Big East belongs

We’re not even halfway through the season, and so many are ready to give up on the Big East and boot it from the Bowl Championship Series.

But the Big East is OK. Here’s why:

Like many of its teams, the Big East is up and coming.

The perennial pushover known as Rutgers (3-1) has quietly won its past three, with its only loss a 33-30 heartbreaker at Illinois.

In its three victories, Connecticut (3-1) outscored its opponents 134-13. Its only loss? A 28-13 loss to No. 24 Georgia Tech.

West Virginia (4-1) lost its first game on Saturday to No. 3 Virginia Tech. The Mountaineers beat Maryland – which beat a ranked Virginia team over the weekend – on the road earlier this season.

Louisville is Louisville, and while it may be a bit overrated, the Cardinals have too much talent to fall completely flat again.

Then, of course, we have USF, which is probably the most impressive Big East team so far this season. Not only did it destroy the then-No.9 Louisville, the Bulls only two losses have come on the road to No. 16 Penn State and No.9 Miami, and neither could be considered routes.

Not only has USF been the most impressive team, the Bulls are the most intriguing.

The Big East is the only conference in the nation that can boast a program like USF, which went from nothing to something within less than a decade.

These teams will only get better. As the season moves on, they’ll beat up on each other; one will emerge as the best and earn its rightful place in a BCS bowl.

The Big East, while not as potent as it was two seasons ago, deserves its BCS spot. After all, what other conference is more deserving?

Does the Mid-American deserve it?

How about Conference USA?

What about the Sun Belt?

Obviously not.

Louisville, USF or West Virginia would put up more of a fight than Eastern Michigan, Central Florida or Louisiana Monroe.

While the Big East may be the weakest of the six BCS conferences – No. 24 Louisville is the only Big East team in the Associated Press Top 25 – it is stronger than every single non-BCS conference.

Probably, the BCS – not the Big East – is at fault. But sadly, as much as we all hate it, the BCS is here to stay.

So are automatic bids.

So are preseason rankings.

So is the Big East in the BCS.