Cal is led on defense by junior linebacker Zack Follett. DeSean Jackson can do it all at receiver and as a kick returner. The roles are reversed this season with the Tennessee secondary being very inexperienced against a Cal veteran receiving corps with Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins, Robert Jordan and tight end Craig Stevens.

OKLAHOMA STATE AT GEORGIA: Bulldog Coach Mark Richt said he regretted criticizing the school last week for not having an indoor practice facility. Florida and Georgia are the only two SEC schools not to have indoor practice facilities. Richt said as many as 20 freshmen could play this season. The offensive line consists of several freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Brian Mimbs has beaten out Drew Butler for the starting punter job. Georgia has won 10 straight openers. Receiver Sean Bailey and running back Thomas Brown are making their first appearances since recovering from ACL surgery.

OSU Coach Mike Gundy is in his third years with a record of 11-13. Oklahoma State lost five games by a total of 26 points. Larry Fedora is in his third year as offensive coordinator. Receiver Adarius Bowman averaged nearly 20 yards per catch on 60 catches last season. Quarterback Bobby Reid threw for 2,266 yards and run for 500 yards. Dantrell Savage and Keith Toston are two very capable backs. OSU returns seven starters on defense, but the line is average and the secondary is questionable.

ARKANSAS AT TROY: Razorback starting defensive end Marcus Harrison has been suspended per his arrest late Friday night because he was in possession of marijuana and Ecstasy. Starting cornerback Jerrell Norton is almost recovered from a high ankle sprain. Tight end Ben Cleveland has a pinched nerve in his neck. Junior defensive end Antwain Robinson has been demoted on the depth chart due to his work ethic and possibly because of a prior shoplifting charge earlier in the year. Freshman Nathan Dick is listed as the backup quarterback to his brother Casey. Receiver Marcus Monk has had to have a second knee surgery (knee scoped) to remove loose particles. He might miss the Alabama game on Sept. 15.

Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook, the returning Sun Belt Player of the Year, threw 21 touchdowns last year. Troy also has two good runners in Sean Dawkins and leading returning rusher Kenny Cattouse. The Hog defense must reckon with senior corners Leodis McKelvin and Elbert Mack. Kenny Mainor is a pass rush specialist.

WESTERN KENTUCKY VS. FLORIDA: Former Southern Cal running back Emmanuel Moody chose Florida over North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma State. Sophomore cornerback Markihe Anderson will not play Saturday due to a sprained knee. Freshman Joe Haden and sophomore Wondy Pierre-Louis will start at cornerback. Coach Urban Meyer described tailback Kesthan Moore as “excellent”. With offensive lineman Phil Trautwein out with a stress fracture, freshman Maurkice Pouncey will play. He is the first freshman since Reggie Green in 1992 to start in the opener. Jason Watkins moves to left tackle, Carlton Medder goes to right tackle, Jim Tartt stays at left guard and Drew Miller stays at center. Freshman running back Bo Williams dislocated his ankle and is out for six weeks. The Clearinghouse still has not approved freshman John Brown.

The Hilltoppers are led by Curtis Hamilton, the team leading returning receiver, who was a third team All-American selection last year. Hamilton, Jake Gaebler, and Jessie Quinn combined for 117 catches last year. Marion Rumph, a three-year starter at free safety has led the WKU in tackles each of the past two seasons. Linebackers Dusty Bear, Blake Boyd and Andre Lewis earned all conference honors last season. Western Kentucky is transitioning to Division I-A. WKU has an experienced front seven.

LSU beat Mississippi State, 45-0. The Tigers have won 15- of- 16 in the series while winning the last six by a combined 253 to 43. Safety Craig Steltz intercepted State quarterback Michael Henig three times. Tiger quarterback Matt Flynn was 12- of- 19 for 128 yards with no turnovers. Flynn ran 11 times for 42 yards. LSU ran for 128 yards. Tailback Jacob Hester led the team with 68 yards rushing. The Tigers were a perfect 7- of- 7 in the red zone. Receiver Early Doucet caught nine passes for 78 yards. Linebacker Ali Highsmith led the team with eight tackles. Right guard Lyle Hitt, right tackle Carnell Stewart and free safety Curtis Taylor made their first starts. Left guard Will Arnold is on the second team line because the coaches are bringing him around slowly.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Henig, who came in the game with a 44% career completion mark, threw six picks in the loss against LSU. He was 11- of- 28 for 120 yards. State had seven turnovers the most since the Arkansas game in 2003. LSU held State to 10 yards rushing on 26 carries. Freshman Wesley Carroll was 3- of- 5 for 16 yards. State was 3- of- 14 on third down. The Tigers had only one scoring drive of over 45 yards. State’s defensive line with a lot of new starters—Titus Brown at defensive end, tackles Kyle Love and Jessie Bowman and end Avery Hannibal-- must try to block the LSU offensive line. Gone from last year’s line are Michael Heard, Andrew Powell, Antonio Johnson and Deljuan Robinson. Derek Pegues is one of the better return men. State has beaten LSU only three times since 1984.

