ESPN College Football

• B.J. Daniels, QB, South Florida: The redshirt freshman accounted for 445 yards of total offense and became the first player in Big East history to run for more than 100 yards (he had 141) and pass for more than 300 (he had 305) in the same game. He also scored three times in the Bulls' 34-22 win over Louisville.
• Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: Todman ran for 130 yards and a score on 26 carries and also returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the Huskies' 33-30 double-overtime win at Notre Dame.
• Andre Dixon, RB, Connecticut: Todman's backfield mate added 114 yards on the ground, plus all 25 yards on the winning drive of the second overtime.
• Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse: Hogue broke a school record with 6.5 tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks, in the Orange's 31-13 upset of Rutgers.
• Syracuse's offensive line: The Orange offensive front allowed the team to rush for 213 yards and have 40:01 minutes of possession in the win.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

1. The conference race, defined: West Virginia will either be eliminated from the Big East title race or be right in the thick of things depending on Friday's game against Cincinnati. A West Virginia loss makes the Dec. 5 Pitt-Cincinnati game the de facto conference championship game. A Mountaineers win shakes everything up again.

2. B.J. vs. the blitz: South Florida offensive coordinator Mike Canales said earlier this week that he and his staff had spent an inordinate amount of time studying how Rutgers attacks with its blitzes. The Bulls need to be ready to counter, because they're relying on freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels to read the Scarlet Knights' defense. On the other hand, Daniels' running ability means he can break off big plays if he can slip by the pressure.

3. Rutgers' offensive line vs. the South Florida pass rush: The Scarlet Knights' O-line came into this season as the league's most experienced, and most figured it would be one of the most dominant units in the conference. Instead, the group has been disappointing for the most part. Rutgers, led by Anthony Davis, has had good success in the past against George Selvie but now will have to deal with Jason Pierre-Paul as well. Plus, the Bulls' Kion Wilson fired a salvo toward the offensive line earlier this week.

4. Zach Collaros and Tony Pike: Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly says Collaros will start but Pike will play this week. How much or what role Pike will have against West Virginia is a mystery. Will the senior quarterback be rusty, or can he pick up right where he left off? And can Collaros continue his astounding production against a Mountaineers' defense that's been vulnerable against the pass of late?

5. Jarrett Brown and Noel Devine: Both had ankle injuries last week against Louisville, but both are expected back. Devine may not be 100 percent, but he needs to rip off a few of his patented highlight-reel runs to give West Virginia a real chance. Brown's production has fallen off in recent weeks, and he must make plays with his feet and arm to get the Mountaineers offense moving.

6. Cincinnati's defense: Red flags were raised when the Bearcats allowed 45 points to UConn last week. West Virginia has a different kind of offense, but one that's still potent when it's on point. Cincinnati needs to tighten things up not only to win but to show it's a legitimate BCS title contender.

7. NFL talent on an NFL field: The Pitt-Notre Dame game will feature lots of guys who will probably be playing at Heinz Field on Sundays in the future. The list includes Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd and Manti Te'o and Pitt's Jonathan Baldwin, Greg Romeus and Dorin Dickerson, just to name a few. Even if you have no rooting interest in this game, it's worth checking out for the sheer amount of talent involved.

8. Can Pitt get pressure? Notre Dame's experienced offensive line has done a good job protecting Clausen most of the year, but USC managed to get pressure with its front four. Pitt has the second-best defensive line the Irish will have seen all year. The Panthers' defensive philosophy is based on getting those front four in to disrupt the pocket; they do not want to let Clausen sit back and pick his spots all night.

9. The Pitt running game: If Dion Lewis gets going, the Panthers will have a great shot at beating the Irish, whose defense just isn't good enough to contain both the running game and the play-action passing of Bill Stull. A solid running game will also slow down Notre Dame's frequent blitzing. Pitt may have the best offensive line in the league; it needs to take advantage of that against a so-so Irish defensive front.

10. The Basement Bowl: Syracuse-Louisville isn't going to pull in many outside viewers, but it's important for both teams. The Orange badly need something good after a string of losses both on and off the field. The Cardinals want to snap their embarrassing two-game losing streak to Syracuse. Whichever one loses may just wind up 0-7 in the Big East this year.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

B.J. Daniels will make his first college start at quarterback on Saturday, with the following variables: On the road against No. 18 Florida State. In his hometown, in front of gobs of friends and family. Versus the school he grew up rooting for that didn't recruit him. While taking over for his own program's most famous player.

Whew. That's a lot to take in for anybody, especially a 19-year-old redshirt freshman. But Daniels presents a cool, calm exterior in the face of this week's challenge.

	AP Photo/Chris O'Meara
	South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels is confident he can replace the injured Matt Grothe.

