Big East football afternoon open thread: Pitt handling Temple, Rutgers hosts Kent State, Syracuse at South Florida

Louisville, in one of the wildest Big East games of the season so far, remained undefeated by beating Cincinnati in overtime last night in a constant, cold rain. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 8-0 and stay atop the Big East race. Cincinnati suffered its first conference defeat, but is still alive in the race as the Bearcats will get a shot at Rutgers in a few weeks. They'll need help to win the conference outright, but, they're not out of it. If there's anything the past few years has taught us, it's that tiebreakers and logjams at the top of the conference are the norm, not the exception.

In today's action, Rutgers is out of conference, facing a better than expected 6-1 Kent State team. The pressure will be on Rutgers to stay unbeaten and drive toward an unbeaten matchup with Louisville at the end of the season. Rutgers is currently the highest rated Big East team in the BCS standings, so a win over an on paper above average Kent State team will only help. Syracuse travels to South Florida today in a game where one team will probably see its chances of making a bowl game effectively end and the pressure on the losing coach shoot through the roof. Both teams have some talent, to miss the postseason in back to back seasons might be too much to handle for either coach.

In noon action, Pittsburgh has dominated Temple, taking a 31-7 lead into the locker room at halftime and holds a 34-14 lead late in the 3rd quarter. The up and down season for the Panthers continues.