Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
We've reached the end of the regular season in the Big East. Before we preview the mostly anti-climactic final week, let's look back at the short but eventful penultimate weekend.
Better Game: Pitt's 19-15 win over West Virginia saved most of its drama for the end and was sloppy throughout, but it was clearly the more interesting of the two weekend games.
Biggest play: Jovani Chappel intercepted a Pat White pass and returned it to the West Virginia 16 in the fourth quarter, setting up a touchdown that got Pittsburgh within 15-13.
Big Man on Campus (Offense): LeSean "Shady" McCoy was the bully of the Backyard Brawl, running 33 times for a career-best 183 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. Other Big East teams hope he changes his mind about coming back to school next year.
Big Man on Campus (Defense): Chappel. In addition to his interception, which was thrown right to him, Chappel tackled receiver Wes Lyons in-bounds and in front of the first-down marker on West Virginia's second-to-last play, forcing the Mountaineers to rush their final snap. Not bad for a guy who lost his starting job last month.
Big Man on Campus (Special Teams): Cincinnati kicker Jake Rogers drilled three field goal attempts, two of them from 45 yards out, in his team's 30-10 win over Syracuse. Rogers had missed his previous five attempts coming into Saturday's game.
Worst Hangover: West Virginia. Losing to its main rival for the second straight year was bad enough for the Mountaineers. Seeing their Big East title hopes vanish was worse. Staring at a possible 7-5 record unless they beat South Florida this week is a nightmare.
Now we'll look ahead to the last week of the season. It's championship week in most conferences, but the Big East champion has already been determined and there's not a lot left on the line. Unless you're one of these teams still fighting for bowl positioning (games listed in descending order of significance):
Louisville (5-6, 1-5 Big East) at Rutgers (6-5, 4-2): The Scarlet Knights can clarify the Big East bowl picture by sewing up their seventh win and knocking Notre Dame out of the Sun Bowl. A Louisville win would leave the league scrambling to find two more bowl spots somewhere.
Pittsburgh (8-3, 4-2) at Connecticut (7-4, 3-3): A Pitt win would put the Panthers in a good spot for the Sun Bowl berth. The McCoy vs. Donald Brown sideshow should be a lot of fun to watch, too.
South Florida (7-4, 2-4) at West Virginia (7-4, 4-2): Looked like the Big East game of the year in September. Now, it doesn't mean much at all. Bulls have won two straight in this series.
Cincinnati (10-2, 6-1) at Hawaii (7-5): This game will have no effect on anything, but the Big East would not like to see its BCS representative lose its last game to a mediocre WAC team. The Bearcats can set a school record for victories and keep moving ahead in the polls if they take care of the Rainbows.
Finished season: Syracuse.
Bennett joined ESPN.com in August 2008 after nine years at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., where he covered college sports and the University of Louisville beat. He lives in Louisville.
