSU hasn't beaten the Sooners since 2002, losing eight games in a row in the Bedlam series. Saturday night's game will be played in Stillwater, and the Sooners aren't as explosive without leading rusher Dominique Whaley and star receiver Ryan Broyles. The Pokes haven't played since a 37-31 loss in double overtime at Iowa State on Nov. 18. They had five turnovers in the loss to the Cyclones and can't afford to turn it over against OU. The last team with the ball might win the game.

3. Which team will win the Big East?

If No. 23 West Virginia beats South Florida on the road on Thursday night and Cincinnati defeats Connecticut at home on Saturday, there will be a three-way tie for first place in the Big East standings. The Mountaineers, Bearcats and Cardinals will finish tied, and the tiebreaker would be decided by the highest BCS standing, which would favor the Mountaineers. West Virginia has been inconsistent in coach Dana Holgerson's first season, and the Bearcats are unpredictable without injured quarterback Zach Collaros. Big East football might be mediocre again this season, but at least it has been dramatic to season's end.

4. Will No. 15 Wisconsin get revenge against No. 13 Michigan State?

The Spartans derailed the Badgers' national championship hopes with a dramatic 37-31 victory in East Lansing, Mich., on Oct. 22. The Spartans won the game on quarterback Kirk Cousins' 44-yard touchdown pass to Keith Nichol on a Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game. Both teams lost in their next games, but recovered to win out to claim their divisions. The Spartans will have to slow down tailback Montee Ball in Saturday's inaugural Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Ball has 29 rushing touchdowns and five touchdown catches; his 34 touchdowns are five shy of tying former Oklahoma State tailback Barry Sanders' NCAA single-season record of 39 touchdowns set in 1988.

5. Will No. 5 Virginia Tech win the ACC again?

The Hokies are one victory away from winning their fifth ACC championship in only eight seasons in the league in Saturday's ACC championship game in Charlotte, N.C. Virginia Tech will try to avenge its 23-3 loss to Clemson at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., on Oct. 1. The No. 13 Tigers held the Hokies to only 258 yards and no touchdowns at home for the first time since 1995. The Tigers, who have lost three of their past four games, will have to limit Hokies tailback David Wilson, who has run for 1,595 yards with nine touchdowns. Wilson has already tied an ACC record with nine rushing touchdowns this season and he's 61 yards shy of breaking Ryan Williams' school single-season rushing record.

Rumors and reports are swirling that Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel and Washington State coach Paul Wulff will shortly be terminated.

From the Arizona Republic:

Vice President of Athletics Lisa Love did not return messages left by The Republic on Saturday, but multiple sources confirmed that the end is near for coach Dennis Erickson, and his dismissal could come soon.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Dan Guerrero, the Bruins' athletic director, will sit down with UCLA's football coach after the season is over to discuss the future. That could be as soon as next weekend, after the Bruins play Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game.

Neuheisel's chances of retaining his job are bleak, according to influential people close to the program who did not want to be identified publicly because the decision was not final.

The general gist is Neuheisel will coach the Pac-12 title game on Friday at Oregon. The Orange County Register named candidates to replace Neuheisel:

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel is expected to be fired following Pac-12 championship game against Oregon with Boise State coach Chris Peterson, Houston's Kevin Sumlin and Cincinnati's Butch Jones the leading candidates to replace him.

From the Seattle Times, which names former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach as a top candidate to replace Wulff:

Sources close to the situation say Wulff, whose Cougars lost 38-21 to Washington on Saturday at CenturyLink Field, will be dismissed after a meeting with athletic director Bill Moos, barring a last-minute change of direction by Moos. It could happen as early as Sunday, possibly Monday.

A reversal of thinking is unlikely, and sources familiar with the process say the Cougars will have former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach at the top of their list of possible replacements. Leach has been out of coaching since 2009 after a controversial exit from Tech that resulted in him suing the school.

Sumlin and Leach also likely will be connected to the Arizona State job.

