The 2010 Big East football season was the NCAA football season of the Big East Conference. Conference members began regular-season play on September 2, but did not begin conference play until October 8; the regular season continued through December 4. Following the regular season, six conference teams played in bowl games; although the bowl season concluded with the BCS National Championship Game on January 10, 2011, the last date on which a Big East team played was January 8, when Pittsburgh defeated Kentucky in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama.
The conference consists of 8 football members: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, and West Virginia.
The Big East title race came down to the last minute of the final game of the season on December 4 between UConn and South Florida. West Virginia and Pitt had claimed shares of the conference title with wins earlier that day. A UConn win would leave the Huskies tied with WVU and Pitt for the title, but UConn would claim the automatic Big East BCS berth by virtue of victories over both schools. A field goal in the last minute gave the Huskies a 19–16 win and their first-ever trip to a BCS game.
Previous season Cincinnati (12–1) was the Big East champions and received the conference's automatic bid into the BCS and went to the Sugar Bowl, losing to SEC runner-up Florida, 51–24.
Five other Big East teams went to bowl games in 2010, finishing bowl play with a record of 4–2 as a conference. Rutgers (9–4) beat Central Florida 45–24 in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Pittsburgh (10–3) defeated North Carolina 19–17 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. West Virginia (9–4) lost to Florida State 33–21 in the Konica-Minolta Gator Bowl. South Florida (8–5) beat Northern Illinois 27–3 in the International Bowl. And, Connecticut (8–5) beat South Carolina 20–7 in the Papajohns.com Bowl. The only two teams not to go to a bowl game were Louisville (4–8) and Syracuse (4–8).
Preseason
Coaching changes Three teams have new head coaches for the 2010 season. Charlie Strong replaces Steve Kragthorpe at Louisville, Butch Jones replaces Brian Kelly at Cincinnati, and Skip Holtz replaces Jim Leavitt at South Florida.
Preseason poll The 2010 Big East preseason poll was announced at the Big East Media Day in Newport, RI on August 3. Pittsburgh was chosen as the favorite to win the conference.
Big East media poll Pittsburgh – 190 (22) West Virginia – 142 (1) Cincinnati – 142 Connecticut – 131 (1) Rutgers – 99 South Florida – 79 Syracuse – 41 Louisville – 40
Award watch lists The following Big East players listed below have been named to the preseason award watch lists.
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award: Zach Frazer, Connecticut
Lombardi Award: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh J.T. Thomas, West Virginia
Outland Trophy: Zach Hurd, Connecticut Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh Art Forst, Rutgers
Rimington Trophy: Moe Petrus, Connecticut Mario Benevides, Louisville Ryan Bartholomew, Syracuse
Bednarik Award: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh Derrell Smith, Syracuse Robert Sands, West Virginia
Maxwell Award: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati Isaiah Pead, Cincinnati Jordan Todman, Connecticut Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh Tom Savage, Rutgers Noel Devine, West Virginia
Walter Camp Award: Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh Noel Devine, West Virginia
Davey O'Brien Award: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati Tom Savage, Rutgers
Biletnikoff Award: Armon Binns, Cincinnati Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh
Butkus Award: Greg Lloyd, Connecticut Scott Lutrus, Connecticut Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut Doug Hogue, Syracuse Derrell Smith, Syracuse
Lou Groza Award: Dan Hutchins, Pittsburgh Tyler Bitancurt, West Virginia
John Mackey Award: Ben Guidulgi, Cincinnati Ryan Griffin, Connecticut Cameron Graham, Louisville D.C. Jefferson, Rutgers
Doak Walker Award: Jordan Todman, Connecticut Victor Anderson, Louisville Bilal Powell, Louisville Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh Noel Devine, West Virginia
Jim Thorpe Award: Johnny Patrick, Louisville Dom DeCicco, Pittsburgh Brandon Hogan, West Virginia Robert Sands, West Virginia
Regular season Index to colors and formattingBig East member wonBig East member lostBig East teams in bold All times Eastern time.
Rankings reflect that of the AP poll for that week until week eight when the BCS rankings will be used.
