This weekend features one of college football's marquee games of the year, a possible Rose Bowl preview and a highly emotional game in Boulder, Colo., as Rick Neuheisel returns with the Washington Huskies.

Florida at Tennessee

	Cedric Wilson needs to have a big day for the Vols to knock off No. 4 Florida.

You know there will be trash talking in this one. There always is. Florida has won six of the last seven, and they say the Vols know they can't beat the Gators. Alex Brown called the '98 loss to the Vols a fluke caused by five turnovers. He says, "They hate us. We hate them." Florida's Thad Bullard says the Vols are "arrogant." Florida DT Gerard Warren warns the Gators will "demolish" Vol QB A.J. Suggs. Tennessee LB Anthony Sessions says Florida can't block him. The trash talk on the field might be as entertaining as the game itself.

This is one of the marquee games of the year. Florida and Tennessee are so similar it's scary. Both teams bring outstanding defenses, and both have shaky quarterback situations. Expect a defensive struggle with lots of hard hitting. Remember how Alex Brown went off last year in this game (five sacks and a pick)? It was, perhaps, the most outstanding performance by a defensive lineman last year. This time he's facing an inexperienced Tennessee offensive line, and expect the Volunteers to assign a tight end or back to help on Brown. That should open things up inside for Warren, who simply can't be blocked by one man.

Because of the young line and the inexperience of Suggs, RB Travis Henry will have to carry the load, which will be tough. Wide receiver Cedric Wilson will have to create a couple of "explosion plays" -- plays more than 20 yards -- if Tennessee is going to move the ball. On the other hand, Florida will have issues with the Tennessee defense. Steve Spurrier will likely play two or three quarterbacks, which means Spurrier isn't satisfied with either Jesse Palmer, Rex Grossman or Brock Berlin. We'll see more of Grossman because he has a quicker release and the quarterback can't hold the ball in this game.

Watch Tennessee linebackers Eric Westmoreland and Anthony Sessions. They lead a very fast defense. Sessions will "look for seams" in the line so he can pressure the QB. Expect each team to take shots at big plays early in the game so they can take control and then turn the game over to their defense. This game is too close to call.

Michigan at UCLA
One of the best matchups of the week occurs in Pasadena. Watch UCLA's Freddie Mitchel and Michigan WR David Terrell this weekend. Mitchell outplayed Alabama's Freddie Milons in UCLA's upset, and is looking to do the same this week. Mitchell might be playing better than any receiver in the country right now. He likes the attention of the big games and sees the matchup with Terrell as "a personal challenge."

This game will also be a challenge for Michigan QB John Navarre. He has had two games to get comfortable (two woodshed games against Bowling Green and Rice), but now he'll get the real deal. Expect UCLA to throw a variety of coverages and blitzes (including zone blitzes) at Navarre. UCLA would like to force Navarre to audible a lot at the line of scrimmage, thinking his inexperience will get the Wolverines into a bad play. Young players (particularly quarterbacks) don't see the field very well. It's like looking through a straw. The more you play, the more your vision broadens.

Michigan will run A-Train (Anthony Thomas), but will also look to Terrell for some shots deep, which are easy passes to throw and easy reads to make. Navarre could have problems if he throws over the middle because UCLA can disguise coverages and confuse him. UCLA will need another big game from DeShaun Foster. If the Bruins get it, expect a lot of folks to start talking about Foster as a Heisman guy. He showed his running skills against Alabama, but he might show his receiving skills in this game.

UCLA is unsettled at quarterback. After performing well against Alabama in place of the injured Cory Paus, Ryan McCann frustrated the coaching staff with poor decisions against Fresno State. That was a continuation of what led him to lose the job to Paus in the first place. As a result, Bob Toledo replaced him with Scott McEwan. Both might play Saturday. This game will be more physical than you think. The UCLA defense will confuse Navarre, and will be the difference in UCLA's win. There could be a rematch on Jan. 1.

Washington at Colorado
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, Gary Barnett's Colorado Buffaloes were 2-0 and facing Rick Neuheisel's winless Huskies in Seattle. It was a must win for Neuheisel because the newest $1 million coach could not afford to open 0-3. A year later, Neuheisel takes 2-0 Washington into his old stomping ground to face an 0-2 but dangerous Colorado team. And since it's Neuheisel's first return since leaving Colorado for Washington, the old feud with Barnett should get stirred up a little. But the off-the-field stuff should have little impact on the game.

Neuheisel's former players will be more motivated to beat him because they're 0-2 than because they want a pound of flesh for him leaving. And Washington is playing better than many thought possible. The Huskies' win over Miami was truly impressive. Washington is doing a great job on offense. The key player has been TE Jerramy Stevens, arguably the best in college football.