These three guys started the season on the hot seat. All three showed signs of getting off it at various times. But, alas, they couldn't make a turnaround stick.

Tough business. College coaches are paid well, but their job security is always precarious.

End result is it appears the Pac-12 will feature four new coaches -- Arizona has already hired Rich Rodriguez -- next fall.

1. Tennessee Volunteers coach Derek Dooley gushed about quarterback Tyler Bray's performance against the Cincinnati Bearcats as much as everyone else. But Dooley sounded just as pleased at the offense’s ability to drive downfield without self-destructing. All six of the Volunteers’ touchdowns in the 45-23 victory came on drives of at least 53 yards, and four of the six went at least 70. That’s the mark of a good team. “We give players of the week and on offense this week we gave it to the unit because everybody just played so well,” Dooley said.

2. I covered the 2004 BYU-Utah game, the game in which head coach Urban Meyer’s Utes clinched an undefeated season and a BCS berth. That game was played on the Saturday night before Thanksgiving, and flurries danced in the air as the Utah fans danced in the stands. The rivals aren’t in the same league any longer -- BYU isn’t in a league, period -- and the weather forecast for Saturday is 76 degrees with scattered thunderstorms. I’m glad they are playing each other. But playing each other in that weather? That’s just wrong.

3. The Nebraska Cornhuskers' return game is ready for the Big Ten. Kicker/punter Brett Maher won the conference special teams player of the week in the opening win over Chattanooga, and freshman Ameer Abdullah won it last week after setting a school record with 211 kickoff return yards -- 100 of them for a touchdown that cut off a Fresno State rally. The 5-9, 180-pound Abdullah presents a challenge for Washington, which has lingered near the bottom of the Pac-12 in kickoff coverage for two seasons.

The conventional wisdom is Oregon State's already formidable trip to Wisconsin on Sept. 10 became even more daunting Monday with the Badgers' addition of quarterback Russell Wilson, a transfer from NC State who passed for 8,545 yards and 76 touchdowns in his career with the Wolfpack.

Maybe. Makes sense. Wilson, who has one year of eligibility remaining and can play right away because he has already graduated, is a dual-threat quarterback who also has, by the way, played baseball in the Colorado Rockies' minor league system after being a fourth-round pick last year.

Further, the Badgers' play at quarterback was mediocre to bad this spring, with no one stepping to the fore to replace Scott Tolzien. Wilson, it would seem, is an instant upgrade, even over Tolzien. Wilson completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 3,563 yards with 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and rushed for 435 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Tolzien's 2010 numbers, though good enough to get the Badgers to the Rose Bowl, don't even compare.

The general feeling is this makes Wisconsin the Big Ten favorite. Which makes the Beavers look like road kill, right?

Again, maybe. But we live in a world of unintended consequences. There are no sure things, and the unexpected often happens.

For one, Wilson will be learning a new offense with new teammates with only a month or so this summer and fall practices to prepare. That's not easy. Sure, he's a veteran college QB. But he'll still be the new guy -- not unlike incoming freshmen.

His first order of business? Decisively beating out Jon Budmayr, Joe Brennan and Joel Stave. If Wilson is only marginally better, or if there's doubt within the team that he earned the starting job, then things could get prickly in the locker room.

The ideal situation for Oregon State would be for Wilson to not get a warm-up game before the Beavers come to town. That's not the case. Not only does Wisconsin open against UNLV, it also has a couple of extra days between that Thursday, Sept. 1 opener to iron out the kinks and get ready for the Beavers.

Oregon State opens its season against Sacramento State, giving it a preseason game in which to get in rhythm without revealing a lot. The Beavers certainly should be able to get more from the Badgers-Rebels game film than Wisconsin will from the Sac State film.

Wilson should make the Badgers better, but it's reasonable to believe he will be better as the season matures than he is early-on, when he's still figuring out the offense and his teammates. So Oregon State has that going for it.

