# 2011 Big East Conference football season

The 2011 Big East football season was the NCAA football season of the Big East Conference.
The conference consists of 8 football members: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, and West Virginia.

## Regular season
### Key

* Index to colors and formatting
* Big East member won
* Big East member lost
* Big East Conference Game
* Big East teams in bold
All times Eastern time.

### Week 1

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1* | 6:00 p.m. | Murray State | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | ESPNU | W 21–9 | 46,157 |
| September 1* | 7:30 p.m. | North Carolina Central | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | ESPN3 | W 48–0 | 40,061 |
| September 1* | 8:00 p.m. | Wake Forest | Syracuse | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | ESPN3 | W 36–29 $^{OT}$ | 40,833 |
| September 3* | 12:00 p.m. | Fordham | Connecticut | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | ESPN3 | W 35–3 | 34,562 |
| September 3* | 3:30pm | South Florida | No. 16 Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN | NBC | W 23–20 | 80,795 |
| September 3* | 6:00 p.m. | Buffalo | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ESPN3 | W 35–16 | 48,359 |
| September 3* | 7:00 p.m. | Austin Peay | Cincinnati | Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH | FSO | W 72–10 | 23,282 |
| September 4* | 3:30pm | Marshall | No. 24 West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Friends of Coal Bowl) | ESPN | W 34–13 | 60,758 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 2

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 9* | 8:00 p.m. | Florida International | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | ESPN | L 17–24 | 47,228 |
| September 10* | 12:30 p.m. | Rutgers | North Carolina | Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC | ACC Network | L 22–24 | 53,000 |
| September 10* | 1:00 p.m. | Maine | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ESPN3 | W 35–29 | 41,230 |
| September 10* | 1:00pm | Norfolk State | No. 19 West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV | ESPN+ | W 55–12 | 51,911 |
| September 10* | 3:30 p.m. | Cincinnati | Tennessee | Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN | ESPN2 | L 23–45 | 94,207 |
| September 10* | 4:30 p.m. | Rhode Island | Syracuse | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | TWC Sports | W 21–14 | 36,421 |
| September 10* | 7:00pm | Ball State | No. 22 South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | BHSN | W 37–7 | 45,113 |
| September 10* | 7:30 p.m. | Connecticut | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN | SNY | L 21–24 | 32,119 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 3

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 16* | 8:00 p.m. | Iowa State | Connecticut | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | ESPN2 | L 20–24 | 37,195 |
| September 17* | 12:00 p.m. | Pittsburgh | Iowa | Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA | ESPN2 | L 27–31 | 70,585 |
| September 17* | 12:00pm | No. 18 West Virginia | Maryland | Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD | ESPNU | W 37–31 | 53,627 |
| September 17* | 3:30 p.m. | Akron | Cincinnati | Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH | ESPN3 | W 59–14 | 24,991 |
| September 17* | 7:00 p.m. | Louisville | Kentucky | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY (Governor's Cup) | ESPNU | W 24–17 | 68,170 |
| September 17* | 7:00pm | Florida A&M | No. 20 South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | BHSN | W 70–17 | 50,128 |
| September 17* | 8:00 p.m. | Syracuse | USC | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | FX | L 17–38 | 65,873 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 4

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 22* | 8:00 p.m. | NC State | Cincinnati | Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH | ESPN/ESPN 3D | W 44–14 | 28,431 |
| September 24* | 12:00 p.m. | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ABC | L 12–15 | 65,050 |
| September 24* | 12:00 p.m. | Toledo | Syracuse | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | BIG EAST Network | W 33–30 $^{OT}$ | 39,116 |
| September 24* | 2:00 p.m. | Ohio | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | ESPN3 | W 38–26 | 41,388 |
| September 24* | 6:00 p.m. | Connecticut | Buffalo | University at Buffalo Stadium • Buffalo, NY | SNY/BIG EAST Network | W 17–3 | 18,215 |
| September 24* | 7:00pm | UTEP | No. 17 South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | ESPN3 | W 52–24 | 48,231 |
| September 24* | 8:00pm | No. 2 LSU | No. 16 West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Gold Rush) | ABC | L 21–47 | 62,056 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 5

