MEMPHIS AT OLE MISS: Memphis has 18 players from the state of Mississippi on their roster. Ole Miss has eight players either from Memphis or southwest Tennessee. This is the first start for quarterback Michael Spurlock. Offensive linemen Tre Stallings, Doug Buckles, Chris Spencer, Marcus Johnson and Bobby Harris must protect Spurlock. The Rebel offensive line has to block against Albert Means, the former Alabama player, who is the strength of the Tiger defensive line. The Memphis defensive line is not very big-Means is 325 ponds, but David McNair is 235 and Marcus West is 252. There is plenty of experience at receiver for Ole Miss with senior Bill Flowers and juniors Mike Espy and Taye Biddle. Although the defense returns only four starters several players saw action last year. The Ole Miss secondary returns three starters in juniors Travis Johnson at cornerback, Kelvin Robinson at strong safety and senior Eric Oliver at free safety. Ole Miss needs to control the ball and the clock keeping Memphis quarterback Wimprine off the field. Tiger running back DeAngelo Williams (who led the nation with 192 all-purpose yards last year) set a single-season C-USA record with 10 consecutive 100 yard plus games last season.

NEW MEXICO STATE AT ARKANSAS: One of the surprises of the newly released depth chart are two true freshmen Marcus Harrison and Jamaal Anderson, who are listed as one and two at defense end. DeCori Birmingham and De’Arrius Howard are listed No. 1 and No. 2 on the depth chart at tailback. Running back Peyton Hillis continues to improve virtually on a daily basis. Aggie quarterback Buck Pierce set a school record of 70% passing last season. New Mexico State led the Sun Belt in rushing offense, total offense, first downs and the least amount of penalties last season. Arkansas rushed for more than 300 yards in last year’s win over NMSU. Linebacker Michael Robinson was hospitalized for tests after he became ill before practice Wednesday.

KENTUCKY AT LOUISVILLE: The big news for Kentucky is that defensive end Vincent “Sweet Pea” Burns should get 15-20 reps after coming off a knee scope. Two other expected starters, cornerbacks Earven Flowers and Warren Wilson are returning from a strained thigh and dislocated toe. Kentucky needs to stop quarterback Stefan LeFors (3,145 yards last year with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions) and running back Lionel Gates. Over the last 10 years, Louisville leads the series 6-4.

LOUISIANA MONROE AT AUBURN: Brandon Cox, the backup quarterback, will see plenty of action behind starter Jason Campbell. In the backfield, Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams will rotate with Tre Smith and Carl Stewart. John Vaughn gets the nod as the starting kicker. The Tigers are replacing five of the front seven on defense. Tiger freshman receiver James Swinton sustained a knee injury this week in practice. ULM returns 17 starters including junior quarterback Steven Jyles, who has over 4,430 career yards. He threw for 2,112 yards and 14 scores last year. Auburn is 16-5 under Tommy Tuberville in September. Last year, Auburn beat ULM 73-7. In 2002, Auburn won 52-14. ULM running back Kevin Payne was the Sun Belt Freshman of the year last year averaging 81 yards per game.

OREGON STATE AT LSU: These two teams have met only three times in history, the last being in 1982. LSU has won all three meetings. Last year, Oregon State averaged 463 yards and 33 points per game. Quarterback Derek Anderson, the second Pac-10 quarterback to pass for 4,000 career yards, threw for 485 yards in a loss last year to USC. He threw for 24 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in 2003. The Beaver offense utilizes a lot of crossing routes, screen passes, and ball-control passes. Oregon State stacks the line with a lot of eight-man fronts. The Beavers are 0-10-1 against SEC teams, all on the road. Defensive back Brandon Browner was named to the Pac-10 conference freshman of the year. LSU’s two-deep depth chart lists only two seniors on offense: quarterback Marcus Randall (2-4 as a starter) and center Ben Wilkerson. Tiger coach Nick Saban is 15-3 in non-conference games. Oregon State gets $1 million for the trip-$600,000 from LSU and the rest from ESPN.

TULANE AT MISSISSIPPI STATE: Last year, the Bulldogs fumbled three times against the Green Wave. The final fumble led to Tulane’s game-winning field goal. Tulane returns 19 starters. The Green Wave is one of only three teams to send its last three quarterbacks to the NFL. Tulane’s best offensive player is receiver Roydell Williams, who is fifth on the school all-time receiving yardage list and their best defensive player is linebacker Anthony Cannon, who has logged more than 100 tackles in each of first two seasons. Lester Ricard, the LSU transfer, is the Green Wave quarterback. Tulane has a young defense line going against an experienced Mississippi State offensive line, but they do have an experienced secondary competing against an inexperience Bulldog quarterback in sophomore quarterback Omarr Conner, who is making his first start. State was last in the SEC and No. 116 in the nation last year in turnover ratio last season.

