Louisville Cardinals (Football)

Thank you, Brigham Young. Finally some sanity in the nonstop conference realignment blather that (along with Jerry Sandusky) has overshadowed much of what has taken place on the field this season. The powers that be in Provo, Utah, made the wise decision to say ``thanks, but no thanks'' to the Big East, a league desperately trying to hang on to relevancy - and its BCS berth. There's no truth to the rumor that the Big East has extended invitations to Suffolk, Franklin Pierce, and ITT Technical Institute. The Big East is, however, trying to persuade Boise State, Air Force, Navy, SMU, Houston, and Central Florida to join. Only Navy and Central Florida make sense. Isn't it already a stretch that Cincinnati and Louisville are in?

Sugar Bowl Preview Capsule. TUESDAY

Burke throws 2 TD passes to lead Louisville over Southern Miss 31-28 in Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. Charlie Strong is making good on his pledge to turn around the Louisville Cardinals.

Dirty Bird, Part II? Falcons awaken memories of '98 Super Bowl run with another memorable team. They were known as the "Dirty Birds," a colorful cast of characters who came closer than any other team to bringing a Super Bowl championship to Atlanta.

College football's postseason is brimming with 6-6 teams, leaving bowl system near capacity. Congratulations! Your coach got fired. Here's a bowl bid.

Connecticut coach Edsall and running back Todman highlight the 2010 Big East awards. Connecticut running back Jordan Todman has been named the Big East's offensive player of the year, while the leader of the Fiesta Bowl-bound Huskies is sharing coach-of-the-year honors.

Please to meet you: 4 of 5 BCS games are first time meetings between teams. This season's Bowl Championship Series is all about introductions. Four of the five BCS matchups set Sunday are first meetings between the teams, highlighted by No. 1 Auburn against No. 2 Oregon in the national championship game.

Fiesta Bowl misses marquee matchup, gets No. 25 Connecticut against No. 9 Oklahoma on Jan. 1. The Fiesta Bowl missed its marquee matchup.

Robinson throws 3 TDs, Southward rushes for 2, Troy beats Florida Atlantic 44-7. Corey Robinson threw three touchdowns and Shawn Southward rushed for two touchdowns as Troy routed Florida Atlantic 44-7 on Saturday.

Butler-Duke II: Bulldogs still reaping rewards of big tourney run as rematch arrives. Butler's Matt Howard still savors all those precious moments he shared with his teammates over the last eight months.

Bowl Projections. Projecting the participants of all 35 bowl games, from New Mexico Bowl to BCS championship game (x-denotes bid already accepted):

North Texas going with experience this time, Dan McCarney introduced as new Green coach. Dan McCarney was a young assistant at Iowa when Hayden Fry left North Texas to become the Hawkeyes' new head coach.

Williams has 185 yards, 1 TD on school-record 42 carries as Boston College beats Syracuse 16-7. Freshman tailback Andre Williams rushed for 185 yards on a school-record 42 carries and scored one touchdown in place of injured star Montel Harris, Nate Freese kicked three field goals, and Boston College beat Syracuse 16-7 on Saturday.

Charlie Strong has Louisville bowl eligible in first season as coach after 40-13 victory. Charlie Strong got something very unexpected in his first season at Louisville ? a bowl eligible team and couple of celebratory bucket baths that only made the accomplishment that much sweeter.

Pick Six: Coaches who deserve credit for a job well done this season. When it comes to coach of the year candidates, Chip Kelly clearly has done a great job at Oregon this season and it'd be hard to argue with Auburn's Gene Chizik as a strong contender with his team being unbeaten. TCU's Gary Patterson and Boise State's Chris Petersen would probably make the short list, too.

Dion Lewis runs for 105 yards, 1 TD to pace Pittsburgh's 17-10 win over South Florida. Dion Lewis rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown Saturday, helping Pittsburgh beat South Florida 17-10 to retain sole possession of first place in the Big East.

West Virginia keeps Big East title hopes alive with 17-10 win over Louisville. West Virginia kept its hopes for a Big East title alive with a rugged 17-10 win over Louisville on Saturday.

Bonani's overtime field goal makes South Florida bowl eligible with 24-21 win over Louisville. South Florida is making a habit of winning by a hair. The Bulls rallied in a nail-biter against Louisville, erasing a two-score deficit as they notched a 24-21 win in overtime on Saturday.

Syracuse needs one more win to become bowl eligible in Doug Marrone's second season as coach. Syracuse suddenly is playing for more than its first bowl since 2004.

Burke fills in at QB for Louisville, leads 28-20 win that keeps Syracuse from bowl eligibility. Justin Burke completed 13 of 25 passes for 143 yards and Jeremy Wright ran for 98 yards as Louisville defeated Syracuse 28-20 on Saturday to keep the Orange from becoming eligible for a bowl.