Week One Date Time Visiting team Home team Site Broadcast Result Attendance September 2 7:30 pm Norfolk State Rutgers Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ espn3.com W 31–0 46,311 September 2 7:30 pm No. 15 Pittsburgh Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT Versus L 24–27OT 45,730 September 4 3:30 pm Connecticut Michigan Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI ABC L 10–30 113,090 September 4 3:30 pm Kentucky Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY ABC L 16–23 55,327 September 4 3:30 pm Coastal Carolina No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV Big East Network W 31–0 57,867 September 4 6:00 pm Syracuse Akron InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH ESPN3 W 29–3 15,969 September 4 7:05 pm Stony Brook South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN3 W 59–14 40,201 September 4 10:00 pm Cincinnati Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN2 L 14–28 37,238 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Ryan Nassib Syracuse Mike Holmes Syracuse Brandon Bing Rutgers
Week Two Date Time Visiting team Home team Site Broadcast Result Attendance September 10 7:00 pm No. 23 West Virginia Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV ESPN2 W 24–21OT 41,382 September 11 12:00 pm South Florida No. 8 Florida Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL Big East Network L 14–38 90,612 September 11 12:00 pm Indiana State Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH FSOHIO W 40–7 30,807 September 11 12:00 pm Texas Southern Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT Big East Network W 62–3 37,359 September 11 1:00 pm New Hampshire Pittsburgh Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA espn3.com W 38–16 50,120 September 11 3:30 pm Eastern Kentucky Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY Big East Network W 23–13 51,427 September 11 7:00 pm Syracuse Washington Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA FSN Northwest L 20–41 62,418 September 11 8:00 pm Rutgers Florida International FIU Stadium • Miami, FL Big East Network W 19–14 19,872 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Noel Devine West Virginia Joe Lefeged Rutgers Joe Lefeged Rutgers
Week Three Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 16 7:30 pm Cincinnati NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC ESPN L 19–30 55,934 September 18 12:00 pm Maryland #21 West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV ESPNU W31–17 60,122 September 18 12:00 pm Connecticut Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA Big East Network L 16–30 18,702 September 18 5:30 pm Louisville No. 25 Oregon State Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR FSN Northwest L 28–35 45,379 September 18 7:15 pm Maine Syracuse Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY W 38–14 37,758 Week off: Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Geno Smith West Virginia Bruce Irvin West Virginia Mike Holmes Syracuse
Week Four Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 23 7:30 pm No. 19 Miami Pittsburgh Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA ESPN L 3–31 58,115 September 25 12:00 pm Buffalo Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT Big East Network W 45–21 36,738 September 25 3:30 pm Colgate Syracuse Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY Espn3.com W 42–7 38,068 September 25 3:30 pm North Carolina Rutgers Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ ESPNU L 13–17 52,038 September 25 6:00 pm No. 8 Oklahoma Cincinnati Paul Brown Stadium • Cincinnati, ESPN 2 L 29–31 58,253 September 25 7:00 pm Western Kentucky South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL Big East Network W 24–12 40,206 September 25 9:00 pm No. 22 West Virginia No. 15 LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA ESPN 2 L 14–20 92,575 Week off: Louisville
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Delone Carter Syracuse Sio Moore Connecticut Terrence Mitchell South Florida
Week Five Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 2 12:00 pm Vanderbilt Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT Big East Network W 40–21 40,000 October 2 2:00 pm Tulane Rutgers Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ Espn3.com L 14–17 47,963 October 2 3:30 pm Florida International Pittsburgh Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA Espn3.com W 44–17 45,207 October 2 7:00 pm Louisville Arkansas State ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, AR Espn3.com W 34–24 25,219 October 2 7:05 pm Florida Atlantic South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL Espn3.com W 31–3 38,434 Week off: Cincinnati, Syracuse, West Virginia
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Ray Graham Pittsburgh Blidi Wreh-Wilson Connecticut Dan Hutchins Pittsburgh
Week Six Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 8 7:30 pm Connecticut Rutgers Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ ESPN RUT 27–24 48,431 October 9 12:00 pm Syracuse South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL Big East Network SYR 13–9 41,917 October 9 2:00 pm Memphis Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY ESPN3.com W 56–0 48,427 October 9 3:30 pm Pittsburgh Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN NBC L 17–23 80,795 October 9 3:30 pm UNLV West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV Big East Network W 49–10 58,234 October 9 7:00 pm Miami (OH) Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN3.com W 45–3 33,909 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Chas Dodd Rutgers Max Suter Syracuse San San Te Rutgers
Week Seven Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 14 7:30 pm South Florida No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV ESPN WV 20–6 54,955 October 15 8:00 pm Cincinnati Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY ESPN CIN 35–27 55,106 October 16 12:00 pm Pittsburgh Syracuse Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY Big East Network PITT 45–15 40,168 October 16 2:00 pm Army Rutgers New Meadowlands Stadium • East Rutherford, N.J. ESPN3.com RUT 23–20OT 41,292
Week off: Connecticut
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Armon Binns Cincinnati Keith Tandy West Virginia Dan Hutchins Pittsburgh
Week Eight Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 22 7:30 pm South Florida Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN2 USF 38–30 32,670 October 23 12:00 pm Rutgers Pittsburgh Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA Big East Network PITT 41–21 50,425 October 23 12:00 pm Syracuse No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV ESPN2 SYR 19–14 58,122 October 23 3:30 pm Connecticut Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY ESPNU LOU 26–0 48,591 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team B.J. Daniels South Florida Doug Hogue Syracuse Chris Philpott Louisville
Week Nine Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 29 8:00 pm West Virginia Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT ESPN2 CONN 16–13OT 40,000 October 30 12:00 pm Syracuse Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPNU SYR 31–7 32,072 October 30 12:00 pm Louisville Pittsburgh Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA Big East Network PITT 20–3 48,562
Week off: Rutgers, South Florida
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Jordan Todman Connecticut Sio Moore Connecticut Dave Teggart Connecticut
Week Ten