UNLV AT TENNESSEE: One matchup that does not favor Tennessee are the young quarterbacks and receivers against a veteran UNLV secondary featuring defensive back Jamal Brimmer, who nearly beat Wisconsin by himself last year. UNLV suffered a blow when they lost senior defensive end Pete Dunbar during summer camp. The Rebels are thin up front. The Tennessee front seven must stop Rebel running back Dominique Dorsey, who ran for 626 yards. Tennessee’s young secondary is anchored by veteran Jason Allen, but cornerback Roshaun Fellows and safety Brandon Johnson are making their first starts. Vol true freshman Jonathan Hefney comes in for the dime package. However, UNLV quarterback Kurt Nantkes has only one year of experience. Vol offensive tackle Albert Toeiana has a knee stabilizing brace and is on crutches. Cedric Houston starts at tailback with the first Vol team, but several others will see action. Receiver James Banks could be out for the season if he has to have the meniscus damage in his knee repaired.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT GEORGIA: The Bulldogs have won 14 straight games at home. The Bulldog offensive line allowed 47 sacks last season. Georgia Southern runs a triple option attack led the by fullback Jermaine Austin, who ran for 1,461 yards. The Eagles return 21 starters from last year’s team. Bulldog junior Derrick White replaces suspended linebacker Odell Thurman. Senior fullback Jeremy Thomas, who will also miss the opener, is being replaced by sophomore Des Williams. Andy Bailey will also be tested as the new kicker. Danny Ware is the first freshman tailback to start since 1943. Not even Herschel Walker started as a freshman. Freshman offensive lineman Chester Adams is backing up starter Dennis Roland.

UTAH STATE AT ALABAMA: The Aggies have a solid quarterback in senior Travis Cox, a second-team All-Sun Belt player last year. He threw 18 touchdowns and had only seven interceptions. Cox likes to throw to the tight end. At running back, freshman Chris Forbes starts and he is backed up by another freshman Beau Herbert. Utah State struggled to run the ball last year averaging only 108 yards per game. Alabama linebacker Ernest Nance, a redshirt freshman, was arrested by police early this week on a charge of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. It was originally reported that linebacker Freddie Roach had been arrested, but he was not involved in the incident. Linebacker DeMeco Ryans is hoping to return from an ankle injury. Sophomore Tyrone Prothro and redshirt freshman Matt Caddell are listed as starters, but true freshmen D. J. Hall, Keith Brown and Zeke Knight will see action. Alabama is 12-0 against current Sun Belt Conference members.

CLEMSON AT WAKE FOREST: Clemson hopes to play tailbacks Yusef Kelly, Reggie Merriweather and Kyle Browning. Coach Tommy Bowden said the Wake Forest offensive line is one of the best in the ACC. Wake has rushed for nearly 700 yards in the past two games against Clemson. The Tiger defense must stop Wake running back Chris Barclay, who rushed for nearly 1,200 yards last year.

VIRGINIA AT TEMPLE: Coach Al Groh believes playing in Philadelphia could be a boost to the Cav recruiting efforts in that area. Groh is concerned about Temple quarterback Walter Washington, who is also a strong runner. Washington had nearly 40 carries in one game last season. Cav quarterback Marques Hagans, a junior, is starting just his third game.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT MARYLAND: The Terps must contain Northern Illinois quarterback Josh Hadl, who is 18-6 as a starter the past two years. Maryland hopes to counter his production with quarterback Joel Statham and running back Josh Allen.

SAMFORD AT GEORGIA TECH: Samford runs a spread offense with a four- receiver set. Senior quarterback Ray Nelson completed 60% of his passes last year. Receiver Efrem Hill, who is from Atlanta, caught 92 passes for 1,387 yards and 15 scores last year. Samford beat West Alabama last week 34-20. Tech will try to control the ball with junior tailback P. J. Daniels.

RICHMOND AT N. C. STATE: This is the debut of Wolfpack quarterback Jay Davis, who is trying to replace Philip Rivers. He has thrown only 28 career passes.

BRENT BEAIRD IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE CLAY COUNTY LINE IN ORANGE PARK, FL.
HE ALSO WRITES FOR RIVALS.COM AND SAMSPORTSLINE.COM.