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TENNESSEE at FLORIDA

Florida is riding high heading into this week, and QB Chris Leak is starting to land on some early Heisman Trophy lists. The only problem with that is Florida has played Wyoming and Louisiana Tech, which is not exactly Murderer's Row. Tennessee came out flat in week one and almost fell to lowly UAB, and is now mired in the middle of a quarterback controversy that seems to have no end. Instead of Erik Ainge versus Brent Schaeffer, it's Ainge versus Rick Clausen, an experienced senior who, alas, has a limited skill set. Clausen will get the start in this one, but all eyes will be on both teams' secondaries. Florida's unit is statistically superior, but hasn't played stiff competition. Tennessee's defensive backfield has certainly developed consistency over the past two years -- it's been consistently bad. While it's usually tough for the visiting team to win in this series, look for Tennessee to come out on top in this one, as Florida is still learning how to use its wings under the tutelage of the new coaching staff.

Tennessee     24
Florida          17

ALABAMA at SOUTH CAROLINA

 
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KENTUCKY at INDIANA

This looked like a loss for Kentucky in the preseason, but as uneven as Kentucky has looked in the early going, Indiana has looked just plain bad. The Hoosiers are 2-0, but the two wins have been close ones over MAC non-factor Central Michigan and Division I-AA Nicholls State. If Kentucky can stop the Hoosiers' passing attack, which is approaching dangerous status under new head coach Terry Hoeppner, the speed of the Wildcats may be too much to overcome for the Hoosiers. Look for Kentucky to run the ball well against Indiana, something the Wildcats figure to do against very few opponents in 2005.

Kentucky       28
Indiana         24

LOUISIANA-MONROE at GEORGIA

Louisiana-Monroe has lost twice, once in a shutout to Wyoming and also in its opener to Northwestern State. That's not Northwestern of Big 10 fame, that's Northwestern State of Division-IAA. Georgia, meanwhile, had their sails deflated last week by a pesky South Carolina team. The Bulldogs will be looking to take out some frustrations on Louisiana-Monroe. The Indians will be powerless to stop them.

Georgia        52
La.-Monroe     7

MISSISSIPPI at VANDERBILT

Ole Miss won its opener at Memphis, but did so against a rebuilding team whose starting quarterback was hurt early in the game. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is tied for the SEC East lead after two weeks and garnered a vote in this week's top 25 poll, sending trivia hounds scrambling to answer those "The last time..." questions. Ole Miss' defense was tough against Memphis, and Vanderbilt will need to improve over its efforts against Wake Forest and Arkansas if the Commodores are to pull off another upset here. On the flip side, Ole Miss' offense looks decidedly like a work in progress. The Commodores will have home field advantage, and they also are beginning to corner the market on fourth quarter play. That's a big factor against an Ole Miss team that is still getting accustomed to new offensive and defensive systems. Could Vandy be 3-0 after this week? They just might.

Vanderbilt     24
Ole Miss         21

ARKANSAS at SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

This is one of those games that, if you're an Arkansas hater, you love to see played. Arkansas struggled a little with SW Missouri State in week one, then got embarrassed against Vanderbilt. Southern Cal, meanwhile, toyed with Hawaii for a little while before putting the Rainbow Warriors to sleep, 63-17. But this game will be a tougher challenge for the Trojans, if for no other reason than Arkansas comes into this game leading the country in rushing offense. With Southern Cal's rushing defense yielding more yards on the ground to Hawaii than expected, the potential exists for Arkansas to beat the spread -- but not much more than that. Even doing that would be considered an upset.

Southern Cal 47
Arkansas       17

BALL STATE at AUBURN

So long as Auburn doesn't turn the ball over on every other possession -- which is a possibility, given Auburn's inability to hold onto the ball and Ball State's ability to create turnovers so far in 2005 -- the Tigers should win this game. Given that Ball State is competent in no other facet of the game, Auburn is virtually assured of a win. The most interesting part of this game will be trying to guess which running backs Auburn settles on for the remainder of the year.

Auburn            52
Ball State       10

MISSISSIPPI STATE vs. TULANE (Shreveport, La.)

This game has been moved to the Independence Bowl and the contest will be tied to a telethon to support victims of Hurricane Katrina. This will be Tulane's first game of the year, and if Southern Miss' first game against Alabama was any indication, Tulane will be rusty. MSU is 1-1, beating Murray State in the opener and showing progress, but falling completely back into their old ways against Auburn last week and getting shut out. Things are shaping up for the Bulldogs as they did in 2004, when MSU had a decent pass defense, an acceptable rushing offense, and not much else. Tulane is talented enough to beat Mississippi State, but one has to wonder where Tulane's heads will be. Look for the experience MSU has so far in 2005 to play a major role in the outcome.

Mississippi St.        24
Tulane                        20

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