With or without Wilson starting, the Badgers will be heavy favorites when Oregon State visits. The Beavers are coming off a 5-7 season with lots of questions and they do not own a distinguished record for starting fast. They've, in particular, suffered a few bad nonconference whippings on the road in the early-going -- see ill-fated trips to Louisville, Boise State, Cincinnati and Penn State.

The conventional wisdom will write this one into the Oregon State loss column before it's played, and the Badgers' addition of Wilson makes it less risky to do so in pen rather than pencil.

Right? Well, maybe. Let's just say lots more folks figure to tune into the Wisconsin-UNLV opener than before.

New UCLA defensive coordinator Joe Tresey was fired at Cincinnati before the 2009 season, lasted only one year at South Florida and then couldn't get any other job other than with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League last fall.

Ergo: Desperate hire by Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel, right?

Not really. The devil is in the details. As for the numbers from coordinating defenses, Tresey's are solid.

2007 at Cincinnati: The Bearcats led the nation in turnover gained (42) and interceptions (26). They ranked eight in sacks per game (3.23). What about points? They were 13th in the nation: 18.77.

2008 at Cincinnati: The Bearcats ranked 31st nationally in total defense (321.9 yards), 19th in rushing defense (115.0) and 25th in scoring defense (20.1 points). They were ninth in the nation with 2.86 sacks per game. Didn't force as many turnovers, though: Just 22. Of course, that's four more than UCLA forced last year and would have been tied for fourth in the Pac-10 in 2010.

2009 at South Florida: The Bulls ranked 24th nationally in total defense (321.8 yards) and 19th (tied) in scoring defense (19.8 points). They forced 23 turnovers that season.

So what about those details? Well, recall that cryptic "timing issue" that Neuheisel alluded to Tuesday as to why then-Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, now at Notre Dame, fired Tresey? Well, that's mostly what it was.

Following the 2008 season, Tresey thought he had been hired as Miami's defensive coordinator, so much so that he told Kelly that he was leaving. But then Tresey and Shannon couldn't finalize a deal -- it apparently was over what position Tresey would coach -- and Shannon left Tresey at the altar. That interview, combined with Kelly's desire to switch to a 3-4 from Tresey's 4-3, drove a wedge into the relationship, and Kelly then made plans to move on with Bob Diaco, who's now with Kelly at Notre Dame. So Tresey was out of a job.

It's meaningful then that Tresey quickly landed on his feet as the defensive coordinator of a Cincinnati foe in the Big East: South Florida. It's not easy to get a job after national signing day, but Bulls coach Jim Leavitt wanted Tresey.

So why did Tresey last just one year at South Florida? Wasn't his fault. Leavitt was fired in January of 2009 after a school investigation concluded he grabbed one of his players by the throat, slapped him in the face and then lied about it.

Incoming coach Skip Holtz brought in his own guy to coach the Bulls' defense: Mark Snyder. So, in mid-January, Tresey was out of work, though he was a good soldier for the Bulls until he got pink-slipped, which Holtz even acknowledged.

That is how he ended up coaching in the UFL.

Is Tresey a spectacular hire? No. Bruins fans would have been more juiced to get Vic Fangio or Rocky Long, Neuheisel's first two choices.

But considering how the nearly two-month search played out in the media -- it didn't seem pretty, did it? -- Neuheisel landed a solid, experienced candidate who figures to bring an attacking, aggressive scheme, which the Bruins didn't have last fall.

And, by the way, it's not like Neuheisel isn't invested in this decision. He's fully aware that 2011 is a win-or-else season for him in Westwood.

Some more stories on the Tresey hire here and here and here.

A lot of names have been attached to the UCLA vacancy at defensive coordinator, but the guy Rick Neuheisel tapped on Tuesday was not one of those names.

Joe Tresey, 52, a former defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and South Florida, has been named UCLA's defensive coordinator, ending a lengthy and winding search since Chuck Bullough was fired on Dec. 18.

“He has an aggressive style that forces turnovers and negative-yardage plays and I feel our players, especially our youngsters, will benefit greatly from his style of play," Neuheisel said in a statement. "He is a fine teacher and I can’t wait for him to get started.”

