BAD WEEK FOR THE BIG EAST

The teams of the Big East have spent much of the past three years proving that the conference still deserves an automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series.And they might have pissed away all of their efforts in three days.On Saturday, Pitt lost at home to Bowling Green. On Sunday, Louisville lost at home to Kentucky. And on Monday, Rutgers lost at home to Fresno State.In all, the Big East teams went 4-4 over the weekend, with the wins coming against the likes of Hofstra, Villanova, Eastern Kentucky, and Tennessee-Martin -- all from the division formerly known as I-AA.The only team from the conference that should have lost was Syracuse, which traveled to Northwestern.Hey, it’s always better to lose games early in the year than late, but if this weekend’s performance is an indication of how Pitt, Rutgers, and Louisville will fare this season, it’s gonna be a long, long year for the Big East.