Big East Buzz: Scores plus the best, worst of Week 10

Pitt running back Ray Graham rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame on Saturday, but it wasn't enough as the Irish won in triple overtime. (US Presswire)

Big East scoreboard

No. 10 Louisville 45, Temple 17: QB Teddy Bridgewater was his normal, dominant self for the Cardinals, throwing for 324 passing yards and a career-high five touchdowns. The Owls (3-5, 2-3 Big East) hung around for a while before allowing Louisville to end the game with 28 unanswered points. Temple RB Montel Harris had another strong outing, rushing for 115 yards and a score on 15 carries. The Cards (9-0, 4-0 Big East) are 9-0 for the first time in school history. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)

Cincinnati 35, Syracuse 24: In a suprisingly pivotal matchup, the Bearcats (6-2, 2-1 Big East) came back to beat the Orange (4-5, 3-2 Big East) and stay in contention for the Big East championship. Backup QB Brendon Kay replaced starter Munchie Legaux in the third quarter and threw a touchdown pass. And coach Butch Jones didn't stop there, as four Bearcats completed a pass Saturday, including RB George Winn, who threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce.

No. 4 Notre Dame 29, Pittsburgh 23, 3 OT: It took three overtimes, but the Irish (9-0) remain undefeated by slipping past Pittsburgh on QB Everett Golson's 1-yard run. The Panthers (4-5, 1-3 Big East) were in position to win, leading 20-6 in the fourth quarter and twice forced turnovers in the end zone -- including once in overtime. But Golson was too much for Pitt, finishing with three total touchdowns and 308 yards overall. Ray Graham had his best game of the season, rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)

South Florida 13, Connecticut 6: It has been a disappointing season for the Bulls (3-6, 1-4 Big East) to say the least. But they pulled out their first Big East win Saturday, outlasting Connecticut in Tampa. QB B.J. Daniels scored the game's only touchdown, but he would later be carted off the field with a season-ending broken ankle. The Bulls were able to manage their first two interceptions of 2012, as the Huskies (3-6, 0-4 Big East) could scarcely move the ball on offense.

Play of the week

Trailing 10-7 at the start of the second quarter, Cincinnati faced a fourth-and-2 from the Syracuse 38. The Bearcats went for it, handing off to Winn for a dive up the middle. Except Winn didn't run a dive. As he approached the line of scrimmage he jumped and softly tossed a pass -- a la Tim Tebow -- to TE Travis Kelce, who went in for the score.

(Big East Network)

They said what? Louisville coach Charlie Strong on his undefeated Cardinals: “I just look at our program, and we are sitting here at 9-0, and we are still not anywhere near where we should be. I mean, if you look at that game today and the way we started off, I was like, “Oh goodness. That is an 8-0 football team out there playing?”

RapidReports defensive player of the week: Syracuse S Shamarko Thomas. Though it's never a good sign when your safety is your leading tackler, Thomas was often the last man between Winn and the end zone, and the senior finished with 14 tackles and a forced fumble.

RapidReports offensive player of the week: With much respect to Bridgewater (19 of 28, 324 yards, 5 TDs), this one goes to Cincy's Winn, who did it with his legs and arm. Winn had 165 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 30 carries and a pass (above) for 38 yards and a score. He was a steadying presence on the Bearcats' offense with Legaux all over the place.

A possible spot on the bench for: Cincinnati QB Legaux. The boo birds were out at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, and for good reason. Legaux never could get his feet under him, going 11 of 22 for 124 yards and, luckily, only one interception. Over the past two weeks, Legaux is 24 of 50 for 281 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions. Legaux's replacement, Brendon Kay, nearly beat Munchie out for the starting job before the season, and it may be time coach Butch Jones gives Kay the nod, with a trip to Temple next week before Cincy's showdown with Rutgers.

His seat is getting uncomfortable: Connecticut coach Paul Pasqualoni. When it comes down to it, Pasqualoni hasn't been around long enough to be worried too much about his job security. Still, in two years he's led UConn to an 8-13 record, including losses to Temple and Western Michigan (twice). It doesn't look like any wins remain on the schedule, either, and Pasqualoni and the Huskies are likely on their way to a second consecutive losing season.

Why you care about these 5 stat lines:

1. Winn's productive day on the ground: Winn put a close game away with a 2-yard touchdown early in the fourth. Winn had 30 carries for 169 yards and a career-high three rushing touchdowns. Winn has been a capable replacement for 2011 Big East offensive player of the year Isaiah Pead. The senior RB has 915 yards on nearly six yards a carry this season.

2. Ryan Nassib's passing yards: The Orange senior quarterback narrowly fell short of his sixth 300-yard game this year but finished with 286 to eclipse the 8,000-yard mark for his career. Nassib joined Marvin Graves and Donovan McNabb as the only players in school history to reach the milestone. Nassib also broke his school record for yards in a single season (2,773).

3. Louisville defense allowing 255 yards rushing: Although it came in a blowout, Charlie Strong's team allowed the Temple offense to run up and down the field. Stopping the run has been a struggle for the Cardinals, who -- though undefeated -- have not shown they can dominate weaker teams game in and game out.

4. Bridgewater touchdown passes: The Cardinals' sophomore quarterback set a career-high with five passing touchdowns against the Owls. In Bridgewater's last two games he has 740 yards and 7 TDs. Entering the week, Heisman frontrunner Collin Klein had 556 yards and 5 passing TDs in his previous two games. Texas Tech QB Seth Doege had 669 yards and 9 TDs over the previous two weeks.

5. Graham's big day: Pittsburgh RB Graham saved his best for the big stage, rushing for a season high 172 yards Saturday at Notre Dame. Graham hasn't been at his best, which is to be expected coming off knee surgery. But he looked back to his old self in South Bend, though it came in a loss.

Key number: 32.4. On average, that's how many yards Louisville allowed per kick return Saturday against Temple, including Matt Brown's 93-yarder for a score to open the game. The Cards are 104th nationally in average return yards allowed, giving up better than 24 yards per kick.

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