CINCINNATI — Broken arm and all, Tony Pike led No. 19 Cincinnati to a place it's never been.

Fans stormed the field prematurely — understandable, since they have such little practice at it in Cincinnati — after Pike threw three touchdown passes Saturday night in a 28-21 victory over 20th-ranked Pittsburgh that left the Bearcats in control of the Big East.

With a win at home next Saturday over Syracuse, the Bearcats (9-2, 5-1) would clinch their first Big East football title. Their fans are already celebrating.

More than anyone, Pike was responsible for the bedlam.

He led the Bearcats to the pinnacle of a season in which they went through four quarterbacks because of injury. For Pike, a junior playing with a broken left (non-passing) forearm, it was the best yet.

He matched his career high for touchdown passes and ran Cincinnati's no-huddle, spread offense almost flawlessly against the conference's best road team. Pike completed a career-high 26 passes in 32 attempts for 309 yards, and ran several draw plays that exposed his arm to hits.

"It definitely felt smooth out there tonight," Pike said. "We had a game plan for anything they were going to throw at us."

It worked because Pike pulled it off with impressive calm for such a big game.

"We could not make a play on that quarterback," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He was incredible. I give him credit. We couldn't get him down, and not just running. He made some great throws."