Must-avoid TV

SI.com's Cory McCartney takes a weekly look around the college football nation, with inside reports from each of the six BCS conferences and beyond.

The new-look Big East is a lot like NBC's Joey -- watching its cast struggle just makes you wish they'd get the old gang back together. But we know it's not going to happen. Chandler and Monica are enjoying life in the suburbs, Phoebe's married, and Ross and Rachel are off raising their daughter. Likewise, former Big East members Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College are all living the good life in the ACC, ranked 3rd, 4th and 21st in the nation, respectively.

Importing new talent might have brought Joey and the Big East some shred of credibility, but even that's fleeting. NBC brings in Emmy-winning Drea de Matteo to play Matt LeBlanc's sister and the Big East adds offensive juggernaut Louisville. And you know what? It still doesn't matter. Joey gets beat out on Thursday night in the ratings by Everybody Hates Chris, and the Cardinals, would-be national title contenders, were exposed by 20-point underdog South Florida

Then there's Pitt. Ranked 23rd in the preseason Associated Press poll, Dave Wannstedt's boys needed a date with Division I-AA Youngstown State to get their first win of the season.

But wait, there's more.

In Week 5, USF, Syracuse and West Virginia were outscored 99-38 by ACC powers, giving the Big East a 3-8 record against other BCS teams. And yet, like NBC's Thursday-night flagship Joey, the Big East's automatic BCS invitation isn't going anywhere for a while.

All automatic bids will be re-evaluated in 2007 with new criteria that includes averaging teams' BCS rankings from '04-'07, meaning Louisville's top-10 finish in '04 (even though it was in Conference USA) will bail out the Big East

As horrific as this season's been so far, there is some good news around the corner for Big East fans: Basketball practice is a week away.

Marcus Vick is must-see TV for West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, who's reviewing game film to see if he can spot an incident where Vick allegedly elbowed a Mountaineers' coach along the sideline. Vick had a run-in during the game with WVA cornerback Dee McCann, with both receiving off-setting unsportsmanlike conduct flags. And earlier this week he apologized for making an obscene gesture to the Mountaineer fans ... It took a fit of desperation for Cory Randolph to get back behind center for Wake Forest. Now it doesn't look as if he's leaving. Despite 20 career starts at QB for the Deacons, Randolph was switched to receiver this season, but got another chance at QB when Benjamin Mauk completed only 52.4 percent of his passes in a 1-3 start. Randolph made the most of his return, throwing for 222 yards and three touchdowns on 20-25 passing. "This is the Cory Randolph we always expected," coach Jim Grobe told the Winston-Salem Journal

In a moment worthy of a spot on Ripley's Believe it or Not, Kansas State lined up for a punt during a 43-21 loss to Oklahoma last week with punter Tim Reyer still standing on the sideline. The snap sailed past up-back Brandon Archer and out of the back of the end zone, giving the Sooners a safety. As bizarre as it was, this wasn't the first time OU fans had seen it. The same thing happened to North Texas in '95 during the Sooners' 51-10 win ... Maybe Nebraska is ready for an aerial duel with Texas Tech after all. The Huskers, who suffered their worst loss in 114 years (70-10) last year in Lubbock, are fresh off a record outing from quarterback Zac Taylor, who set marks for completions (36) and yards (431) and tied the record for passing attempts (55) in a double-overtime win over Iowa State. The Red Raiders are averaging 449 passing yards a game.