SEC Preview, week 1: North Carolina and LSU headline opening weekend

story by Chris Rushing, College Sports Matchups (CSM is a content partner with The City Wire)
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Editor’s note: Rankings are from the ESPN/USA Today coach’s poll.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s here and couldn’t get here fast enough. We’re ready to get going with the first forecast of the 2010 college football season, and it’ll start in earnest with a look at the prime-time Saturday night tussle in the Georgia Dome.

The biggest game in the SEC is one in which early bragging rights will be on the line against the most balanced Atlantic Coast Conference in recent memory. Saturday night, No. 16 LSU will face 18th-ranked North Carolina in the third annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic. The neutral site contest featured an opportunity for LSU signal caller Jordan Jefferson to prove he has grown past all the growing pains that have hindered the junior in his starts away from Tiger Stadium the past two years.

The task appears less daunting for Les Miles and Co. than it did a month ago. During the summer, this was billed as Butch Davis’ squad’s coming out party, especially for his much-ballyhooed defense. Then, AgentGate reared its ugly head during the conference media days sessions.

Suddenly, UNC was one of the key teams incriminated by the national media and has been the subject of a continuous NCAA investigation since the early days of August. Reports from North Carolina’s preseason camp were not favorable for Tar Heel supporters as a majority of the starting defense saw time on the scout team as Davis began intense prep work for the Bayou Bengals last week. Wednesday, it was announced that star defensive tackle Marvin Austin had been suspended indefinitely and will miss Saturday night’s showdown.

Davis has recruited incredibly well during his four-plus years in Chapel Hill, and he has one of the deepest depth charts defensively in the ACC. However, if you take away stars like Austin, that two-deep suddenly loses a majority of its luster. LSU has athletes all across the board, but critics have begun to question Miles’ ability to manage the top-ranked recruiting classes his staff has accumulated in Baton Rouge.

If this game is close and comes down to a late drive by the Tigers, it will not bring back warm and fuzzy feelings of Miles’ earlier clock mismanagement issues. The College Football GameDay crew will be in Hotlanta where Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit will call the action starting at 7 p.m. CST on ABC.

Call it now: LSU 24, North Carolina 14

• Miami (OH) at No. 3 Florida (Gainesville, Fla., 12 p.m. EST, ESPN)
The Gators kick off the 2010 season at high noon against Miami (OH) in the Swamp. Florida will begin a new era filled with plenty of new faces on the field and on Urban Meyer’s coaching staff. John Brantley’s first start shouldn’t be much of a test and will help continue building timing bonds with the UF receiving corps.

Call it now: Florida 48, Miami (OH) 7

• Louisiana-Lafayette at No. 21 Georgia (Athens, Ga., 12:21 p.m. EST, SEC Network)
Mark Richt’s 10th season begins with a cupcake from the Bayou as the Ragin’ Cajuns visit Samford Stadium Saturday morning. Dave Neal and Andre Ware will call the action from Athens to a regionally televised audience as redshirt freshman Aaron Murray starts his UGA career with 10 returning starters surrounding him on Mike Bobo’s offense.
The Bulldogs will debut a 3-4 scheme on defense under new coordinator Todd Graham. The transition will not be easy from the 4-3 base employed by former defensive play-caller Willie Martinez, but the warts and growing pains won’t show Saturday afternoon.

Call it now: Georgia 31, ULL 10

• Jacksonville State at Ole Miss (Oxford, Miss., 2:30 p.m. CST, CSS)
The Rebels enter week one with several question marks surrounding the team as Jeremiah Masoli learned Tuesday that his waiver request to play the 2010 season without having to sit a year was denied by the NCAA. Masoli had gradually taken more snaps with the first string offense at Rebel practices, so this comes as a blow to Ole Miss’ chances for the year. Still, no Masoli should not prove to be an issue for Houston Nutt and Co. against Jacksonville State in the UM home opener.

Nutt should have no problems entrusting this contest to Nathan Stanley at QB1, and Brandon Bolden will get his season off to a good start with plenty of totes in the first half against the Gamecocks. I don’t think this game will be close at any point, with or without Masoli’s debut.

