Devin Street clinched Youngstown State's historic win over the Panthers. The Penguins still failed to crack the top 5 in the latest FCS poll. (US Presswire)

FCS pollsters either thought very highly of the top five teams in the subdivision or placed little stock in Youngstown State’s upset of Pittsburgh when constructing this week’s Top 25 poll from The Sports Network.

Youngstown State failed to crack the top 5, despite a decisive 31-17 road win over the Panthers last Saturday. The Penguins moved up seven spots from No. 13 to No. 6, but still trailed top-ranked Sam Houston State by nearly 1,000 points. Youngstown State did receive seven first-place votes.

The Penguins finished 6-5 in 2011, but kept it close against Michigan State midway through the third quarter. Youngstown State lost three other games by a combined 13 points and defeated eventual FCS champion North Dakota State in the regular season. With a veteran squad returning, Youngstown State is expected to contend for the FCS championship.

At the start of the season, Cincinnati coach Butch Jones called Pitt the top sleeper in the Big East. The Panthers went 6-7 last season, but lost running back Ray Graham to a season-ending knee injury in October. Jones reiterated his comments during Monday’s Big East coaches’ teleconference.

The Bearcats open their season against Pitt on Thursday night. With new systems on both sides of the ball and Graham still recovering from surgery, Pitt has a number of challenges to overcome early in the season.

Bowl projections: Pitt’s loss slightly altered CBSSports.com resident BCS expert Jerry Palm’s bowl projections for Week 2 of the season. In mid-August, Palm predicted the Panthers would face Kansas State in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29.

After the upset, Pitt dropped out of Palm’s updated projections. The Panthers were replaced in the Pinstripe Bowl by Cincinnati (No. 4, Big East). In August, the Bearcats were projected to face Auburn in the BBVA Compass Bowl. As a result, Connecticut (No. 5) moved up to face the Tigers.

The top three teams in the conference remained unchanged. As the predicted conference champion, Louisville is projected to face Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and South Florida, the predicted No. 2 team in the Big East, is projected to appear in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Clemson. Rutgers, the predicted No. 3 seed from the conference, is projected to play Virginia in the Belk Bowl.

Rutgers lands South Carolina transfer: Scarlet Knights coach Kyle Flood announced Tuesday that former South Carolina defensive back Sheldon Royster has transferred to Rutgers.

Royster (5-11, 185) played alongside Rutgers running back Savon Huggins and offensive lineman Keith Lumpkin in high school at St. Peter’s Prep (N.J.). In 2011, the former Gamecocks’ defensive back was rated the seventh-best high school safety in the nation by Scout.com. Royster left South Carolina after preseason camp and must sit out the 2012 season.

"Sheldon is somebody we spent a lot of time with during the recruiting process and we're glad to welcome him back to New Jersey,” Flood told The Newark Star-Ledger. “We always felt he was a dynamic player and somebody who could play corner or safety.”

Huskies’ defense depleted by injuries: Connecticut will be without backup defensive end Ted Jennings (knee) and defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (knee) when the Huskies face N.C. State on Saturday, coach Paul Pasqualoni said.

The Huskies are ranked No. 1 in FBS in total defense after holding Massachusetts to 59 yards in last week’s 37-0 win. UConn will face a Wolfpack offense led by quarterback Mike Glennon. The 6-5, 232-pound redshirt senior is the No. 8 ranked quarterback prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft by CBSSports.com draft expert Rob Rang.

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