"It's just another game," he says, matter-of-factly.

South Florida coaches aren't surprised by his demeanor. They say that Daniels has carried himself this way since he arrived on campus knowing he would back up Matt Grothe for two years.

"He's always had the confidence and always acted as if he was the No. 1 guy," head coach Jim Leavitt said. "He just handled things well, just worked and didn't worry about much. I'm sure he'll be anxious (Saturday); that's normal. But once he gets in there and gets playing, it'll be like it always is."

Well, the Bulls can hope that things don't change too much with Daniels under center, but the truth is he's replacing a guy who made 41 straight starts. There's simply no way to make up for the difference in experience between him and Grothe.

But when considering sheer ability, the dropoff shouldn't be too severe. South Florida observers have been talking up Daniels for the past two years. His arm strength is better than Grothe's, and though he may not have the uncanny knack for avoiding defenders that Grothe had, Daniels is fast and athletic enough to play basketball for the Bulls in the winter.

"He can throw it 60 yards down the field like it's absolutely nothing," offensive coordinator Mike Canales said. "He's not a 4.4, 4.3-burner type of kid, but you can see his basketball skills in his ability to make people miss. He's so quick and so elusive that he can make people look silly."

Daniels isn't stepping into this situation completely unprepared, either. He appeared in two games last year before getting hurt and receiving a medical redshirt. He played in the Bulls' first three games this season, completing 12-of-15 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns and running for 149 yards and three scores while averaging 8.9 yards per carry.

This spring, because South Florida knew what Grothe could do, Daniels and backup Evan Landi received the majority of the repetitions at quarterback. And during fall camp, when Grothe missed about a week with a hamstring problem, Daniels took all the first-string snaps.

"I've grown a lot ever since the summer," Daniels said. "I tried to prepare myself as if I was the starter, and getting these reps live in a game helped a lot. I feel like I've been practicing forever."

Daniels grew up in Tallahassee and can remember going to a Florida State-Florida game in Doak Campbell Stadium as a young kid. He patterned his game after former Seminoles quarterback Charlie Ward. Despite starring just a few miles away at Lincoln High School, however, he was never recruited by FSU.

He said that snub doesn't bother him, but he'll have a chance to show the Seminoles what they missed on Saturday. Canales won't change the offense much, except to tailor more plays to Daniels' strengths. Expect that to mean more downfield throws, and perhaps rolling him out of the pocket some.

It won't be an easy place to make a college debut, especially against a fast and aggressive Florida State defense. But the Bulls have confidence in their new quarterback.

"He's going to get everybody's respect and be a leader just from the plays he's going to make," Grothe said. "It's hard to stop somebody as talented as he is."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

1. Cincinnati (3-0, 1-0): No doubt about it. The Bearcats are up to No. 14 in the AP Top 25 and No. 12 in my ESPN.com power rankings. After the win at Oregon State, they cemented their status as the Big East's banner-carrier, at least for now.

2. Pittsburgh (3-0): The Panthers are undefeated after three games for the first time since 2000. Still not ranked somehow, but they could be favored in their next six games. The defense was superb against Navy, and Bill Stull has given them steady play at quarterback.

3. West Virginia (2-1): The Mountaineers blew a golden opportunity to climb up these rankings and, more importantly, notch a key nonconference win at Auburn. I thought they were the better and more talented team Saturday night on the Plains, but even the Steelers would have trouble winning while coughing up the ball six times. Perhaps the bye week will give them time to practice ball security and get guys healthy, because this is still a dangerous team.

4. South Florida (3-0): The Bulls may have the emptiest 3-0 record in the history of football. They've played nobody, and now they've lost the heart and soul of the team after quarterback Matt Grothe's ACL tear. I'll need to see a good effort from B.J. Daniels and the rest of the team this week at Florida State in order to justify keeping South Florida in the top half of these rankings.

5. Connecticut (2-1): No secret what UConn's staple for success is: Run the ball and be physical on defense. If the Huskies run into a really good front seven or have to pass the ball, they're in trouble. They won't have to worry about either this week against Rhode Island.

6. Syracuse (1-2): The Orange are a play away from being 2-1 and ranking much higher on this list. Imagine that. Still, sixth is the highest I've ranked Syracuse in two years, so you have to call that progress.

7. Rutgers (2-1, 0-1): How did the Scarlet Knights win a game and move down? Simple. It was an ugly, defensive-minded 23-15 slugfest over Florida International at home, and Rutgers' schedule has been light years more manageable than Syracuse's slate.

8. Louisville (1-1): The Cardinals did not look bad against Kentucky despite being heavy underdogs on the road. They played with a lot of intensity and nearly pulled off the upset. If this is the worst team in the Big East, and I'm sticking to that opinion, then the Big East is awfully balanced this year.