Friday night under the lights of Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, the 5th ranked Bearcats host the No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineers in a Big East match-up that has huge championship implications, in the conference as well as the BCS.

Cincinnati comes in at 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big East, while the Mountaineers are 7-2 and 3-1 in the conference. The Bearcats beat UConn in a shootout, 47-45 last time out in an offensive explosion and West Virginia topped Louisville, 17-9.

NCAA odds makers are calling Cincinnati more than a touchdown home favorite in this one. The spread listed in Vegas has the Bearcats at, -9 with the total in the contest sitting at 55.

There has been a lot of talk about the quarterback position this week for the Bearcats this week. For Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly; he has a problem any coach would want.

Senior quarterback Tony Pike led Cincinnati to the Big East title and the Orange Bowl last season. He threw 15 touchdown passes and just three interceptions in six starts this year to gain some early Heisman Trophy buzz, but Pike has bee side-lined for the last three games with a forearm injury.

In three games since then, sophomore Zach Collaros has shown he can also pass effectively, going 66 for 82 for 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns without an interception.

So the big question is; who will be the starter once Pike is healthy?

"That's new territory for me," Kelly said. "I can't say that in 19 years of being a head coach that I've had that kind of a dilemma. The nice part about it is that our football team has absolutely no concerns over who's leading them, if it's Zach or Tony. That's a great thing to have."

As for Friday night's game, I think their is no question that the Bearcats should win this game, however, it will be closer than most think. The 9 points they have to give scares me a little after the 45 points Cincinnati's defense allowed agianst Connecticut.

Take the Mountaineers getting the 9 points.