After losing its top two receivers and best running back before the season, Washington lacked fire power -- or so we thought. Stevens has stepped up and picked up the slack. Offensive coordinator Keith Gilbertson has devised ways to get Stevens in mismatches with linebackers, which has taken pressure off Marques Tuiasosopo, who is the key to their offense right now.

Colorado should avoid having linebackers cover Stevens down the field. Look for Colorado to get the athletic Jashon Sykes on Stevens from time to time. As for Colorado, Bobby Pesavento will start at QB. He needs to complete a couple of long passes to take the pressure off sensational freshman running back Marcus Houston. Houston is a slashing rusher who can break tackles and make people miss him. He glides, but is powerful. Washington will load up on the run until Pesavento proves that he can hurt the Huskies with long passes.

LSU at Auburn
Rudi Johnson has added a tremendous weapon to Auburn's offense. He makes yardage on the ground even when the offensive line does not create tremendous holes. But the key to this game will be LSU's quarterback play. The celebrated Josh Booty will likely start, but he has been erratic. Rohan Davey did not play at all last week, which caused a stir since many regard him as a better quarterback. Expect Nick Saban to get Davey into the game early in order to avoid dividing the team.

Purdue at Notre Dame
Everyone will focus on Drew Brees for this game because it is his return of serve to Michael Vick in the Heisman race. Vick didn't distance himself from the pack in his first nationally televised game against East Carolina. Brees has been great in his first two games, but no one really noticed because his games have not been televised. This is his opportunity to grab an early lead in the Heisman race.

Notre Dame will not be able to pressure Brees because he gets rid of the ball quickly and uses a lot of three-step drops. Instead, the Irish will have to try and knock passes down and force Brees to settle for short passes to his backs. But Purdue is worried about Notre Dame's quarterback Gary Godsey (the brother of Gerogia Tech's QB George Godsey), who is replacing the injured Arnaz Battle. I spoke to Purdue's defensive coordinator Brock Spack this week. He is worried because he doesn't know if Notre Dame will continue to run the same option-power running offense it has run so far this season, or if the Irish will pass more since that's Godsey's strength. Also, Spack has no tape of Godsey, so even though Purdue recruited Godsey, the Boilermakers don't know much about him.

Expect Notre Dame to throw the ball early (first down mostly, but not over the middle) in order to get Godsey comfortable, and then to run right at Purdue. Notre Dame has been able to run successfully inside against Purdue the last couple of years. Remember, the Boilermakers do not prepare for power running teams in practice (they throw it around like flag football), so it's a different deal when they face a team that can run the ball like Notre Dame. This concerns Spack, who has a young defense (keep your eyes on No. 53, freshman DE Shaun Phillips). Expect Notre Dame to rely on Julius Jones to have a big day.

North Carolina at Florida State

	Ronald Curry and North Carolina hope to snag the fifth ACC bowl spot.

Why pay attention to this game? Because it could be exciting and more difficult for the No. 2 Seminoles than you think. That's because of Tar Heel QB Ronald Curry and FSU's inability to run the ball. Athletic quarterbacks who can make plays down the field have given FSU trouble in the past (see Michael Vick and Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton). Curry appears to have recovered from his Achilles injury last year and is capable of making some plays when Carolina moves him away from the rush.

Florida State has also had trouble running the ball. That's unheard of, especially when you have as fine a running back as FSU has in Travis Minor. The problem is that FSU tends to give up on the run early. The Seminoles try to deliver the knockout punch right away by establishing their wide receivers and QB Chris Weinke. If North Carolina can avoid giving up a couple of big passing plays early, the Tar Heels could make this a tough game.

Southern Miss vs. Alabama
If Southern Miss had generated any offense at all, the Golden Eagles might have knocked off Tennessee a couple weeks ago. QB Jeff Kelly will have to prove to the Crimson Tide that he can beat them with his arm. 'Bama has been vulnerable on defense (poor secondary play and not as tough at the defensive tackle position as expected), but Kelly doesn't have a big arm. He'll need his skill players to get yards after the catch in order to put some points on the board.

The Southern Miss defense is outstanding, but it can't do it alone. Check out DE Cedric Scott. He taught celebrated Tennessee freshman OL Michael Munoz a couple of lessons about pass protection. Scott had his way with him. Expect Alabama to use a TE or a RB to help keep Scott out of the backfield so new starter Tyler Watts has time to throw. Alabama has to get the ball to Freddie Milons in this game. The offense appears out of sync. Andrew Zow has unfairly shouldered most of the blame and has been benched in favor of Watts. Ahmaad Galloway and Brandon Miree should get more carries in this game as well. Alabama must establish one of these two guys as its go-to running back. If the 'Bama offense consists of Watts scrambling, Southern Miss could pull off the upset.