The Backyard Brawl is on Friday at noon at Heinz Field, so let's take an early look at the odds. Pitt enters as a two-point favorite, which probably makes sense but doesn't mean a whole lot. The Big East has so far been nothing if not evenly matched, and while the Panthers currently lead the Big East, they've already lost against UConn and are only 6-4 overall. The Mountaineers also lost a close game to the Huskies, and they lost to the Syracuse Orange as well, while Pitt beat Syracuse by 31 points.
The other key Big East game will be the Huskies against Cincinnati. Right now the odds page only lists UConn as a one-point favorite, but that has to be a mistake. Cincinnati lost to South Florida and was soundly beaten by Syracuse and WVU, and I would think UConn would be about a ten-point favorite against the Bearcats. It would be great, however, if the Huskies lost, because then the winner of the Backyard Brawl would have a very clear shot at the Big East title and a BCS berth.