The Big East Conference finished Week 2 of the college football season with a disappointing 4-4 record. Three Big East programs -- Rutgers University, University of Cincinnati and University of Connecticut -- each lost contests to BCS- conference opponents, while University of Louisville lost Friday to a non-automatic qualifying school, Florida International University. Of course, it's tough not to mention that Syracuse University, Pittsburgh University and the University of West Virginia all struggled against Football Championship Subdivision opponents.
If you need a recap of this weekend's action, here's a link to SB Nation New York's Big East Football round up. Now, lets get to the Week 2 Power Rankings:
1) South Florida Bulls (2-0, 0-0 Big East)
Both college football polls, the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches, have UWV ahead of the Bulls. But, so far, the Bulls, who are ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, have been the most impressive team in the Big East. USF defeated Notre Dame, 23-20, in Week 1, while this week they manhandled the Ball State Cardinals, 37-7. Those who thought the Bulls might have a lull because of the big win against the Fighting Irish were wrong. USF is for real and if junior quarterback B.J. Daniels, who completed 28-of-39 passes for 359 yards and TD Saturday, continues to play at a high level and the defense keeps making plays -- just eight seconds into Saturday's game USF scored a TD off of a Ball State fumble -- they'll be tough to surpass in the SBNY rankings.
2) West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0, 0-0)
After trailing 12-10 at halftime to the Norfolk State Spartans, WVU fans were waiting for head coach Dana Holgorsen to go Brian Kelly on his players. Whatever Holgorsen did in the locker room at halftime, it worked. The Mountaineers, who are ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, scored on their next seven possessions of the second half to cruise to a 55-12 victory. Senior quarterback Geno Smith was, again, spectacular finishing with 371-passing yards and four touchdowns. A victory at Maryland this weekend (noon on ESPNU) could be enough for WVU to surpass USF in the SBNY rankings.
3) Cincinnati Bearcats (1-1, 0-0)
From here on out, the SBNY rankings are a crap shoot as the next four teams all could be ahead or behind one another. However, despite losing Saturday at the University of Tennessee, 45-23, Cincinnati sill maintains the third spot, but by a thread. The Bearcats offense is maybe the best in the conference, but their defense, which allowed 14 points in each of the first three quarters Saturday, needs some work.
4) Pittsburgh Panthers (2-0, 0-0)
The University of Pittsburgh has played some cupcake programs during the first two weeks of the season, but so have a lot of college football programs. The good thing for Pitt is they avoided an upset -- Pitt beat Maine, 35-29, Saturday - and junior running back Ray Graham, who ran for 121 yards and three TDs, is producing. However, the shaky play of junior quarterback Tino Sunseri, who had no touchdowns, but two interceptions Saturday, should be a concern for head coach Todd Graham.
5) Syracuse Orange (2-0, 0-0)
Last week, Syracuse University was No. 4, but another dicey performance, this time in a 21-14 victory against FCS-opponent the University of Rhode Island, drops them down a spot. Yes, a win is a win, but if the Orange can't be more consistent on defense then their trip to the University of Southern California this weekend (8 p.m. on FX) could get really ugly.
6) Connecticut Huskies (1-1)
If it wasn't for the terrible play of junior quarterback Johnny McEntee, who completed just 10-of-27 passes with no touchdowns and three interceptions, the last was returned for a game-tying TD midway through the fourth quarter, UConn might be 2-0 and have a quality road win against a Southeastern Conference program. However, that's not the case and head coach Paul Pasqualoni needs to figure out his quarterback situation soon because these performance will not fly once conference play starts.
7) Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-1)
I don't like to reward a team that loses, but the performance RU put together Saturday in a 24-22 loss at the University of North Carolina was impressive. The Scarlet Knights, who entered the game as a 10-point underdog, kept things close and had a chance in the end. We all know there's no such thing as a moral loss, but RU and head coach Greg Schiano saw some positive things in that non-conference loss to a more talented Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
8) Louisville Cardinals (1-1)
Louisville was shredded by one player, FIU's senior wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who finished with 201-receiving yards, in a 24-17 loss to a non-automatic qualifying program. If you're trying to move up the SBNY rankings you can't let one player beat you.