BIG EAST ROUNDUP | Saturday’s games

Cincinnati 38, USF 33

TAMPA, Fla. — From national championship contention to last place in the Big East. No. 20 South Florida’s rapid plunge continued Saturday with the Bulls’ third straight loss. Antwuan Giddens scored on a 63-yard reception and recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a second touchdown, helping the Bearcats (7-2, 2-2) stop a two-game losing streak that knocked them out of the Top 25. Ben Mauk tossed three TD passes and the Cincinnati defense forced eight turnovers, including four interceptions and a fumble by Matt Grothe, who threw for 375 yards but only one touchdown for USF (6-3, 1-3). Mike Mickens returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown, and Mauk also threw TD passes of 16 yards to Dominick Goodman and 4 yards to Earnest Jackson for Cincinnati, which led 38-20 at the half.

Pittsburgh 20, Syracuse 17

PITTSBURGH — Thanks to LeSean McCoy, Pitt finally solved its season-long problems with its short game. McCoy, the third freshman in Pittsburgh’s 118-season football history to run for at least 1,000 yards in a season, scored the go-ahead touchdown from the 1 early in the fourth quarter and the Panthers overcame another slow start. McCoy ran for 140 yards on 31 carries in his sixth 100-yard game, the most by any Pitt freshman since Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett in 1973. McCoy has 1,065 yards with three games to play, putting him behind only Dorsett (1,686 yards) and Curvin Richards (1,228 yards in 1988) among Pitt freshmen. McCoy, the fifth freshman in Big East history to gain 1,000 yards, has 562 yards in his last four games. Pitt (4-5, 2-2), the loser of five of its previous six, needed every one of McCoy’s yards to hold off Syracuse (2-7, 1-3) despite game-long offensive problems that led the Orange to bench quarterback Andrew Robinson at the half and bring in Cameron Dantley.

Associated Press