Big East notebook

SYRACUSE (AP) -- The first offensive snap of the season for Syracuse sailed over the head of quarterback Greg Paulus and led to a quick Minnesota touchdown. Six games later, the Orange are still showing signs of shakiness at center.

With starter Jim McKenzie out with an injury, senior offensive guard Ryan Bartholomew has stepped in the past two weeks and will snap during Saturday's game against No. 5 Cincinnati. Bartholomew had several snaps that went awry last Saturday in the Orange's 28-14 home win over Akron, including another over Paulus' head.

"When your backside goes up and the ball releases and the tip of the ball is high, it's going to tend to go over your head," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said.

The second way that happens is hand placement. Marrone said Bartholomew tends to hold the ball a little flat-handed.

"You just want the fingertips being able to control the ball," Marrone said. "If you have smaller hands, you want the ball to be held a little higher. You want to hold the ball a little more toward the nose so you have a little more control over it. If you hold the ball to the nose a little bit, and you use your wrist, you have to be very conscious of dropping your butt. There are a lot of little issues that go into it, but it is a concern."

Syracuse (3-4, 0-2) hosts Cincinnati (7-0, 3-0) on Saturday.

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HONORING HOWARD: Connecticut is planning a number of tributes at Rentschler Field during the Huskies' first home game since the stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard.

Connecticut (4-3, 1-2) will host Rutgers (5-2, 0-2) Saturday at noon.

The school, which normally bans signs from the stadium, is doing away with that rule in anticipation of numerous tribute banners.

Connecticut's players plan to wear shirts with Howard's No. 6 on them during their traditional "Husky Walk" on a route lined with fans from their busses to the locker room.

There will be a moment of silence before the game and a video tribute to Howard at the game.

Fans will each receive a card with a "6" on it, and the first 15,000 fans who enter the gates will receive wristbands that read "Jazz, Live 365." Jazz was Howard's nickname.

The marching band plans to come onto the field wearing No. 6 jerseys and will display the formation of a "6" in the word "UCONN" during its pregame program.

Students who attend the game will receive a No. 6 button and eye-black stickers that are also being worn by the players - one with Howard's number and the other with his initials.

UConn players will continue to wear a helmet sticker with Howard's initials and bring his jersey and helmet to each contest this season.

Players say they expect the game to be emotional, but not as emotional as last week's 28-24 loss at West Virginia, their first game without Howard.

"It's a little different just because last week was all really new," said defensive tackle Kendall Reyes. "We're going to always remember Jazz, but it might be a little bit easier this week than last week."

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BYE BYE BYE: Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe did his best to try and get the Cardinals a break in the middle of the season.

Kragthorpe had hoped to use Halloween weekend as a time to regroup, but was forced to schedule a game against Arkansas State (2-4) instead when he couldn't find an opponent to play on Sept. 12.

That means the Cardinals (2-5) are of playing 11 straight weeks, not exactly the best way to stay healthy. Nearly a dozen players left last week's 41-10 loss to No. 5 Cincinnati, and the Cardinals could be without star running back Victor Anderson on Saturday when they play the Red Wolves.

"We tried and tried to get a Week 2 opponent that would have afforded us the flexibility for the conference to award us an open date, but there was nothing the conference could do at that point."

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ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOK: Mardy Gilyard had a record-setting mentor when he started playing receiver at Cincinnati.

Dominick Goodman was one of the first receivers to take advantage of coach Brian Kelly's wide-open offense, installed when he arrived before the 2007 season.

Goodman taught Gilyard how to prosper in the pass-oriented system, which sometimes uses five receivers.

When he left after last season, Goodman held the school record with 22 career touchdown catches.

"He put me under his wing when I switched to receiver," said Gilyard, a former defensive back. "Goody was always that guy. He'll pull you off to the side and be like, 'C'mon, bro, look at this, look at that.' He kind of showed me the rough ends of things and the smooth ends of things, how to read things."

Now, the pupil has matched the teacher.

Gilyard's 31-yard touchdown catch in a 41-10 win over Louisville last Saturday gave him 22 career scoring catches, matching Goodman. With five regular-season games left, Gilyard is sure to surpass it.

He knows who to credit.

"It feels good, just tying the record with somebody I know," said Gilyard, who has eight touchdown catches this season. "Watching him do his thing in 2007 and in 2008 and leading me into 2009, I was blessed to have somebody like Goody in front of me."

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AWARDS: The Big East Players of the week:

Offense: West Virginia running back Noel Devine (178 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in the Mountaineers' 28-24 win against Connecticut, including the deciding touchdown on a 56-yard run with 2:10 left in the fourth quarter).

Defensive: Pittsburgh strong safety Dom DeCicco (10 tackles, including nine solo tackles as the Pitt defense limited South Florida to 212 yards of offense in a 41-14 Panther win).

Special Teams: West Virginia returner Tavon Austin (110 yards in kickoff returns, including a 98-yard touchdown on the opening kick against Connecticut).

(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)