September 8 in the SEC

Last Saturday, I was very impressed with Derek Dooley's Tennessee Volunteers. Led by Junior QB Tyler Bray, the Knoxvillians defeated NC State 35-21 in a game I expected the Wolfpack to win. This week, the Vols welcome Georgia State to Neyland Stadium. But, there won't be a whole lot of pleasantries. Tennessee wins 56-3.

Meanwhile, the UTEP Miners will travel to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as they take on the Mississippi Rebels. New head coach, Hugh Freeze, faces the tall task of building a contender in Oxford. Fans at the Grove will be greatly disappointed to see the home team drop to 1-1 on the season.

The most boring games this week will be Alabama vs Western Kentucky and Louisiana Monroe at Arkansas. Tide Leader, Nick Saban recently told the media, "We play these games for a reason..." And, there are two great challenges facing the home teams: keeping their players focused and healthy. Tide and Hogs easily crush inferior opponents. Also on the list of snooze-worthy matchups is Kent State at Kentucky. The Wildcats will rebound from a 32-14 loss to Louisville by defeating the Golden Flashes 35-17. Meanwhile, ECU at South Carolina receives honorable mention, as Spurrier's team wins by 3 touchdowns. Also, look for LSU to throttle Washington 31-13, while Vanderbilt gets a victory on the road against Northwestern.

And now, let's discuss the weekend's big 3. Auburn kicks off an intense battle against Dan Mullen's Bulldogs at noon on ESPN. This is a big road test for the 0-1 War Eagle Tigers, but I believe they will prevail. Auburn 24 Mississippi State 17. A few hours later, Texas A&M will make its SEC debut, as the Aggies host the Florida Gators at Kyle Field. But, the fun won't last very long in Texas. Gators win 33-16. Speaking of conference newcomers, Missouri takes on "Old Man" Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs at 7:45 on ESPN2. Although I've got the Dawgs on upset alert, I expect their defense to regain its Junkyard Dog mentality and be a key factor in UGA's victory over Mizzou.