The Pitt Panthers clinched a share of the Big East title with today’s win over the Cincinnati Bearcats, but lost out on a potential BCS berth when West Virginia beat Rutgers. West Virginia and Pitt finish the conference slate with identical 5-2 records, but WVU gets the tiebreaker because the Mountaineers won the Backyard Brawl.
The Mountaineers and Panthers are now tied atop the division, and UConn could clinch a piece of the Big East championship with a win tonight. Because the Huskies beat both WVU and Pitt, they would go to the BCS bowl with a win.
Here are the Big East standings:
WVU 5-2
Pitt 5-2
UConn 4-2
Syracuse 4-3
South Florida 3-3
Louisville 3-4
Cincinnati 2-5
Rutgers 1-6
In the end, it was unfortunate for the Panthers that their two losses came against the two teams in the division who ended up with the best records. The only other Big East game they played that was terribly close was their 17-10 win against South Florida. They finish their regular season with a 7-5 record. Because they jumped out to a big lead in the Big East early on, their failure to win a BCS berth feels like a missed opportunity.