COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Both No. 11 Washington State and No. 8 Ohio State come into the year with high expectations, but both are still fairly untested. We'll find out about them Saturday in The Horseshoe.

The thing to watch is the Washington State offense. Jason Gesser is a playmaker. He's a little undersized at just 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, but he gets the ball downfield, never gets rattled and simply makes plays

Upset Specials

No. 25 Penn State over No. 7 Nebraska It will be a physical game against two traditional powerhouses. Watch the battle in the trenches, but more importantly, watch Husker QB Jammal Lord. Until Nebraska proves it has some threat in the passing game, it will be tough for it to have a real efficient night. Being one-dimensional isn't going to get it done in Happy Valley. It will be a close game throughout with Penn State kicking a field goal to win it. Cal at No. 15 Michigan State OK, we're calling this an Upset Alert. In years past, Michigan State would overlook a team like Cal. It better not do that Saturday. First-year Cal coach Jeff Tedford has the Bears putting up big points and QB Kyle Boller may finally be living up to his potential. Not saying Cal is going to win this game, but Michigan State better be on alert.

The Cougars have great receivers in Mike Bush, Devard Darling and Jerome Riley. Bush and Darling are big receivers -- Bush is 6-6 and Darling is 6-3 -- and Riley might be Washington State's best at getting yards after the catch. Riley, however, is nursing a hamstring injury and will be a game time decision and that would hurt if he couldn't play.

What might hurt the Cougars the most, however, is the fact Jermaine Green, knee, and Jonathan Smith, ankle, are slowed by injuries. While John Tippins has started both WSU games so far this season, he doesn't have the speed of Green and Smith. This puts more pressure on Gesser and the passing game.

Ohio State has a good defensive front -- as good as it's had since 1996. It's athletic and deep (the Buckeyes rotate eight guys). Will Smith and Darrion Scott are two to watch in the pass rush. Ohio State will throw a ton of zone blitz schemes at the Cougars to confuse Gesser. The Buckeyes simply want to pressure Gesser and get him out of his rhythm.

Of course everyone will key on Ohio State's running game. Maurice Clarett is off to a great start, averaging 120 yards per game, but Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross are solid backs as well and give the Buckeyes great depth. The O-line has had two solid performances against inferior opponents and many are viewing this as a team strength, but watch the matchup between the Washington State D-line and the Buckeyes offensive line. Can the Buckeyes open holes for Clarett and company as well as protect Craig Krenzel when he drops back to pass. The Cougars defensive ends -- D.D. Acholonu, Isaac Brown and Fred Shavies -- are the best Ohio State will see this season.

Watch for Washington State to bring nine guys to the line of scrimmage to stop Ohio State's running game and practically beg the Buckeyes to throw and try to beat the Cougars man-to-man coverage. It will all come down to whether or not Krenzel have enough time to throw and whether or not the Buckeyes' receivers can beat the Cougar coverage.

The crowd in Columbus will be fired up. It will be loud. This is a huge game. Will someone on Washington State be able to provide the leadership to keep the Cougars calm and focused?

Tune into GameDay Saturday for the pick.

No. 6 Michigan at No. 21 Notre Dame
Notre Dame has been able to find ways to win its first two games thanks to its defense and special teams. They have three defensive TDs and two special teams scores in two games. The Irish are No. 8 in the country with a plus-3 turnover margin. But I've said it before and I'll say it again -- someone else besides Carlyle Holliday has to make plays on offense. I'll tell you right now, Notre Dame will not be able to run the ball against Michigan. The Irish will have to throw it to move it. But that's going to be difficult as well. The Michigan defense is much improved from the previous two or three years. They now have lockdown corners in Marlin Jackson and Markus Curry. This allows the front to be more creative when defending the run or rushing the passer. I expect the Michigan defense to play very well.

