But, hey, the Mountaineers aren't alone. USF plays its last and most critical game of the season tonight with the same huge question mark.

While WVU pretty much knows what's on the line when the teams meet at Raymond James Stadium -- a share of the Big East title and a chance to keep alive its hopes for a BCS bowl berth -- the Bulls have something to play for, too. USF is just 1-5 in the Big East, but 5-6 overall and a win away from bowl eligibility.

The big mystery for both teams, though, is the status of USF quarterback B.J. Daniels. Whether he is able to recover from a shoulder sprain suffered two weeks ago in a loss to Miami could have the biggest impact on the outcome.

It is likely to be a game-time decision.

"I just don't know that he's going to be able to have the velocity on his ball or be able to protect himself,'' South Florida coach Skip Holtz said. "And those are the things that we're looking at right now.

"We know he can go out and run around right now because his legs are fine. We're just going to see how he continues to rehab and heal as we go through the course of the week.''

How important is Daniels? Well, two years ago when the teams played he was magnificent, running for 104 yards and throwing for 232 in a 30-19 win. He outgained the Mountaineers by himself, 336-323, and threw three touchdown passes.

Then a year ago in Morgantown, West Virginia intercepted Daniels three times, sacked him four times and the Mountaineers won 20-6.

In other words, Daniels at his best means big trouble for West Virginia. If he doesn't play or is limited, well, that's a different story.

"He's a good football player. I've watched every one of their games,'' WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said. "He's a guy that makes play after play after play. He can make it with his feet or he can make it with his arm.''

Daniels sat out most of the game in which he was injured and USF managed just three points in a 6-3 loss to Miami. His replacement, 6-foot-5, 206-pound sophomore pocket passer Bobby Eveld, played fairly well last week against Louisville in a 34-24 loss, but he's no Daniels.

"We didn't ask him to do a lot, but he was able to lead the offense down the field and score 24 points,'' Holtz said. "And that was a whole lot more productive than we were the week before when we only scored three against Miami.''

It's completely different having a junior quarterback with his type of experience and athleticism and the things he can do athletically. The way he's developed has made us a very productive offense. Not having that type of athlete and that type of experience, you have to do a little bit more to protect [Eveld]. And if you put a young quarterback along with a lot of young receivers you lack the consistency you're looking for.''

The Bulls do stand to upgrade their receiving corps this week because arguably the two best receivers on the team, Sterling Griffin and A.J. Love, are expected to play after missing time with injuries. But receivers can only do so much.

From West Virginia's standpoint, the Mountaineers are preparing for Daniels. But even if he plays, it remains to be seen how effective he will be with a sore shoulder.

"That's one of those things that you've got to be careful how you prepare for it. You don't know who you're going to see,'' Holgorsen said. "When guys are injured, you don't know if they're truly out or if they're going to play.

"Even if he does play, he's probably not going to run very much with a shoulder like that. That's pretty dangerous. The other guy's probably not as much of a runner as Daniels is, but we don't have a lot of material. B.J, has taken a lot of snaps for them over the past three years.''