Tresey coached at South Florida in 2009 and Cincinnati -- under current Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly -- from 2007-08. Last year, he was the defensive backs coach for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. (Recall that Bulls coach Jim Leavitt was fired in January 2010 after a school investigation concluded he grabbed one of his players by the throat, slapped him in the face and then lied about it.)

In 2009, South Florida ranked 24th nationally in total defense (321.8 yards) and 19th in scoring defense (19.8 points) while compiling an 8-5 record. The Bulls forced 23 turnovers that season. In 2008, Cincinnati ranked 31st nationally in total defense (321.9 yards), 19th in rushing defense (115.0) and 25th in scoring defense (20.1 points).

Tresey is a secondary specialist "with a reputation for forcing turnovers and piling up sacks."

But also consider this paragraph from a Tampa Tribune story on Tresey's hire at South Florida: "Tresey was fired last month by Bearcats coach Brian Kelly, who said he had philosophical differences and was shifting to a 3-4 defense, but the move could have also been prompted by Tresey's talks with Miami."

Recall that one of the reasons Neuheisel dispatched Bullough was a desire to switch to a 3-4 scheme. Tresey is a 4-3 guy.

Here's a Q&A with Tresey, also from the Tampa Tribune.

A 1982 graduate of Ohio State, he also has coached at Central Michigan (2006), Georgia Southern (2004-05), Akron (2002-03) and VMI (1999-2001).

Before Neuheisel tapped Tresey, a multitude of coaches were touted as potential candidates, including Vic Fangio, Randy Shannon, Rocky Long, Chuck Heater, Teryl Austin, Rocky Seto, Jeff FitzGerald and Steve Brown.

1. Just one more weird Saturday in a collection of them: Oregon and TCU struggle. Minnesota and Colorado, both with interim coaches, got big wins. Washington State wins its first Pac-10 road game in three years (average margin of the 12 losses: 33 points). And when it ends, three of the defending champions in AQ conferences -- Texas, Georgia Tech and Cincinnati -- don’t have winning records. This season is never dull.

2. Greg McGarity, Georgia’s new athletic director, has some learning to do. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he expects coach Mark Richt to back in 2011. Richt, the Dawgs ‘ most successful coach since Vince Dooley retired in 1988, is 13-11 over the past two seasons. Of course he should come back. But what kind of athletic director lets his common sense show? Where’s the hair trigger? McGarity is supposed to equivocate until the season ends. After all, you can’t follow public opinion until you know what happens.

3. Clemson and Boston College are both 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC Atlantic. That’s where the similarity ends. The Tigers began the season looking as if it had a chance to repeat as division champ. Scouts Inc. listed six Tigers among its top 90 draft prospects. The Eagles had two. Yet Boston College is the team on the rise. The Eagles went from getting routed, to losing narrowly, to winning three straight, including a 16-10 defeat of the Tigers. Clemson has yet to find itself, and has only two more chances to do so.

1. The NCAA’s refusal to grant a waiver of eligibility for Oregon transfer Jeremiah Masoli is logical but the precedent it could set is unsettling. Ole Miss maintains that Masoli fit the criteria of the waiver rule as written. The NCAA noted that the rule is academic in nature, and Masoli isn’t transferring for academic reasons. The gist of the ruling: If Masoli isn’t eligible at Oregon this year, he shouldn’t be eligible anywhere. Since when does the NCAA take a decision made by one school and apply it to all others?

2. BYU’s decision to leave the Mountain West Conference is a stunning gamble, if only because it is so rare that a school will leave what’s safe and secure. BYU fans objected last week to my characterization on the ESPNU College Football Podcast of the university being analogous to Notre Dame. Let’s see: a religious university with a national fan base and its own TV network. Sound familiar? BYU joins the Irish, Army and Navy as “national” independents. Now, let’s see who agrees to play the Cougars.

