Saturday's SEC matchups

HAWAII (0-0) at FLORIDA (0-0)

Time: 12:30 p.m. TV: WVLT

Skinny: Florida quarterback Tim Tebow begins defense of his Heisman Trophy in this first-ever game between the schools. Hawaii is coming off a perfect regular season in 2007, albeit, one that was capped by a lopsided Sugar Bowl loss to Georgia. Greg McMackin makes his debut as the Warriors new head coach.

Key players: Hawaii receivers Jason Rivers, Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen have secured a place as the best receiving corps in school history and are threatening the NCAA record books. Florida's Percy Harvin caught 59 passes for 858 yards and four scores a year ago but is not expected to play.

Line: Florida by 28

APPALACHIAN STATE (0-0) at LSU (0-0)

Time: 11 a.m. TV: None.

Skinny: LSU moved up the kickoff time because of concerns over the approach of Tropical Storm Gustav. The defending Division I champions had their hands full with Appalachian State before pulling out a 24-0 win in the schools' only meeting in 2005 in Baton Rouge. The Mountaineers upset Michigan to begin last season.

Key players: Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards makes a good case for himself to stand among collegiate football's top quarterbacks. He had 1,948 pass yards and 1,588 rush yards last season, and was responsible for 38 touchdowns - not bad for a sophomore. The Tigers have a trio of talented junior backs: Keiland Williams (478 yards, six TDs), Charles Scott (324 yards, five TDs) and speedster Trindon Holliday (364 yards, two TDs).

Line: None

MISSISSIPPI STATE (0-0) at LOUISIANA TECH (0-0)

Time: 6:45 p.m. TV: ESPN2

Skinny: Mississippi State is going into unchartered SEC waters, becoming the first SEC and BCS conference team to play in Ruston, La. State leads the series 7-2, but Louisiana Tech won the schools' most recent meeting in 1996 by a 38-23 count.

Key players: Anthony Dixon highlights Mississippi State's attack. His 456 carries are the sixth most in school history, his 1,73 4 yards rank 15th on the team's all-time list and his 23 rushing TDs rank fifth all-time. Tech's Patrick Jackson ran for 950 yards last season and needs less than 1,200 yards to become his school's all-time leading rusher.

Line: Mississippi State by 9 1/2

WESTERN ILLINOIS (0-0) at ARKANSAS (0-0)

Time: 7 p.m. TV: None.

Skinny: Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino makes his debut in Arkansas after his fall from grace with the Atlanta Falcons. It's Petrino's first college game since leading Louisville to victory in the 2007 Orange Bowl. It's also the first meeting between these schools.

Key players: Leathernecks' back Herb Donaldson is on pace to become Western Illinois' all-time leading rusher with 2,962 yards through his two seasons as a starter. Arkansas cornerback Jerrell Norton returns for his junior season after picking off five of the team's 20 interceptions last season, which was the most for a Hogs' defense since 1987.

Line: None

LA-MONROE (0-0) at AUBURN (0-0)

Time: 7 p.m. TV: PPV

Skinny: The last time the Tigers opened the season with Louisiana-Monroe they scored a 31-0 win en route to a perfect 13-0 season. The Warhawks last SEC game and trip to the state of Alabama resulted in a 21-14 win over the Crimson Tide.

Key players: Monroe receivers Marty Humphrey, Darrell McNeall and LaGregory Sapp return after accounting for 91 percent of the receiving yards and eight of nine receiver Tds by Warhawks' receivers. Auburn returns all five of its starting offensive linemen from a year ago as well as tailback Ben Tate, who ran for 903 yards and eight TDs last season.

Line: Auburn by 28 1/2

MEMPHIS (0-0) at Ole Miss (0-0)

Time: 7 p.m. TV: PPV

Skinny: Former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt makes his debut in Rebels' blue in a series that Ole Miss holds a 45-10-2 advantage in. Ole Miss won last year's battle, 23-21 in Memphis.

Key players: Highly-touted Texas transfer Jevan Snead makes his Ole Miss debut at quarterback. Senior Clinton McDonald leads a veteran Memphis line. McDonald, a team captain, registered a team-high four sacks last season and had nine tackles-for-loss.

Line: Ole Miss by 11 1/2

ALABAMA (0-0) vs. CLEMSON (0-0)

Time: 8 p.m. TV: WATE-6

Skinny: Alabama meets ACC-favorite Clemson for the first time in nearly 33 years in the Georgia Dome in collegiate football's premie r first-week matchup. It's the Tide's first trip to the Georgia Dome since it beat Florida in the 1999 SEC Championship Game

Key players: Alabama returns nine starters from last year's offense including three-year starting quarterback John Parker Wilson. Clemson's James Davis and C.J. Spiller are in their third year as the "Thunder & Lightning" rushing combination, having combined for 3,957 rushing yards on 691 carries, a 5.7 average, and scored 46 touchdowns over the last two seasons.

Line: Clemson by 7