While Michigan offensive coordinator Terry Malone is still establishing a more physical attitude, the Wolverines still will be aggressive. The only time Michigan gets in trouble is when it's predictable pounding the ball. When it opens the playbook, it's dangerous. QB John Navarre is playing with more confidence. He had a career-best 268 yards in the opening win over Washington and threw a school-record-tying four TDs in last week's win over western Michigan. Chris Perry, B.J. Askew and David Underwood are all good backs and the Wolverines line is a very physical group. One are to watch: How will Notre Dame's Vontrez Duff (6-1, 192) and Shane Walton (5-11, 185) deal with Michigan's pair of 6-3 receivers Braylon Edwards and Tyrece Butler? Michigan will look to take advantage of the size mismatch.

I see this game going back and forth early with the crowd going wild, but in the end, expect a very methodical, workman-like 24-10 Michigan victory.

No. 7 Nebraska at No. 25 Penn State
Another game that will answer a lot of questions. Penn State is trying to show Joe Paterno has the program back to respectability. Nebraska is trying to silence the rumors of its decent from the elite in college football. There's a lot at stake here for both teams.

Nebraska is going to try to overpower Penn State's young defense. Penn State's linebackers and safeties will be tested against the Huskers option and power running game. The key against the option is to play assignment football, but not lose aggressiveness. When facing Nebraska, the Nittany Lions can forget about defending the passing game and instead focus on stopping QB Jammal Lord and I-back Dahrran Diedrick from running down their throats.

This will be a war in the trenches. Nebraska is always physical but Penn State feels its strength is in its D-line. We'll find out it its right soon enough. What's big is if the Huskers O-line can get to the second level -- knock the lineman out and get to the LBs. That's when the Huskers will make big plays.

Penn State has upgraded athletically. It's offensive line is much improved and could be its best since 1995. Zack Mills is an athletic QB and tailback Larry Johnson is poised to have a great year. Nebraska has struggled against teams with great speed lately -- see Colorado and Miami losses last year -- and it will be interesting to see if they can contain Mills, Johnson and the quicker Nittany Lion offense.

No. 5 Florida State at Maryland
Although FSU is 2-0 and ranked No. 5 in the country, Bobby Bowden and the offensive staff feels it can become a much better offensive team, in particular the play of QB Chris Rix. Rix has not played at the level the coaching staff expected from him in the first two games. He's been locking on primary receivers and taking off running instead of showing patience in the pocket. These are problems that plagued him early in the season last year. The sophomore needs to get much better.

But the Seminoles offense has been moving the ball thanks to Greg Jones. When was the last time you saw the 'Noles line up in the I-formation and hand off to a tailback consistently? But that's what they're doing now. Jones had a career-high 173 yards against Virginia last week and was the first back to top the 170-yard mark since Warrick Dunn did it in 1996. He also has a streak of four 100-yard games, dating back to last season. All total, the 'Noles have 636 yards in two games. This is an offense in transition . In the past, FSU relied on big plays and scored quickly. Until Rix is able to find himself, the 'Noles will rely on Jones. If teams sit back to prevent the big plays, FSU will run the ball with what could be the best O-line its ever had.

Ralph Friedgen's offenses have always found ways to move the ball. Even when he was at Georgia Tech, his schemes knew how to move the ball, but his personnel will not be able to deliver against the 'Noles' defense. Watch for Greg Jones to have a big night running the ball and FSU to win by three TDs.

No. 16 USC at No. 19 Colorado
With Colorado QB Craig Ochs out for the next two games with a concussion -- his third in a year -- Robert Hodge will be asked to step up. Hodge is an option guy with great speed, a strong arm, but only 10 career passing attempts at Colorado. With Ochs out, Colorado will run Chris Brown all day. The Buffs will mix in some option and play-action where Hodge throws on the run, but mostly, they will run the ball at a USC defense that has struggled in the past against a good running game (USC was ranked 59th against the run last year and Auburn's Cadillac Williams had nearly 100 yards in the first half against the Trojans before being slowed by an injury).

USC feels its more balanced offensively. It's healthy at tailback with Sulton McCullough and Malaefou MacKenzie, but USC will find it tough to run against Colorado's front seven, led by MLB Sean Tufts. When USC gets one-dimensional, it struggles. Carson Palmer gets in trouble when he throws over 30 times a game.

Despite the loss of Ochs, Colorado's running game and run defense will lead the Biffs to a win.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst on ESPN College GameDay.