Big east roundup Saturday’s games

No. 14 Pittsburgh 37, Syracuse 10

PITTSBURGH — Greg Williams’ 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982. Dion Lewis ran for 110 yards and a touchdown for the freshman’s sixth 100-yard game, tight end Dorin Dickerson caught his 10th touchdown pass this season and the Panthers (8-1, 5-0 in Big East) won their fifth in a row heading into next Saturday’s game against No. 19 Notre Dame. Bill Stull was 16 of 23 for 225 yards and no interceptions as the Panthers, who last were 8-1 during Dan Marino’s senior season 27 years ago, set themselves up for a possible Big East title-deciding game against No. 4 Cincinnati on Dec. 5. Pitt played much of the first half as if it was looking ahead to those three upcoming games, stalling offensively while leading only 6-3 on two Dan Hutchins field goals.

No. 4 Cincinnati 47, Connecticut 45

CINCINNATI — Zach Collaros kept Cincinnati unbeaten with the second-best passing performance in school history, one that will make it tough to send him back to the bench. The Bearcats’ near-perfect replacement threw for 480 yards and a touchdown Saturday night, ran for two more scores and led a clinching touchdown drive in the closing minutes of a wild 47-45 victory over Connecticut that let Cincinnati match the best start in its history. Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0 Big East) is off to its best start since 1951, when it won the Mid-American Conference title.

West Virginia 17, Louisville 9

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jarrett Brown threw a touchdown pass but managed little offense and West Virginia struggled to beat Louisville. Running back Noel Devine played sparingly after tweaking an ankle and the Mountaineers (7-2, 3-1 Big East) were outgained 301-273, but improved to 6-0 at home. Devine was limited to 56 yards on 13 carries to surpass 1,000 yards for the second straight season. Louisville (3-6, 0-4) couldn’t take advantage of Darius Ashley’s 164 yards rushing and fell to 0-5 on the road.

Associated Press