Shakeout Saturday

ONLY MOMENTS after sixth-ranked LSU had finished a 45--3 pounding of overmatched Arizona last Saturday, quarterback JaMarcus Russell was asked how soon the Tigers would begin thinking about their trip to face No. 3 Auburn this weekend. He issued a one-word answer: "Now."

Russell was eager to prepare for the big game, but if he was also in a hurry to put Saturday in his rearview mirror and look ahead seven days, he wasn't the only one. With the notable exception of the Ohio State -- Texas game, last weekend was mostly a yawner, littered with 14 I-A versus I-AA meetings and assorted other mismatches. But this Saturday holds far more promise, with no fewer than six games between highly ranked opponents that will significantly strengthen some national championship aspirations and perhaps end others. In fact, Week 3 may be remembered as the point at which the season began to take shape.

LSU's trip to Auburn pits against each other two sets of Tigers that have been equally impressive and equally untested. Auburn handled Washington State (40--14) and Mississippi State (34--0) with ease, and LSU's win over Arizona was the Tigers' second straight 45--3 laugher. (They beat Louisiana-Lafayette in their opener.) Both teams recognize the high stakes--the winner has represented the West Division in the SEC championship game in each of the last three years.

Despite its loss on Saturday, Mississippi State limited Kenny Irons , Auburn's tailback and dark-horse Heisman candidate, to 69 yards on 21 carries. LSU may want to borrow the Bulldogs' defensive game plan, because Irons ripped the Tigers for 218 yards in Baton Rouge last season. Although LSU won, 20--17 in overtime, the Bayou Bengals probably won't pull off a road victory if their defense allows Irons to have another big game.

In the SEC East, seventh-ranked Florida visits No. 13 Tennessee in a game that should confirm which of the Volunteers' first two games was an aberration--their 35--18 demolition of then ninth-ranked California , or the 31--30 victory over Air Force on Saturday in which Tennessee had to stop a late two-point conversion to preserve the win. "Consistency is one of the things we're looking for," said Vols coach Phillip Fulmer . "Obviously we haven't quite found it yet."

Something has to give when defense-minded Miami travels to explosive Louisville . The national title hopes of the No. 17 Hurricanes will be all but gone if they lose to the Cardinals , and if his team does so with the kind of anemic offense it showed in a 13--10 loss to Florida State on Sept. 4 (two yards rushing and eight first downs), coach Larry Coker will be feeling a different kind of heat in South Florida .

Louisville , meanwhile, is still recovering from a loss of another kind--the season-ending broken leg that star running back Michael Bush suffered in the opener. Without Bush , the offense will depend heavily on quarterback Brian Brohm and Bush 's two talented replacements, Kolby Smith and George Stripling. That's more than enough firepower to overwhelm most defenses, but the Hurricanes, who limited Florida State to 176 total yards, aren't most defenses. If the No. 12 Cardinals survive Miami , their chances for an undefeated season will increase dramatically. A Nov. 2 home game against No. 5 West Virginia would be the only major obstacle remaining on Louisville 's schedule.

Second-ranked Notre Dame and No. 11 Michigan have tougher schedules awaiting them, which makes their matchup in South Bend all the more important. After starting sluggishly with a 14--10 win over Georgia Tech , the Fighting Irish played more like a title contender last Saturday, beating Penn State 41--17. Notre Dame will be by far the biggest challenge to date for the Wolverines, who have handled Vanderbilt and Central Michigan easily. Michigan will have a decent chance for an upset if its ground game, which has averaged 249 yards in the first two games led by running back Mike Hart, can control the ball and keep Notre Dame's dangerous offense off the field. "I think we're a good team," Hart said, "but come to Notre Dame and you're going to find out how good you really are. They have a better idea of how good they are than we do." The Wolverines will find out fast how good they are: Wisconsin awaits in two weeks, Penn State and Iowa are on the October schedule, and they close with a road game against Ohio State .

Number 19 Nebraska is in the same position as Michigan . After romps at home over Louisiana Tech and Division I-AA Nicholls State , the Cornhuskers hit the road to face No. 4 USC . And in another matchup between undefeated Pac-10 and Big 12 teams, 18th-ranked Oregon plays host to No. 15 Oklahoma . Nonconference wins against quality opponents are crucial for Oregon and USC (the Trojans and the Irish meet on Nov. 25 in L.A. ), since the woeful bottom half of the Pac-10 won't do much for either team's strength of schedule.

"Everyone knows how good USC is," Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said after the Cornhuskers thumped a Nicholls State team that attempted only three passes in a 56--7 loss. "The key for our kids was not to look ahead to [ USC ] until after we had handled the first two games. Now they can look ahead all they want." So, thankfully, can the rest of us.