Big East Buzz: Scores plus the best, worst of Week 3

Pittsburgh and Rutgers came away with impressive victories in Week 3. The Scarlet Knights improved to 3-0, and the Panthers earned their first win under Paul Chryst. Louisville, Cincinnati, Connecticut and Syracuse all took a collective sigh of relief after pulling out tight wins.

By Matt Rybaltowski

Sep 15, 2012 at 7:00 pm ET • 5 min read

Pittsburgh linebacker Manny Williams (36) and defensive back Jason Hendricks (25) celebrate with the defense after stopping Virginia Tech on a fourth-down attempt in the third quarter of their game Saturday. Pittsburgh won 35-17. (AP)

Saturday

Pittsburgh 35, No. 13 Virginia Tech 17: The Panthers (1-2, 0-1 Big East) forced four turnovers and rang up 537 yards of offense in the first win of the Paul Chryst era, an upset of the Hokies (2-1). Panthers freshman RB Rushel Shell flashed an impressive combination of speed and power in finishing with 157 yards on 23 carries. Shell was complemented by senior RB Ray Graham, who added 94 yards and three touchdowns.

Connecticut 24, Maryland 21: The Huskies (2-1, 0-0 Big East) withstood a superb effort from Terps WR Stefon Diggs to win the Edsall Bowl. The Maryland freshman finished with 223 all-purpose yards, including 166 on returns. UConn received a critical play on special teams when senior Nick Williams opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Huskies’ defense forced two negative plays on Maryland’s final drive to knock the Terps (2-1) out of field-goal range. It marked the first time UConn faced Randy Edsall since the former Huskies coach left for Maryland in 2011.

Louisville 39, North Carolina 34: The Cardinals nearly squandered a 29-point halftime lead. Louisville (3-0, 0-0 Big East) needed a pass deflection on a late fourth-and-goal by the Tar Heels (1-2) to emerge with the victory. Cardinals QB Teddy Bridgewater was nearly flawless in the first half but did little after halftime. Bridgewater finished 23 of 28 for 279 yards.

Syracuse 28, Stony Brook 17: After trailing 17-14 at the half, the Orange (1-2, 0-0 Big east) defense tightened and didn’t allow a point the rest of the game. Stony Brook had 172 rushing yards at the half and 261 overall behind RB Miguel Maysonet. After the half, Syracuse held the FCS Seawolves (2-1) to just 49 total yards. Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib had 335 yards and three touchdowns.

Cincinnati 23, Delaware State 7: It was an uneven performance for the Bearcats (2-0, 1-0 Big East) in spite of the victory. Cincinnati committed six turnovers, including three in the red zone. RB George Winn had a second straight strong game with 24 carries for 147 yards. The Bearcats didn't surrender much on defense besides a 60-yard touchdown run from Delaware State (1-2) RB Malcolm Williams.

Thursday

Rutgers 23, South Florida 13: Led by DL Scott Vallone and LB Khaseem Greene, the Scarlet Knights’ front seven made South Florida (2-1, 0-1 Big East) QB B.J. Daniels run for his life throughout the 10-point victory. The Rutgers defense forced four turnovers, including three interceptions from Daniels. With the crucial road victory, Rutgers (3-0, 1-0 Big East) has a good chance of remaining undefeated in the conference until a Nov. 29 showdown vs. Louisville.

Play of the week: Rutgers RB Jawan Jamison capped a 151-yard rushing performance with a spin move past Bulls S Mark Joyce for a 41-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Jamison’s run virtually sealed the win. The junior set a single-game school record with 41 carries and became the first Scarlet Knights running back since Ray Rice to rush for at least 100 yards in four straight games.

They said what?: “I wouldn’t say we weren’t ready to play, we just came out a little slow,” said Virginia Tech LB Bruce Taylor on falling behind 21-0 to Pitt in the 35-17 defeat. “We dug ourselves a hole and couldn’t get out of it.”

RapidReports defensive star of the week: Pittsburgh S Jason Hendricks. The junior intercepted Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas twice and sealed the upset with a sprawling fourth-down deflection late. Hendricks and the rest of the secondary received help from an aggressive front four that pressured Thomas throughout. The defensive line received criticism from Chryst for not attacking enough in the Panthers’ first two games.

RapidReports offensive star of the week: Pittsburgh QB Tino Sunseri: The oft-criticized quarterback went 19 of 28 for 283 yards and three touchdowns in the upset. Despite a lower leg injury, Sunseri continued to extend plays with his feet late in the victory. Sunseri's top two receivers -- Mike Shanahan and Devin Street -- combined for nine catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

His seat is getting uncomfortable: None. If Pitt squandered a 21-3 halftime lead, Chryst likely would have received the honor for a third consecutive week. Chryst deserves credit for remaining positive with his team after two embarrassing losses. The Panthers dominated on both sides of the ball against the Hokies and would have won by even more had Virginia Tech not scored on two plays of 85 yards or more. The Hokies did little else in the 18-point loss.

A possible spot on the bench for: UConn QB Chandler Whitmer. Despite the win over Maryland, the quarterback earns the dubious distinction for the second straight week. Whitmer finished with just 68 passing yards, as the Huskies pulled out a 3-point victory. The sophomore didn’t have accuracy issues but barely threw downfield on his 10 completions. The Huskies rank in the top 10 in FBS in several defensive categories, but may miss out on a bowl if the offense doesn’t snap out of its funk.

Why you care about these three stat lines:

Louisville running game: The Cardinals had just 41 rushing yards in the second half after running for more than 140 in the opening 30 minutes. If Louisville wants to enter the national conversation, its multidimensional rushing attack must produce when the Cardinals need to chew up the clock.
Rutgers WR Tim Wright: The Scarlet Knights senior wide receiver had career highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (125) in the win over USF. If Wright can continue to stretch the field, Rutgers may have an emerging offense to go with its stifling defense.
UConn LB Yawin Smallwood: The Huskies linebacker put forth another impressive effort with 14 tackles and three sacks. Of Smallwood’s 14 tackles, four resulted in lost yardage.

Key number: 3. Wins by Big East teams in three head-to-head games against the ACC on Saturday. Although the conference continues to get raided by its neighbors to the south, the Big East outscored the ACC 98-72 in the three victories. Entering this season, the Big East had won more than 71.2 percent of its nonconference games since 2006 -- a percentage slightly higher than the ACC (61.7). Since 1998, the Big East has a 61.4 winning percentage in bowl games while the ACC is under .500 in the postseason. Why are Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame leaving for the ACC again?

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Big East, follow bloggers Evan Hilbert and Matt Rybaltowski @CBSBigEast.