SOUTH CAROLINA VS. LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE: Gamecock senior quarterback Blake Mitchell lost his appeal to start the opener. Instead, redshirt freshman Chris Smelley will start. Quarterback Tommy Beecher will also play. Starting defensive back Emmanuel Cook has been reinstated to the team. Cook also underwent an appendectomy this past weekend and could be out for two weeks. Stoney Woodson will be moved from cornerback to strong safety. Freshmen quarterback Stephen Garcia and offensive lineman Quintin Richardson will be redshirted.

Louisiana-Lafayette, coached by former Clemson assistant Ricky Bustle, returns 12 starters from a team that beat Houston last year. ULL’s star player is running back Tyrell Fenroy, a junior. The ULL defensive line could battle the Gamecock evolving offensive line in the beginning. ULL is 0-47 against the SEC.

ALABAMA VS. WESTERN CAROLINA: Tide Coach Nick Saban has suspended receiver Keith Brown and linebacker Prince Hall in the opener for a violation of team rules. Sophomore Mike McCoy replaces Brown and freshman Rolando McClain will sub for Hall. Defensive lineman Brian Motley fractured his ankle in Tuesday’s practice and could miss six- to- eight weeks. His backup is sophomore Lorenzo Washington, who has only 32 snaps of experience. Redshirt freshman Terry Grant has won the starting tailback job. Coach Nick Saban wants a two-back system, so he will be teamed with Jimmy Johns, Glenn Coffee or Roy Upchurch.

WCU Coach Kent Briggs is in his sixth season with a record of 21-33. Quarterbacks Todd Spitzer and Andy Horn have game experience. The Catamount defense allowed 316 points last year.

AUBURN VS. KANSAS STATE: Quarterback Brandon Cox is healthy after being hurt most of last year. Blake Field will back him up. The Tigers could be thin at running back with questionable academic status of starter Brad Lester. Coach Tommy Tuberville said Lester will play until further notice. Tristan Davis is still out after toe surgery. Carl Stewart has nearly recovered from a hamstring injury. Ben Tate, Mario Fannin and Stewart might have to carry the load.

Tiger offensive tackle King Dunlap will also play despite being arrested Monday for failure to pay a speeding ticket. Receivers Rod Smith, Prechae Rodriquez, and Robert Dunn have impressed the coaches with his fall camp. True freshman Lee Ziemba and redshirt freshman Mike Berry are on the right side of the line. Cox is left-handed so Ziemba and Berry are protecting his blindside from a solid Kansas State defensive front. Offensive lineman Leon Hart is back full speed after an ankle injury. Auburn’s defensive line is deep with Quentin Groves, Pat Sims, Josh Thompson and Sen’Derrick Marks. At linebacker, Tray Blackmon is back after off the field problems and Craig Stevens has improved. Jerraud Powers and Aarion Savage will carry the secondary. Neither Wes Byrum or Ryan Shoemaker have kicked in college.

Kansas State Coach Ron Prince is in his second season. Sixteen players return for KSU including sophomore quarterback Josh Freeman, who took three times to pass his conditioning test. Jordy Nelson is the leading returning receiver. The Wildcats have fifteen defensive players who have started at least one game. Junior Ian Campbell is a candidate for Big 12 Defensive Player- of- the- Year.

OLE MISS AT MEMPHIS: Ole Miss has won two straight games in the series by a total of seven points after losing two straight games in 2003 and 2004. Defensive lineman Jerrell Powe has been ruled ineligible for the third straight year. He can go to school, but not play football.

Memphis quarterback Martin Hankins leads the Memphis spread offense in his second season as a starter. Hankins has plenty of capable targets in sophomore Duke Calhoun, junior college transfer Steven Black and sophomore Carlos Singleton. Tailback Joseph Doss had 112 yards against Ole Miss last season. Linebacker Heath Grant, who had 10 tackles against Ole Miss last year, leads the Memphis defense. Former Ole Miss players Corey Mills and Jada Brown are on the Tiger defensive line. Free safety Brandon Patterson does a good job in the secondary.

