Football: Panthers and Bearcats face off in rare Big East championship

The Big East doesn’t usually have a championship game.

But this Saturday, No. 14 Pitt takes… The Big East doesn’t usually have a championship game.

But this Saturday, No. 14 Pitt takes on the No. 5 Cincinnati Bearcats at noon to decide who wins the conference and an automatic BCS bowl bid.

Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0 Big East) enters the game riding a number of undefeated streaks. The Bearcats carry an 11-game in-conference winning streak into Saturday’s game, and they have not lost on the road since they were in Connecticut last October.

A win against Pittsburgh would give Cincinnati its first undefeated regular season since 1918 and its second consecutive conference title.

Pitt (9-2, 5-1), meanwhile, comes off a loss to West Virginia, 19-16, last Friday. A victory over the Bearcats, however, would still win Pitt the Big East, as both teams would be 6-1 in-conference with Pitt owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said his team has shaken off the loss to the Mountaineers.

“There’s a great expression that players bounce back after a tough loss a lot quicker than coaches do,” Wannstedt said. “These kids were in here on the weekend bouncing around on Sunday. They’re looking forward to playing this football game.”

Cincinnati brings a formidable offense to Heinz Field. The Bearcats lead the Big East in scoring, racking up an average 39.4 points per game, including seven touchdowns last week in a 49-36 rout over Illinois.

Running a spread offense, Cincinnati boasts the conference’s leading passing attack. Quarterback Tony Pike missed three weeks with an injury to his non-throwing arm, but he returned last weekend to pass for 399 yards and six touchdowns against the Illini.

Pike threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns against Pitt last season for a 28-21 Bearcats victory.

“We underestimated him last year,” Wannstedt said. “We won’t this year.”

Despite struggling against West Virginia, Bill Stull still stands statistically among the nation’s best quarterbacks this year. Stull leads the Big East in passing yards, throwing for 19 touchdowns to six interceptions.

On the ground, Dion Lewis rolls into the game with six straight 100-yard rushing performances. Lewis could give the Cincinnati rush defense fits — the Bearcats allow 136.3 yards on the ground per game, sixth in the conference.

The Panthers’ defense, meanwhile, pits their nation-leading 43 sacks against the Big East’s best-protecting offensive line. Cincinnati has allowed just nine sacks this season.

“If the quarterback is going to go back there and hold the football,” Wannstedt said, “I don’t care who’s blocking for you, you’re going to give up sacks. I think that’s what they do on offense. It’s a high-tempo offense. The ball comes out quickly.”

Tyler Bitancurt’s last-second field goal did in the Panthers against the Mountaineers, and special teams will test Pitt again this week. Cincinnati’s Mardy Gilyard leads the conference in kick returns, and Wannstedt also spoke highly of Cincinnati kicker Jacob Rogers.

“Rogers was an all-conference kicker,” Wannstedt said. “He’s doing everything this year. He’s doing the punting, he’s doing the field goals, and he’s doing the kickoffs.”

Gilyard will haunt Pitt beyond special teams — the speedy senior has 1,032 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns for the Bearcats this year, leading the team. Sporting News named him a midseason All-American in October.

“We know about his speed and his hands as a receiver,” Wannstedt said. “He makes a lot of plays in the passing game where he runs after the catch. That carries over to his return game. He has the burst to hit a crease, but he can also make guys miss and bounce it outside down the sideline.”

Pitt’s Jonathan Baldwin neared the 1,000-yards receiving mark against West Virginia. 33 yards against Cincinnati will give Pitt its first 1,000-yard wide-out since Greg Lee in 2004.

And if Pitt defeats Cincinnati, the Panthers will secure their first 10-win season since 1981.

“A year ago, everybody was doing back flips because we won nine games,” Wannstedt said. “Now we’re at nine games, and we’re pressing for more. We feel that we can get more. We want more.”