ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Once upon a time, not long ago (actually, just about 48 hours).

Team of the week: South Florida. As if there were any doubt after the Bulls' breakthrough 17-7 win at Florida State.

Best game: It didn't turn out well for the Big East, but NC State's 38-31 win over Pittsburgh had plenty of big plays and a goal-line stand in the final minute.

Biggest play: Craig Carey's interception on 4th and 2 from the Cincinnati 6-yard line in the fourth quarter. Fresno State trailed just 21-17 and could have taken the lead. Instead, the Bearcats capitalized on Carey's pick and drove the field for a touchdown.

Best call: B.J. Daniels' throwback pass to tight end Ben Busbee for an 8-yard touchdown to give South Florida a 7-0 lead. Offensive coordinator Mike Canales said he'd been saving that play all week, and when he saw the way Florida State responded to the Bulls' shifts and motion before the snap, he knew it would work.

Big Man on Campus (Offense): Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati. The Bearcats receiver had nine catches for 177 yards and scored twice, including the clinching fourth-quarter touchdown.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): George Selvie, DE, South Florida. This award could go to the entire Bulls' defensive line, which put on one of the most intimidating performances I've seen in a while. But we'll give this individual award to the unit's leader, who gets more attention than anybody else.

Big Man on Campus (Special teams): Cameron Saddler, Pitt. The freshman returned three kickoffs for 93 yards, including a 47-yarder that set up a touchdown.

Worst Hangover: Pittsburgh. The Panthers led NC State 31-17 with a little more than four minutes left in the third quarter before allowing 21 unanswered points. And they had four cracks at tying the game from the Wolfpack 8-yard line but couldn't make a play. Goodbye, 3-0 start.

Strangest moment: The Maine Black Bears did what an FCS opponent should do: they went for broke. They pulled off two onside kicks and two fake punts, including one from their own 25-yard line in the second quarter. That led to an improbable 17-13 halftime lead -- which dissolved into a 41-24 Syracuse win.

Now let's look at the future, all the way to the Year 2000 (actually, Week 5). It's neither a busy nor a great week, but league play returns. Games listed in descending order of important:

South Florida (4-0) at Syracuse (2-2): Are the Orange a bona fide bowl contender? Is South Florida just another September sensation? Time to find out the answer to both those questions.

Pittsburgh (3-1) at Louisville (1-2): Pitt overwhelmed the Cardinals last year at Heinz Field, but Louisville has receivers like Scott Long and Doug Beaumont who could give the Panthers' wobbly secondary problems.

Colorado (1-2) at West Virginia (2-1): The Mountaineers look to get revenge for last year's overtime loss in Boulder, just as they avenged their East Carolina defeat earlier this month. The struggling Buffaloes begin a tough three-game stretch, with Texas and Kansas up next.

Cincinnati (4-0, 1-0 Big East) at Miami of Ohio (0-4): The RedHawks have been outscored 173-45 this season and now must deal with the Bearcats' high-powered offense. This could get pretty, pre-ttay, pretty ugly, to paraphrase Larry David.

Byes: Rutgers, UConn