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 29 | 8:00pm | No. 14 South Florida | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ESPN | PIT 44-17 | 40,025 |
| October 1 | 12:00 p.m. | Rutgers | Syracuse | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | BIG EAST Network | RUT 19-16 $^{2OT}$ | 42,152 |
| October 1* | 1:00 p.m. | Cincinnati | Miami (OH) | Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH (Victory Bell) | ESPN3 | W 27–0 | 16,408 |
| October 1* | 3:30 p.m. | Marshall | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | BIG EAST Network | L 13–17 | 53,267 |
| October 1* | 3:30pm | Bowling Green | No. 22 West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV | ESPN+ | W 55–10 | 46,603 |
| October 1* | 3:30 p.m. | Western Michigan | Connecticut | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | SNY | L 31–38 | 36,648 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 6

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Connecticut | No. 16 West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV | SNY/BIG EAST Network | WVA 43-16 | 56,179 |
| October 8* | 12:00 p.m. | Louisville | North Carolina | Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC | ESPN2 | L 7–14 | 51,500 |
| October 8 | 3:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | ESPNU | RUT 34-10 | 46,079 |
| October 8* | 8:00 p.m. | Syracuse | Tulane | Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA | Cox | W 37–34 | 39,116 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 7

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 15 | 12:00 p.m. | Louisville | Cincinnati | Paul Brown Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Keg of Nails) | BIG EAST Network | CIN 25-16 | 40,971 |
| October 15* | 12:00 p.m. | Utah | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ESPNU | L 14–26 | 43,719 |
| October 15* | 2:00 p.m. | Navy | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | ESPN3 | W 21–20 | 47,138 |
| October 15 | 3:30pm | South Florida | Connecticut | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | BIG EAST Network | CON 16-10 | 37,162 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 8

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 21 | 8:00 p.m. | Rutgers | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | ESPN2 | LOU 16-14 | 48,435 |
| October 21 | 8:00pm | No. 11 West Virginia | Syracuse | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | ESPN | SYR 49-23 | 45,265 |
| October 22 | 12:00pm | Cincinnati | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | BIG EAST Network | CIN 37-34 | 39,456 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 9

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 26 | 8:00 p.m. | Connecticut | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ESPN | PIT 35-20 | 40,219 |
| October 29 | 12:00 p.m. | Syracuse | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | BIG EAST Network | LOU 27-10 | 44,817 |
| October 29 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 24 West Virginia | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | ABC | WVA 41-31 | 47,303 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 10

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| November 5 | 12:00pm | Louisville | No. 24 West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV | ESPN+ | LOU 38–35 | 57,287 |
| November 5 | 12:00 p.m. | Syracuse | Connecticut | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | ESPNU | CON 28-21 | 38,769 |
| November 5 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 23 Cincinnati | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA (River City Rivalry) | ESPNU | CIN 26-23 | 49,362 |
| November 5 | 7:00pm | South Florida | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | ESPN3 | RUT 20–17 $^{OT}$ | 36,911 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 11

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| November 11 | 8:00 p.m. | South Florida | Syracuse | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | ESPN2 | USF 37-17 | 41,582 |
| November 12 | 12:00 p.m. | Pittsburgh | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | BIG EAST Network | PIT 21-14 | 51,321 |
| November 12 | 12:00 p.m. | West Virginia | No. 23 Cincinnati | Paul Brown Stadium • Cincinnati, OH | ABC | WVA 24-21 | 48,152 |
| November 12* | 3:30 p.m. | Rutgers | Army | Yankee Stadium • Bronx, NY | CBS SN | W 27–12 | 30,028 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 12

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| November 19 | 12:00 p.m. | Cincinnati | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | ESPNU | RUT 20-3 | 52,454 |
| November 19 | 12:00 p.m. | Louisville | Connecticut | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | BIG EAST Network | LOU 34-20 | 34,483 |
| November 19* | 3:30pm | Miami (FL) | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | ESPNU | L 3–6 | 47,745 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 13

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| November 25 | 11:00am | Louisville | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | ESPN2 | LOU 34–24 | 46,666 |
| November 25 | 7:00 p.m. | Pittsburgh | West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl) | ESPN | WVA 21–20 | 60,932 |
| November 26 | 12:00 p.m. | Cincinnati | Syracuse | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | BIG EAST Network | CIN 30-13 | 38,159 |
| November 26 | 12:00 p.m. | Rutgers | Connecticut | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | ESPN2 | CON 40-22 | 37,857 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

### Week 14

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| December 1 | 8:00pm | No. 20 West Virginia | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | ESPN | WVA 30-27 | 41,743 |
| December 3 | 12:00 p.m. | Connecticut | No. 25 Cincinnati | Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH | ESPN | CIN 35-27 | 27,930 |
| December 3 | 12:00 p.m. | Syracuse | Pittsburgh | Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ESPN2 | PIT 33-20 | 40,058 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

