MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Who knows where the term originated?

It was probably invented by some sportswriter, lending more reason as to why coaches, largely, despise it.

But it seems as if, at this time of year, at least, the term "trap game" invariably becomes lassoed around a particular matchup as the game's best description.

If one subscribes to the trap game theory, the top of the Big East Conference football standings will be a perfect study tomorrow.

No. 4 Cincinnati and No. 14 Pitt, which have 4-0 conference records, play host to Connecticut and Syracuse, respectively. Connecticut is 1-3 in the conference, Syracuse 0-3.

Cincinnati is favored by 17 points against the Huskies; Pitt is a 21 1/2-point favorite.

West Virginia, the league's third-place team at 2-1, plays a Louisville team with an 0-3 Big East mark, and the Mountaineers are 20-point favorites at home.

The second component to the trap game theory is this: Big games await next week for all three contending teams.

West Virginia will go to Cincinnati next week, while Pitt has a non-conference clash with No. 19 Notre Dame.

What of this trap game theory?

West Virginia coach Bill Stewart says phooey -- he thinks anyone in the Big East is capable of beating anyone else in the conference.

"I think it was [Pitt coach] Dave Wannstedt who mentioned a trap game," Stewart said. "When you are in the Big East, they are all trap games. You let your guard down, then you are going to get beat. ... I think Louisville is going to come in here and play a heck of a football team. They better be ready, because I know we are."

The Mountaineers seem to understand the importance of not looking beyond tomorrow, as evidenced by what linebacker J.T. Thomas said about a Louisville team that has given up 114 points in its three conference losses.

"They are a team without a whole lot to lose," Thomas said. "You never know what you are going to get in a team like that. We might come out and see something that we haven't seen on film from them. They might be going in a new direction. Who knows?"

Wannstedt knows this much: There are ways to continue to light a fire under a contending team, even if it could be easy -- or even human nature -- to look past this week and onto the next opponent -- in his team's case, Notre Dame.

"There really hasn't been much thought or conversation about that," said Wannstedt, who in the past during trap game weeks has put mousetraps around the team's South Side practice facility as a reminder.

"It's Syracuse. We have a big conference game and we need every ounce of focus and energy for this week," he said. "Then we'll just take the next one and continue that. That's kind of been our mindset. I think that's the type of football team that we are, from being able to handle things and prepare the best way and deal with them."

For Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, his squad will play host to a Connecticut team with a 4-4 overall record that is a bit deceiving, making the Bearcats' trap game even more dangerous. The Huskies' four losses have come by a combined 13 points, and Connecticut is coming off back-to-back games against West Virginia and Rutgers in which the Huskies lost in the waning seconds. On top of that, Pitt beat Connecticut on the game's final play, and an early season, 12-10 loss to North Carolina was decided on a controversial safety.

All of this isn't lost on Kelly.

"We're not making it up when we say this is a 4-4 football team that could easily be 8-0 at this point," Kelly said. "[Connecticut] is clearly a very good football team that hasn't finished games off. We will have to play very well to beat Connecticut."

Such comments seem to be the company line from the favored team, heading into these so-called trap games.

"A college football game is so fun, because you never know what you're going to get out of some of these games," said Thomas, the West Virginia linebacker. "You just have to be prepared."

Yes, prepared to stay out of the teeth of that trap.

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