EASTERN KENTUCKY AT KENTUCKY: The Wildcat offense with quarterback Andre Woodson, tailback Rafael Little, receiver Keenan Burton and tight end Jacob Tamme should overwhelm EKU. Senior linebacker Wesley Woodyard will anchor the Kentucky defense. Junior linebacker Braxton Kelly had 82 tackles last year. David Jones, who moved from receiver to defensive back, had emergency surgery on Tuesday for a ruptured appendix. He will miss at least the first two games. Jones was the backup to starter Trevard Lindley.

EKU averaged 354 yards and 30 points per game in the last six games last year. Eastern Kentucky was turnover prone in their five losses last season. Senior Josh Greco and junior Allan Holland are two veteran quarterbacks. WKU has 19 seniors.

ACC NOTES

CLEMSON has beaten FSU three of the past four seasons. This is Bowden Bowl IX. Coach Tommy Bowden is 9-5 against Top 25 competition and 3-2 versus top 10 teams over the past four seasons. There is a belief that this is the best Tiger team since 1991.

Senior linebacker Tremaine Billie is excited about playing again after missing the entire 2006 season with a broken ankle. Junior receiver Tyler Gresham is expected to have a big year after catching 25 passes last year. Sophomore running back Sadat Chambers, a former defensive back, is backing up James Davis and C J Spiller.

Tiger offensive coordinator Rob Spence said freshman quarterback Willy Korn will not have any play scripted for him in the FSU game. He has seen little time with the No. 1 unit. Cullen Harper starts, but he had little experience. Clemson is breaking in a new quarterback (Will Proctor was last year) for the second straight year. The offensive line had to be revamped. Spence has enough weapons and strategy to have a prolific offense. Clemson is coming off a season where they lost four- of- it’s last five games. Clemson must pound Davis and Spiller against a FSU front that could have early difficulties. The Tigers must pressure quarterback Weatherford, who has the starting job for now. Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips will not pursue the same opening at Arkansas.

FLORIDA STATE: Keys for FSU are getting the ball to the playmakers early. Running back Antone Smith, who has an injured toe, could get the ball 15-25 times if he is healthier. FSU needs to pressure Harper. Safety Myron Rolle might be in the box shadowing Spiller and Davis playing similar to a fourth linebacker. FSU’s seasoned defense needs to limit Clemson’s big plays, something that hurt them the past two years. The receivers would like to have a big game since they have done literally nothing against Clemson the past two seasons. Preston Parker is the No. 1 punter returner. In the past two meetings, 16 of FSU’s 34 points have come from blocked kicks.

GEORGIA TECH AT NOTRE DAME: Greg Smith, Demaryius Thomas, James Johnson and freshman D J Donley are capable receivers. Quarterback Taylor Bennett will be an improvement in the passing game over Reggie Ball. Tech coaches are hoping Tashard Choice has run for 100 yards in each of his last seven games. The Tech defense has a lot of experience with eight starters returning. Shane Bowen is the only starter who hasn’t started at least four games. Choice and the Tech running game should control the tempo of the game. Pat Clark, a reserve defensive back, has been declared eligible for the game. He will be the top backup to Jahi Word-Daniels and Avery Roberson.

NOTRE DAME Coach Charlie Weiss has yet to reveal his starting quarterback among the trio of Evan Sharpley, Demetrius Jones or freshman Jimmy Clausen. Jones appears to be the official frontrunner. Weiss is replacing three players on the offensive line, and also at every skill position except tight end. Defensively, junior nose tackle Derrell Hand remains suspended after a solicitation arrest. Senior Trevor Laws is one of few experienced linemen. There are two new starters at outside linebacker in Anthony Vernaglia and defensive end John Ryan. The secondary has some experience in safety Tom Zbikowski and cornerback Ambrose Wooden. An Irish loss could mean a 0-3 start with road games coming up at Penn State and Michigan.

VILLANOVA AT MARYLAND: Terp defensive linemen Carlos Feliciano, Jeremy Navarre and Dre Moore have become very dependable. Jordan Steffy starts the season as the starting quarterback. Josh Portis is No. 2 and Chris Turner is the No. 3 quarterback. Running back Keon Lattimore, tight end Jason Goode, tight end Dan Gronkowski, and tackle Scott Burley on offense and end Mack Frost and linebackers Moise Fokou and Erin Henderson on defensive were singled out for their work during fall camp. Terp receiver Darrius Hayward-Bey has been struggling with a foot injury in camp. Maryland has tune ups against Villanova and FIU before facing West Virginia.

Villanova quarterback Antwon Young is athletic enough to cause Maryland some problems.

