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The Rutgers coach sees two quarterbacks recruited into a South Florida system that demands that and no, he said, he doesn't see much difference in the offense that's gone from being led by one quarterback to the other.

Other than, of course, the quarterback.

"I think B.J.'s faster. I don't think, I know," Schiano said, correcting himself after Rutgers' Monday practice. He's preparing his 6-2 Scarlet Knights for a Thursday night visit from the 6-2 and 23rd ranked Bulls, and as much as he's professed a personal admiration for Grothe over the years, Schiano said the freshman Daniels makes the whole South Florida offense more dangerous.

"Their whole offense is based on the read and when he's pulled it (and run) because his read has told him to do so, he's made a lot happen with it," Schiano said.

Daniels has definitely done that on the ground, where his 64.9 yards per game lead the Bulls and his 5.58 yards per carry are better than all but three of the country's quarterbacks. Consider this: Rutgers' top tailback, Jo Martinek, averages 5.0 yards per carry.

Daniels is as much a threat in the air, though, where he's averaging an FBS-best 17.1 yards per completion. His 145.1 pass efficiency ranks 23rd nationally and when Schiano compared him to Michael Vick, linebacker Antonio Lowery said, "He wasn't lying. I'm telling you, he's going to be one of the best quarterbacks I've ever faced."

Meanwhile, here's what's happening outside of Piscataway and around the rest of the league...

PIKE'S STILL THE MAN: PIKE'S STILL THE MAN: Zach Collaros threw for 480 yards, rushed for another 75 and led no. 5 Cincinnati to a stupefying 711 yards of offense against UConn Saturday night, but Bearcats coach Brian Kelly said on Monday's coaches' teleconference that his starting quarterback is still Tony Pike. If Pike's healthy.

"Take Tony Pike's body of work, Tony Pike's the starter," Kelly said. "There's not even a question about that. We have to get Tony Pike back to where he's 100 percent. When he's at 100 percent, he starts for us."

Pike had a medical procedure to reposition the metal plate he has in his left (non-throwing) hand four weeks ago. Kelly said the player who was just starting to create some Heisman buzz will undergo a daily x-ray this week, and that if Pike's given clearance by Friday's kick against West Virginia, he won't have any hesitation in throwing him out on the field.

"I went back and thought about clearly the pluses and the minuses. (There are) a lot of pluses with both guys," he said. "But after careful consideration, Tony's our guy. We just have to make sure he's at the level that he needs to be."

BUT COLLAROS IS JUST AS SCARY: It may as well be a pick-your-poison for West Virginia, and so Mountaineers coach Bill Stewart laughed out loud when asked if he'd rather see Pike than Collaros Friday night. Still, he compared Collaros to his own quarterback, Jarrett Brown, and said there's definitely an added wrinkle with players like them.

"A guy like Jarrett Brown, a guy like Zach Collaros, even a guy like (former West Virginia quarterback) Patrick White, these guys have running ability. They have the innate ability to pull the ball down when all (hell breaks loose)," he said. "A guy who doesn't scramble, he'll hang in the pocket, take the sack, throw the ball away. These guys just tuck and go."

Pausing, he said, "That's what makes Zach different, a Jarrett Brown different, a Patrick White different. These guys are athletes that are playing quarterback. They'd be great tailbacks. They could probably play safety or DB."

SYRACUSE'S NUMBERS COULD LOOK LESS SCARY: Syracuse coach Doug Marrone had only 55 players to dress on this past weekend's trip out to Pittsburgh. He lost two - Max Suter and Cody Catalina - to season-ending injuries during the game, but he sounded optimistic about getting three back.

Last week, Marrone suspended Antwon Bailey, Torey Ball and Andrew Tiller after they - and the since-departed Mike Williams - were in an early morning car accident a few miles outside of the Turning Stone casino. Monday, when asked about their return, he said, "I feel good about it."

Still, a bug has hit the Orange and Marrone couldn't say that he'll have more players to dress for this weekend's trip to Louisville. Then again, the former Orange linemen may look into his on remaining eligibility.

"I'm ready to go," he said with a laugh. "I'm ready to go."