Three to watch

1) No. 25 Baylor at No. 9 West Virginia, noon (FX)

The Mountaineers (3-0) make their Big 12 debut at home against the Bears (3-0), who have averaged 51.3 points per game without Robert Griffin III. West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith should be able to exploit Baylor’s issues on defense.

2) Tennessee at No. 5 Georgia, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)

Derek Dooley’s Vols (3-1) get another SEC test after falling at home to Florida this month. The Bulldogs (4-0) have been outstanding on defense and will get a boost if safety Bacarri Rambo and linebacker Alec Ogletree return from suspension.

3) No. 12 Texas at Oklahoma State, 7:30 p.m. (FOX)

Difficult to tell if Texas (3-0) is for real after easy wins against Wyoming, New Mexico and Mississippi. The Cowboys (2-1), Big 12 champs a year ago, have their own questions after a 59-38 bloodletting at Arizona two weeks ago.

Inside the BCS

• Two ranked Big Ten teams will meet Saturday with No. 14 Ohio State’s trip to No. 20 Michigan State. That’s the good news for the conference, which is suffering from an ACC-like fall from national relevance.

The bad news is the Big Ten is 6-9 against other BCS conferences, with half of those wins by Northwestern (against like-minded academic BCS counterparts). Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin have lost high-profile games out of the league, which also has two of its best programs, Ohio State and Penn State, in NCAA purgatory.

Even Commissioner Jim Delany is at a loss for a defense for the league’s on-field problems.

“I can’t discount the facts,” Delany told ESPN. “And I can’t discount the critics.”

• Masterful scheduling by Kansas State. The Wildcats, known for playing cupcakes under Bill Snyder, made their best move yet in taking the week off after shocking Oklahoma.

The toughest part about football, on any level, is bringing the same emotional intensity on a weekly basis. It would have been difficult for K-State to reload for any opponent, even the variety Snyder is infamous for lining up outside the Big 12.

With arguably the biggest obstacle in the Big 12 behind them, the Wildcats have a legitimate shot at running the table.

Heisman watch

1) E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State: The senior quarterback entered the Heisman conversation with more than 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in last week’s big win against Clemson.

2) Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia: Smith keeps rolling along with 338 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win against Maryland. He has 1,072 yards and 12 TDs, and no interceptions, on the season.

3) Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State: The sophomore continues his Tebowesque pace of production for coach Urban Meyer with seven passing TDs and seven rushing TDs through four games. Michigan State will be the toughest defense Miller faces all season.

Number to know

107 Boise State’s national ranking in scoring offense, at 19.6 points per game, down from fifth in 2011, second in 2010 and first in 2009.

Upset alert

No. 4 Florida State at South Florida, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

The Bulls (2-2) are coming off losses to Rutgers and Ball State, which does not inspire confidence, but everyone and their mother is telling FSU how good it is, which is a recipe for disaster. Plus, South Florida won the last meeting with Florida State, 17-7 in Tallahassee in 2009.