WAKE FOREST AT BOSTON COLLEGE: The Demon Deacons have 15 redshirt juniors and fifth year seniors, but they have six new starters on defense. Wake beat BC last year, which was possibility the difference in the Atlantic Division standings. On defense, the Deacons are quick enough to frustrate the BC zone- blocking scheme. This is a matchup between two of the best quarterbacks—Matt Ryan of BC and Riley Skinner of Wake-- in the ACC.

BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles have a new blocking scheme. The tailbacks L. V. Whitworth (will play despite a tender hamstring) and Andre Callender are coming off injuries and the fullbacks have no experience. The loss of Bryan Toal at linebacker and running back is big. Defensively, the front is stout. In the secondary, the coaches love Jamie Silva and DeJuan Tribble.

MARSHALL AT MIAMI: Coach Randy Shannon chose junior quarterback Kirby Freeman over senior Kyle Wright for the starting quarterback job. Coach Randy Shannon said Wright would probably not play against Marshall. Receiver Sam Shields has been suspended for the opener due to a violation of team rules. Khalil Jones will replace him. Richard Gordon, a 260- pound tight end, will return kicks for the Canes. He was one of the surprise players during camp. Linebacker Colin McCarthy has been quietly compared to former great Dan Morgan. Freshman defensive back DeMarcus VanDyke has one been another surprise player. Defensive tackle Antonio Dixon has been one of the biggest disappointments. Defensive end Calais Campbell has 10.5 sacks. Daniel Stubbs has the record of 17 set in 1986. Canesport.com predicts the Canes to post a 10-3 record. On a hot day, look for Javarris James and Graig Cooper to control the game.

Marshall Coach Mark Synder has an opportunity to make a statement against a name team. Quarterback Bernie Moss has two years of experience under his belt. The Marshall offensive line led by center Doug Legursky is solid.

JAMES MADISON AT NORTH CAROLINA: The Tar Heels start two new players on the left side of the line, but the return of center Scott Lenahan and experienced player Aaron Stahl and Kyle Jolly helps. The combination of receiver Hakeem Nicks and quarterback T J Yates need to hook up early.

JMU is balanced enough on offense to give UNC problems with quarterback Rodney Landers. They have enough talent to take the game to the fourth quarter.

UCF AT N. C. STATE: Harrison Beck, a Nebraska transfer, Daniel Evans, the incumbent, Justin Burke were all competing for the starting quarterback job. Evans won the job. This is a game that the Wolfpack doesn’t want to lose before facing BC next week. It will be important for State to control the ball with tailbacks Toney Baker and Andre Brown to keep Kevin Smith off the field. Defensive tackle DeMario Pressley has a sprained elbow and is iffy for the game.

UCF has 19 starters returning including senior quarterback Kyle Israel. Junior tailback Kevin Smith has rushed for more than 2,000 the past two seasons. The offensive line and secondary return virtually intact. Receiver Rocky Ross will be important in this game if the UCF running game dominates. However, the Golden Knights must improve their turnover ratio, which went from No. 12 in 2005 to No. 97 in 2006. UCF was also No. 106 in total defense.

VIRGINIA AT WYOMING: The Cavs need a big win on the road if they want to have a winning season. Cav quarterback Jameel Sewell could put a lot of pressure on the Wyoming defense. Virginia’s defensive line led by end Chris Long could overwhelm the Wyoming line and put pressure on Cowboy quarterback Karsten Sween. Still, the high altitude could affect Virginia. Wyoming has two deep threats in Hoost Marsh and Michael Ford.

EAST CAROLINA AT VIRGINIA TECH: In the Hokies final scrimmage last Friday, quarterback Sean Glennon, who was 10- of- 17 for 122 yards, threw a touchdown pass to receiver Eddie Royal, who caught three passes for 52 yards. Glennon’s improvement is a key for the team. He proved in camp that he could throw the deep ball. Tyrod Taylor, the No. 2 quarterback, played a lot against the No. 1 defense. Starting tailback Brandon Ore ran four times for 35 yards. Linebacker Xavier Adibi led the defense with nine tackles and linebacker Vince Hall added five more tackles. Cornerback Brandon Flowers had six tackles and a sack.

East Carolina was in a bowl game last year. Defensive end Marcus Hands is capable of pressuring Glennon. ECU linebacker Quentin Cotton is one of the Pirates best defender. Quarterback Robert Kass has been suspended for a charge of driving while impaired.

BRENT BEAIRD IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR MYCLAYSUN IN ORANGE PARK, FLA. HE ALSO WRITES FOR RIVALS.COM, SAMSPORTSLINE.COM AND GATOR BAIT MAGAZINE. HE CAN BE HEARD ON SPORTS RADIO 1010 XL.