Big East Football News

BIG EAST Teams Gain Ground In Top 25 Football Polls

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Three BIG EAST Conference football teams were ranked in the first regular-season top 25 polls issued Tuesday by the Associated Press and USA Today.

West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers – which earned preseason national rankings – all earned a higher ranking in at least one of the polls following Week 1 of the season.

West Virginia remained at No. 3 nationally in the AP poll, while the Mountaineers moved to No. 4 (from No. 6) in the USA Today coaches poll following a 62-24 win against preseason MAC favorite Western Michigan Saturday. West Virginia received one first-place vote in the AP poll for the second straight week. The Mountaineers play at Marshall this Saturday in Huntington, W.Va. (11 a.m., ESPN2).

Louisville, which opened with a 73-10 win against Murray State last Thursday, was ranked No. 8 in both polls, gaining two spots in the AP ranking and three places in the USA Today list. The Cardinals look for their sixth consecutive win, dating to last season, this Thursday when they host Middle Tennessee State (7 p.m., ESPN2).

Rutgers, meanwhile, gained one spot in this week’s AP poll with the Scarlet Knights ranked No. 15. Rutgers remained at No. 16 in the USA Today poll heading into this Friday’s matchup against Navy in Piscataway, N.J. (7 p.m., ESPN).

USF received votes in both polls for the second straight week. The Bulls take on No. 17/13 Auburn Saturday in Auburn, Ala. (9 p.m., ESPN2).

The remaining BIG EAST Conference schedule this week features Oregon State at Cincinnati (Thursday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN), Grambling State at Pittsburgh (Saturday, Noon, ESPN360), Syracuse at Iowa (Saturday, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network), and Maine at Connecticut (Saturday, 7 p.m., ERT Local).