Call it now: Ole Miss 38, Jacksonville State 3

• Kentucky at Louisville (Louisville, Ky., 3:30 p.m. EST, ABC)
This could be one of the most intriguing games of the day in college football. The debuts of both Charlie Strong and Joker Phillips combined into a regionally televised contest will have the attention of quite a few eyes outside the Bluegrass State. The SEC fans will look to see how far Mike Hartline has come from his injury sustained last October, while Louisville still has a big trip to Oregon State later this month.

Phillips took his sweet time to name Hartline this weekend’s starter, but that may say more about the quality competition behind Hartline at UK quarterback than it does about Hartline’s inability to separate himself from Ryan Massakowski and Morgan Newton. Kentucky has more weapons right now than Louisville, but don’t be surprised to see Strong coach up his squad for this rivalry game to give UL fans reason for optimism throughout a tough first season.

Call it now: Kentucky 21, Louisville 17

• UT-Martin at Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn., 6 p.m. EST, PPV)
Derek Dooley’s first game as the Tennessee football head coach will come without much fanfare and most likely in front of a sparse crowd at recently renovated Neyland Stadium. Sure, the die-hards will attend and check out the upgrades given to the façade of the structure, but there is a reason this game is on PPV.

The Vols have been hit hard by injuries during preseason camp, and the matchup with the Skyhawks will give Dooley and his staff a chance to get plenty of rest for the rest of his first string since these breaks won’t come again anytime soon.

Call it now: Tennessee 28, UT-Martin 3

• Tennessee Tech at No. 19 Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark., 6 p.m. CST, PPV)
One of the most anticipated seasons in Arkansas football history will get off to a great start Saturday night, and the only real question surrounding this contest is which record(s) will Ryan Mallett own once the final gun sounds in Razorback Stadium?

The questions surrounding Arkansas’ defense will remain unanswered (for the most part) heading into week two, but the Hogs will own a 1-0 mark this time next week.

Call it now: Arkansas 52, Tennessee Tech 14

• San Jose State at No. 1 Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Ala., 6 p.m., PPV)
The Spartans finished up a successful 9-4 season in 2008 with a dismal 2-10 campaign in 2009. The reward for such a performance? A new coach (Mike MacIntyre) and a date with the defending national champions (Alabama).

The Tide has plenty of unanswered inquiries surrounding the youth and inexperience littering the defensive side of the ball, but, despite reported threats from SJSU kicker Harrison Waide that the Spartans will “knock (Bama) around), this game will not be close. At any point.

Call it now: Alabama 42, San Jose State 10

• Arkansas State at No. 23 Auburn (Auburn, Ala., 6 p.m. CST, FoxSportsSouth)
Year two of the Gene Chizik Era begins Saturday under the lights in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Making his first rounds as the starting signal caller will be Auburn’s Cam Newton. Chizik has hinted that plenty of the 30 newcomers that have entered AU for the 2010 season will get playing time against the Red Wolves.

The good news for ASU fans? The school is receiving a $1 million payday for the trip to the Plains.

Call it now: Auburn 48, Arkansas State 24

• Memphis at Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss., 6 p.m., ESPNU)
Larry Porter’s first game as the Memphis head coach will come against a team he helped beat five times in the past five seasons during his days as an assistant at LSU. Dan Mullen has spirits soaring in Starkville, and the Bulldogs are oozing with confidence heading into one of the most anticipated openers in MSU’s recent history.

Mullen recently promised a group of incoming freshmen during a pep rally that they’d be able to say they attended four-straight bowl games during their time as an MSU student. To achieve this lofty goal, it starts with a win over Memphis while not showing much to Auburn in the process.

Call it now: Mississippi State 30, Memphis 6

• Northwestern at Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn., 6:30 p.m. CST, CSS)
Robbie Caldwell will make his unanticipated head coaching maiden voyage Saturday night against the pesky Wildcats of Northwestern. Although under different circumstances, Northwestern skipper Pat Fitzgerald can relate to being thrown into the fire on a job without a spring practice to get acclimated to the promotion.

The good news is that Fitzgerald has thrived in Evanston and therein lies hope for the personable Caldwell. This season, however, will be extremely difficult as Northwestern represents one of three Bowl Championship Series opponents lining the non-conference docket for Vandy. And, the Wildcats are pretty good having reached two-straight bowl trips.

Call it now: Northwestern 31, Vanderbilt 17