Big East Rewind: Peak to Pitt to Paulus

When Pittsburgh was chosen by the media as the preseason choice to win the Big East title, Coach Dave Wannstedt said he'd prefer not be tagged as the team to beat.

Now we know why.

Say hello to the Pitts-ophrenic Panthers.

Although Pitt is 5-1 and atop the league at 2-0, the Panthers already have had their shares of ups and downs and inconsistencies.

They allowed 500 yards in a win against Buffalo; they blew a 31-19 lead in the final 19 minutes in a loss to an N.C. State team that has since lost to Duke; they trailed at halftime at Louisville only to outscore the Cards 28-0 in the second half and Saturday they trailed UConn 21-6 late in the third quarter, but roared back for a 24-21 victory.

"That (comeback) was outstanding," said Wannstedt after the Panthers pulled off the largest comeback in his five seasons at his alma mater. "The disappointing thing is we have not played as good as we can for a whole game."

Some things we may have actually figured out in the past week

1. Syracuse should end the Greg Paulus project.

Greg Paulus, the former Duke point guard, provided a great deal of excitement and spark into Syracuse's program the past few months. He was solid, if not spectacular, in an overtime loss to Minnesota and victories against Northwestern and Maine. However, it's time to move on. Paulus threw his national worst 10th interception of the season in Saturday's 34-13 loss to West Virginia. That followed his five interception game the previous week against USF. Against West Virginia, Paulus was replaced at halftime by freshman Ryan Nassib, who threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. With an open date this week, it's the perfect time to make the transition to Nassib. However, first-year coach Doug Marrone said after the West Virginia game that Paulus will remain the starter. Too bad. Unless Syracuse can finish 4-2 in its last six games, the Orange isn't headed to a bowl game and should start rebuilding right now with Nassib. It would pay dividends down the road.

2. Trent Guy can giveth away and saveth.

Just three weeks ago, Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe threatened the media not to blame Trent Guy for the Kentucky loss after Guy's fumbled punt return led to UK's winning touchdown in UL's 31-27 loss. On Saturday Guy paid back his coach and may have saved Kragthorpe's bacon -- at least for the time being. After Southern Miss took a 23-22 lead with 2:13 remaining, Guy returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to the USM 30. It set up the game-winning 32-yard field goal from Ryan Payne in Louisville's 25-23 victory. It's doubtful Kragthorpe, who is on the proverbial hot seat this season, would have survived a 1-4 start and a loss to a Conference USA team. "It was a huge win for us," said Kragthorpe, who is 13-14 in his third season at Louisville.

3. Randy Edsall does more with less than any other league coach.

Last season, UConn's recruiting class was ranked sixth in the Big East by Rivals.com. It was the highest the Huskies had ever been ranked by the recruiting Web site in the Big East. Yet, the Huskies are 20-13 since 2007 with a Big East co-championship and consecutive bowl appearances. This season, the Huskies had to replace the nation's leading rusher and have had injuries sideline starting quarterback Zach Frazer and defensive leader Scott Lutrus. Yet, the Huskies are oh-so-close to being 5-0. Yes, the Huskies blew double-digit leads in losses to North Carolina (12-10) and Pitt (24-21), but the Huskies keep surprising opponents that underestimate Edsall and the Huskies. Last year, UConn handed league champion Cincinnati its only loss, 40-16, the Bearcats worst loss since a 30-point loss to No. 1 Ohio State in 2006. There's a reason, no one likes playing the Huskies.



Re-Tweeting Week 5

Ranking the league from top to bottom and summarizing each team, in 140 characters or less.

1. Cincinnati: Are Bearcats legit national contenders? We'll find out Thursday night in Tampa
2. USF: Bulls look for their sixth consecutive victory against an AP ranked opponent Thursday
3. West Virginia: Somebody forgot to tell Mountaineers they were supposed to struggle this year without Pat White
4. Pittsburgh: After surviving UConn, Panthers try to end four-game losing streak to Rutgers on Friday
5. UConn: Just what the Huskies needed to forget about blowing the Pitt game: a date with Louisville Saturday
6. Rutgers: Scarlet Knights prepped for Friday's contest with Pitt by seal clubbing of Texas Southern
7. Louisville: We'll move the Ville out of the league cellar after its come-from-behind win against Southern Miss
8. Syracuse: Lock of the week - Greg Paulus will not be intercepted this week. OK, so Syracuse is off this week

Follow Brett McMurphy on Twitter at @Brettmcmurphy