A look back at what happened this weekend in the Big East Conference:
What we learned: Things do not look as promising for the conference as they did after Week One when Big East teams went 8-0. Three clubs took on opponents from BCS automatic-bid conferences and all three fell -- Rutgers to North Carolina, Cincinnati to Tennessee and Connecticut to Vanderbilt. Louisville was upset at home Thursday by Florida International. Syracuse and Pittsburgh had less-than-impressive victories against FCS opponents Rhode Island and Maine, respectively. West Virginia struggled before putting away Norfolk State in the second half. South Florida's Bulls can hold their heads high, however, after blowing out Ball State and showing no letdown from last week's win at Notre Dame.
Best performance: B.J. Daniels passed for 359 yards in only three quarters of work in USF's 37-7 rout of Ball State. Equally as impressive was the Bulls' defense, which forced three more turnovers, giving it eight in the first two weeks.
Biggest disappointment: Louisville's loss to FIU was a downer, but perhaps UConn's 24-21 defeat at Vanderbilt was more revealing. The Huskies are the defending conference champs, and to fall to the Southeastern Conference's perennial cellar-dweller while blowing a fourth-quarter lead might speak volumes as to where the league is on the national scene.
Looking ahead: After a weekend such as this, the naysayers might be out in full force, so the league needs to start winning some high-profile games. There will be some opportunities but not easy ones. West Virginia plays at Maryland Saturday, Syracuse is at Southern California, Pitt travels to Iowa and Louisville is at Kentucky. UConn gets a home game with Iowa State.
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