CINCINNATI — The Bearcats had only a minute and 21 seconds to cover 70 yards and save their season. They had the right quarterback to pull it off.
Senior Zach Collaros calmly led a seven-play drive that culminated in his 2-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds to go. Cincinnati’s 37-34 win at South Florida kept the Bearcats atop and provided a reminder about the value of an experienced quarterback.
At this time of the season, a team is lost without one.
“As a quarterback, all eyes are on you,” Collaros said, in an interview on Tuesday. “Usually if you win, you get a lot of glory. If you lose, you get most of the blame. A lot of it falls on you, and a lot of the players look to you for leadership.
“That’s something you embrace as the quarterback. I think that’s why a lot of quarterbacks choose to play the position, because they want that.”
With the Big East race entering its decisive phase, the top teams need their proven passers to embrace the moment.
No. 23 Cincinnati (6-1, 2-0) has put itself in position for a third title in four years by following Collaros’ lead. No. 24 West Virginia (6-2, 2-1) has the nation’s fifth-ranked passer in Geno Smith, who has thrown for 2,715 yards. And Pittsburgh (4-4, 2-1) is leaning on junior Tino Sunseri now that Ray Graham — the nation’s second-leading rusher — is down with a knee injury.
“I just think it speaks to the number of talented quarterbacks who came in at the same time in the Big East,” Sunseri said. “Quarterbacks can come in and play right away — you’ve seen it around the country — but the biggest thing is to come in and really understand what you’re doing.
“There’s no substitute for experience. It really helps to be an experienced quarterback.”
Louisville knows all about it.
The Cardinals are going with freshman Teddy Bridgewater, whose growing pains have contributed to their lopsided statistics. Louisville hasn’t allowed more than 25 points this season — only Alabama in the FBS has also been so stingy — but the Cardinals are 4-2 (2-1 Big East) in large measure because of their inconsistent offense.
“Each week is a totally different challenge for him,” coach Charlie Strong said. “People don’t run the same defense. It’s more about him just studying the game and on game day making sure he’s ready for what they’re going to do defensively.”
The top four teams in the Big East have one of those winnowing-out weekends ahead. Cincinnati plays at Pittsburgh. Louisville goes to West Virginia, needing a win to stay in the conference race.
Louisville’s biggest challenge besides getting its freshman quarterback ready? Contain Smith.
“He is a problem by himself,” Strong said. “He does a good job of throwing the ball, and his feet get him out of trouble.”
Smith rallied the Mountaineers in the snow at Rutgers last Saturday, overcoming a 10-point deficit. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Smith improvised and dived into the end zone for the game-changing play in a 41-31 victory.
“A lot of guys in that situation — I say our team in general — but a quarterback without having that kind of composure probably would have possibly shut it down, and we may have not have been able to get the job done,” coach Dana Holgorsen said.
The Cincinnati-Pitt game matches two teams that depend heavily on their quarterbacks.
After Graham went out with the knee injury early against Connecticut, the Panthers needed a big performance from Sunseri, who has been inconsistent in a new offensive system this season. He completed 29 of 42 passes for 419 yards — the fourth-highest total in school history — in a 35-20 win. It was the most yards passing by a college quarterback at windy Heinz Field.
“There’s no substitute for experience, especially for what we’re doing and especially at quarterback,” coach Todd Graham said.
Graham’s biggest concern this week is Collaros, who can run or throw and rarely gets rattled. Graham learned a lot about him at the Big East media day.
“The young man came up to me and introduced himself,” Graham said. “I was just very impressed by him. I think their quarterback is very special.”
At this time of the season, it’s good to have a special quarterback.
AP Sports Writers Will Graves in Pittsburgh and John Raby in Charleston, W.Va., contributed to this report.