Southern Miss (1-0) at Auburn (1-0)

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

Skinny: The Tigers and Golden Eagles combined for 748 rushing yards in season-opening victories. No. 9-ranked Auburn relied on the run (321 yards led by Ben Tate with 115) to power past Louisiana-Monroe, 34-0. Southern Miss - under first-year head coach Larry Fedora - was even better, getting 427 rushing yards and finishing with a school-record 633 yards of total offense in a 51-21 victory against Louisiana-Lafayette. Auburn leads the series 16-5, but the teams haven’t met since 1993.

Key players: Southern Miss relies on Conference USA player of the year candidate Damion Fletcher. The Golden Eagles’ junior had 1,388 yards rushing as a freshman, 1,586 as a sophomore and opened his junior campaign with 222 yards and two TDs last week. Auburn’s defense held Louisiana-Monroe to 84 yards rushing on 30 attempts. Chris Todd gets the start at quarterback for the Tigers. The junior was 9-of-18 for 70 yards and one TD while platooning with Kodi Burns last week.

Line: Auburn by 17.

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Ole Miss (1-0) at Wake Forest (1-0)

Time: 3:30 p.m. TV: WATE.

Skinny: The Houston Nutt era at Ole Miss got off to an impressive start with a 41-24 victory against Memphis. Nutt needs just nine more victories to match the total achieved by Ed Orgeron in three years. Getting No. 2 might be a challenge against No. 20-ranked Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons forced five turnovers in a 41-13 romp past Baylor last week. Ole Miss has lost 13 of its past 14 road games. Wake Forest defeated the Rebels 27-3 two years ago in the only previous meeting.

Key players: Ole Miss is using Dexter McCluster in much the same way Nutt used Darren McFadden at Arkansas. McCluster had 64 yards rushing, 61 yards receiving and at times lines up at quarterback for the Rebels. Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner is a three-year starter and looked impressive against Baylor, completing 27-of-36 passes for 220 yards and three TDs.

Line: Wake Forest by 8.

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Central Michigan (1-0) at Georgia (1-0)

Time: 3:30 p.m. TV: FSN South.

Skinny: No. 2-ranked Georgia doesn’t have to worry about the No. 1 tag after USC ascended to the top spot this week. The Bulldogs whipped Georgia Southern 45-21 a week ago and piled up 537 yards of offense. Central Michigan is coming off a 9-6 season and a 51-48 loss to Purdue in last year’s Motor City Bowl. The Chippewas opened 2008 with a 31-12 victory against Eastern Illinois. This is the first meeting between the two schools.

Key players: Central Michigan is led by a quarterback compared favorably to Florida Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. As a sophomore, Dan LeFevour passed for 3,652 yards and 27 TDs. He rushed for 1,122 yards and 19 TDs. Georgia counters with sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno (1,392 yards and 17 TDs last year) and junior quarterback Matthew Stafford (2,523 yards passing and 19 TDs a year ago).

Line: Georgia by 24.

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Norfolk State (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0)

Time: 6 p.m. TV: PPV.

Skinny: A 27-2 victory against arch rival Louisville was an impressive start for a Kentucky team with some question marks. Norfolk State, a Division I-AA team, is coming off its best season in 23 years after finishing 8-3 in 2007. The Spartans opened this season with a 47-7 thumping of Virginia State.

Key players: The former Alcoa High School duo of Randall Cobb and Kyrus Lanxter combined for five catches and 48 yards against Louisville. Former Central High School kicker Lonas Seiber was two for three on field goals. Wildcats’ QB Mike Hartline was quietly efficient (16-for-31, 147 yards) in replacing graduated Andre Woodson. Norfolk is led by RB DeAngelo Branche (92 yards, three TDs in opener).

Line: None.

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La.-Monroe (0-1) at Arkansas (1-0)

Time: 7 p.m. TV: PPV.

Skinny: First-year Razorbacks’ coach Bobby Petrino wasn’t exactly blown away with Arkansas’ performance in a 28-24 comeback victory against Western Illinois last week. Arkansas trailed the Leathernecks 24-14 in the fourth quarter and needed two late TDs to avoid a disastrous start. Louisiana-Monroe takes on its second consecutive SEC opponent after losing 34-0 at Auburn a week ago. Arkansas leads the series 7-0.

Key players: QB Casey Dick ran for two scores and completed 25-of-41 passes for 318 yards and two TDs in the week one rally for Arkansas. Warhawks’ QB Kinsmon Lancaster was 20-of-38 for 136 yards, but couldn’t get Louisiana-Monroe in the end zone against Auburn.

Line: Arkansas by 13.

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SE Louisiana (1-0) at Mississippi State (0-1)

Time: 7 p.m. TV: None.

Skinny: Just when you think Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State are making progress, the Bulldogs look anemic in a 22-14 season-opening loss to Louisiana Tech. All of a sudden, Southeastern Louisiana looks dangerous after beating Alcorn State 34-28 in week one. This is the first meeting between the two schools.

Key players: Running back Anthony Dixon makes the Bulldogs go and quarterback Wesley Carroll can bring MSU to a grinding halt as he did with three interceptions last week. Jay Lucas was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Lions a year ago, but had just 30 yards on nine attempts last week.

Line: None.

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Tulane (0-0) at Alabama (1-0)

Time: 7 p.m. TV: PPV.

Skinny: The Crimson Tide made No. 9-ranked Clemson look silly in a 34-10 rout last week. Alabama jumped to No. 13 in the rankings after holding the previously No. 9-ranked Tigers to zero yards rushing. Tulane went 4-8 in 2007 and has spent all week practicing in Birmingham after Hurricane Gustav forced a departure from New Orleans.

Key players: Bama QB John Parker Wilson looked like the player who torched Tennessee a year ago, going 22-of-30 for 180 yards and two TDs against Clemson. There was balance in the Tide running game with Mark Ingram rushing for 96 yards and Glen Coffee 90. Tulane RB Andre Anderson will try to replace 2,000-yard rusher Matt Forte in the Green Wave lineup.

Line: Alabama by 30.

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Miami (1-0) at Florida (1-0)

Time: 8 p.m. TV: ESPN.

Skinny: Believe it or not, the Gators have a six-game losing streak against Miami and haven’t beaten the Hurricanes since a 35-23 victory in 1985. This is the first meeting between the two longtime rivals since Miami defeated Florida 27-10 in the 2004 Peach Bowl. Things have changed since then. The Gators are ranked No. 5 and the Hurricanes haven’t been to a BCS bowl game five years. Miami leads the series 28-25.

Key players: The Gators could get a lift from the return of Percy Harvin after he sat out last week’s 56-10 victory against Hawaii with an injury. Superman QB Tim Tebow had Clark Kent stats against the Rainbows, going 9-of-14 for 137 yards and rushing for 37. Miami is led by Javarris James (Edgerrin James’ cousin). He had 73 yards rushing in a 52-7 week one victory against Charleston Southern.

Line: Florida by 21 1/2.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.