## Bowl Games

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| December 27* | 8:00 p.m. | Louisville | North Carolina State | Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC (Belk Bowl) | ESPN | L 24–31 | 58,427 |
| December 30* | 3:20 p.m. | Iowa State | Rutgers | Yankee Stadium • Bronx, NY (Pinstripe Bowl) | ESPN | W 27–13 | 38,328 |
| December 31* | 3:30 p.m. | No. 25 Cincinnati | Vanderbilt | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl) | ABC | W 31–24 | 57,103 |
| January 4* | 8:30pm | No. 23 West Virginia | No. 14 Clemson | Sun Life Stadium • Miami, FL (Orange Bowl) | ESPN | W 70–33 | 67,563 |
| January 7* | 1:00 p.m. | Pittsburgh | SMU | Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (BBVA Compass Bowl) | ESPN | L 6–28 | 29,726 |
| $^#$Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |||||||||

## Records against other conferences

| Conference | Wins | Losses |
| ACC | 4 | 4 |
| Big 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Big Ten | 0 | 1 |
| CUSA | 3 | 2 |
| Independents | 3 | 1 |
| MAC | 9 | 1 |
| Mountain West | 0 | 0 |
| Pac-12 | 0 | 2 |
| SEC | 2 | 3 |
| Sun Belt | 0 | 1 |
| WAC | 0 | 0 |
| All FCS | 5 | 0 |
| Against BCS | 7 | 10 |
| Against FBS | 22 | 16 |
| Overall | 27 | 16 |

## Big East Conference Awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Big East Conference football coaches.
2011 Big East Football Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Isaiah Pead, RB, Cincinnati |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Derek Wolfe, DT, Cincinnati Khaseem Greene, LB, Rutgers |
| Special Teams Player of the Year | Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia |
| Rookie of the Year | Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville |
| Coach of the Year | Butch Jones, Cincinnati |
2011 All-Big East Conference Football Teams :
| First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Offense | Defense | Offense | Defense |
| WR – Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers WR – Tavon Austin, West Virginia OT – Justin Pugh, Syracuse OT – Don Barclay, West Virginia OG – Randy Martinez, Cincinnati OG – Art Forst, Rutgers OG – Andrew Tiller, Syracuse C – Moe Petrus, Connecticut TE – Nick Provo, Syracuse QB – Geno Smith, West Virginia RB – Isaiah Pead, Cincinnati RB – Ray Graham, Pittsburgh RB – Antwon Bailey, Syracuse K – Dave Teggart, Connecticut RS – Tavon Austin, West Virginia | DL – Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati DL – Kendall Reyes, Connecticut DL – Chandler Jones, Syracuse DL – Bruce Irvin, West Virginia LB – J. K. Schaffer, Cincinnati LB – Khaseem Greene, Rutgers LB – Najee Goode, West Virginia CB – Adrian Bushell, Louisville CB – Keith Tandy, West Virginia S – Drew Frey, Cincinnati S – Hakeem Smith, Louisville S – Jarred Holley, Pittsburgh S – Duron Harmon, Rutgers P – Pat O'Donnell, Cincinnati | WR – Alec Lemon, Syracuse WR – Stedman Bailey, West Virginia OT – Alex Hoffman, Cincinnati OT – Mike Ryan, Connecticut OG – Desmond Wynn, Rutgers OG – Jeremiah Warren, USF C – Joe Madsen, West Virginia QB – Zach Collaros, Cincinnati TE – Ryan Griffin, Connecticut RB – Lyle McCombs, Connecticut RB – Darrell Scott, USF K – Maikon Bonani, USF RS – Jeremy Deering, Rutgers | DL – Trevardo Williams, Connecticut DL – Chas Alecxih, Pittsburgh DL – Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh DL – Ryne Giddins, USF LB – Dexter Heyman, Louisville LB – Max Gruder, Pittsburgh LB – Marquis Spruill, Syracuse CB – Dwayne Gratz, Connecticut CB – Antwuan Reed, Pittsburgh CB – Logan Ryan, Rutgers CB – Kayvon Webster, USF S – Jerrell Young, USF S – Eain Smith, West Virginia P – Cole Wagner, Connecticut P – Justin Doerner, Rutgers |
| $^†$ - denotes unanimous selection Additional players added to the All-Big East teams due to ties in the voting ||||