Big East Football: Conference Sends Five Teams to Bowl Games
After sending six teams to bowl games last year, the Big East will only send five this year as West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers and Pittsburgh are set to represent the conference in their respective bowl games.
Orange Bowl-West Virginia vs. Clemson: The No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers will get the biggest bowl as they are going to Miami to take on ACC Champion No. 15 Clemson in the Orange Bowl. West Virginia shared the Big East crown with Cincinnati and Louisville, but won the tiebreaker because they had the highest BCS ranking of the three.
Liberty Bowl-Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt: Cincinnati will get a another chance to play an SEC team this season as they will be taking on Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl. The Bearcats earned their third conference title in three seasons and will get to play in a bowl game that is closer to Cincinnati than any other game. The big question surrounding the Liberty Bowl is whether or not Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros will be healthy enough to return to action.
Belk Bowl-Louisville vs. N.C. State: This bowl will pit two teams that came on strong at the end of the season. Louisville is a program on the rise under second-year head coach Charlie Strong. The Cardinals have a solid defense and one of the best freshman quarterbacks in the country in Teddy Bridgewater.
Pinstripe Bowl-Rutgers vs. Iowa State: Rutgers finished fourth in the Big East and will get to play close to home at Yankee Stadium against the Cyclones from Iowa State. Rutgers has one of the best best receivers in the country in junior Mohamed Sanu.
BBVA Compass Bowl-Pittsburgh vs. SMU: The Panthers were the fifth place team in the Big East and will get to take on a very talented SMU team. The Panthers season was derailed after the injury to star running back Ray Graham and they will try to finish with a winning record.