3. We’ve seen West Coast teams travel cross country, draw a noon kickoff and play as if they’re still in bed. Here comes the flip-flop: Cincinnati opens at Fresno State, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m, Saturday. That’s 10 p.m., Bearcat time. Coach Butch Jones considered moving the team’s schedule back three hours this week. He decided against it. “We’ll have night practices,” Jones said. “We just don’t make a big deal about it.” One plus -- the Bearcats won at Oregon State last year. They’ve done this before.

13-9. Jeremy Ito. 48 straight points.

Some losses are so painful that the mere mention of a name, phrase or score instantly brings back horrible memories. Today, as part of ESPN.com's House of Pain series, I'm going to list my nominees for the most painful loss in school history for each Big East team.

CINCINNATI: For years, Cincinnati wasn't good enough to have many painful losses. But one sticks out: Ty King returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown with 19 seconds left as rival Miami (Ohio) beat the Bearcats 23-16 in 1995.

CONNECTICUT: The 2009 season was full of heartache for the Huskies. No game hurt more than the loss to Rutgers. UConn had seemingly won the game in the final minute, but the Scarlet Knights scored on an 81-yard pass from Tom Savage to Tim Brown to ruin the Huskies' first home game since Jasper Howard' death.

LOUISVILLE: Cardinals fans still rue the 2006 loss to Rutgers that kept their team from a possible BCS title game appearance. Louisville led 25-7 in the first half but would not score again. Ito drilled the 28-yard game winner with 17 seconds left after William Gay jumped offside on the kicker's first, missed attempt.

PITTSBURGH: Pitt has never had a more talented team than the 1981 edition. The Panthers were undefeated and ranked No. 1 when they took a 14-0 lead over Penn State in the season finale. But the Nittany Lions then scored the final 48 points in a loss that still perplexes Pittsburgh fans.

RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights just had to beat a Pat White-less West Virginia in the 2006 season finale to claim the Big East's BCS bid. Instead, backup Jarrett Brown led the Mountaineers to a 41-39, triple-overtime win that sent Rutgers to the Texas Bowl.

SOUTH FLORIDA: Bulls fans were beside themselves when the young program climbed to No. 2 in the polls in October 2007. It all came crashing down on a Thursday night in Piscataway, N.J., when Rutgers dashed South Florida's dream season with a 30-27 win, aided by a fake field goal for a touchdown.

SYRACUSE: The eighth-ranked Orange had a chance to knock off No. 1 Miami in 1992 for a Sugar Bowl berth. They trailed 16-10 and were threatening to score, but tight end Chris Gedney was tackled 2 yards short of the end zone as time expired.

WEST VIRGINIA: Do we even need to explain? West Virginia fans were booking their tickets to the BCS title game before the 2007 season finale. One problem: Pitt -- which entered the game with a 4-7 record -- pulled off a shocking 13-9 upset in Morgantown that changed the course of both programs.

Which losses are the most painful for you? Remember to send me your comments and memories to this link. I'll highlight the best entries in a post on Friday.

NEWPORT, R.I. -- Pittsburgh was the overwhelming choice to win the Big East title in the league's preseason media poll that was released Tuesday.

The Panthers received 22 out of a possible 24 first-place votes in the voting by media representatives from all eight Big East cities. Pitt was picked second on the two ballots in which it was not tabbed No. 1.

That makes Dave Wannstedt's team the heaviest favorite in the league's preseason poll since Louisville in 2005. Now it's up to the Panthers to win their first conference title under Wannstedt.

Cincinnati and West Virginia tied for second in the preseason poll. The Bearcats, who have won the league two straight years, did not receive any first-place votes, while West Virginia had one. The other first-place vote went to Connecticut, which finished fourth in the poll. That's the highest-ever preseason projection for the Huskies.

Here is the complete poll with the number of points each team received through the voting:

1. Pittsburgh (22 first-place votes) 190
2. Cincinnati 142
West Virginia (1) 142
4. Connecticut (1) 131
5. Rutgers 99
6. USF 79
7. Syracuse 41
8. Louisville 40