Last modified: Friday, September 19, 2008 10:49 AM PDT Top 10 Preview Capsules No. 3 Georgia (3-0) at Arizona State (2-1), 8 p.m. (ABC) Line: Georgia by 7. Series Record: First meeting. What’s at Stake After dropping from No. 1 in the preseason rankings, the Bulldogs might need a convincing victory to keep their BCS resume clean heading into SEC play. The Sun Devils are looking to rebound after an unthinkable 23-20 overtime loss to UNLV — at home. Key Matchup Georgia’s defensive front against Arizona State’s offensive line. The Bulldogs are averaging two sacks a game, and the Sun Devils’ passing game ranks ninth nationally at 324.7 yards per game. Players to watch Georgia: TB Knowshon Moreno. UNLV ran for 120 yards in the second half against ASU. It’s scary to think what Moreno, who is good for 6.7 yards per carry, might do against the Sun Devils. Arizona State: WR Michael Jones is averaging 4.7 catches and 85.3 yards receiving. As part of a talented group of receivers, he’ll present problems for the Bulldogs’ secondary. Facts & Figures The temperature could be close to 100 degrees at kickoff. ... The Bulldogs will travel 1,916 miles for a rare venture out of the Southeast. Since 1998, they’ve covered a total of 358 miles for nonconference road games. ... Mascot Uga VII is 3-0 since making his debut against Georgia Southern. ... Georgia has outscored its opponents 57-31 after halftime. Arizona State has been outscored 33-31. ... Since 2000, Arizona State is 2-10 against ranked opponents at home. ... Arizona State QB Rudy Carpenter is 23-11 as a starter, the fourth-most wins in school history. ——— No. 4 Florida(2-0) at Tennessee (1-1), 3:30 p.m. (CBS) Line: Florida by 71⁄2. Series Record: Tennessee leads 19-18. Last Meeting: 2007, Florida 59-20. What’s at Stake After struggling offensively against Miami, No. 4 Florida looks to prove it deserves to be ranked among the top five teams in the nation. Tennessee wants to prove its opening loss at UCLA was a fluke. The Vols are also seeking revenge for three straight losses to the Gators, including last year’s rout. Key Matchup Florida QB Tim Tebow vs. Tennessee’s defensive front. Tebow had little problem throwing and running last season, but a stingier Vols D-line has pledged to pressure him more this year. Miami had success keeping Tebow out of sync, and Tennessee will need all the help it can get from its defense to keep the game within reach. Players to watch Florida: WR-RB Percy Harvin says he hasn’t felt this good since the 10th grade thanks to his offseason heel surgery. If Harvin is any bit as dangerous as he was last season against Tennessee — he ran nine times for 75 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 120 yards — that’s bad news for the Vols. Tennessee: RB Arian Foster must have a good run game with some help from backup Montario Hardesty for the Vols to be successful. In three straight losses to Florida, the Vols haven’t gained more than 66 yards on the ground. Facts & Figures The Gators or Vols have represented the East Division a 13 times in the 16 SEC title games. ... In this series, the team with the highest net rushing total has won 16 of the last 18 meetings. ... The three largest turnouts at Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium have been for games against Florida. ——— Buffalo (2-1) at No. 5 Missouri (3-0), 2 p.m. Line: Missouri by 34 Series Record: First meeting. What’s at Stake Missouri tries to complete its second straight perfect nonconference season, taking next week off before beginning Big 12 play at Nebraska on Oct. 4. Buffalo, coached by former Nebraska QB Turner Gill is trying for an upset and a 3-1 start. Key Matchups Missouri’s offense has produced 11 touchdown drives lasting two or fewer minutes. Missouri is averaging 57.7 points and 597 yards total offense. Players to watch Buffalo: WR Naaman Roosevelt caught 35-yard desperation TD pass from QB Drew Willy on final play for 30-28 win over Temple last week. Roosevelt had eight catches for 132 yards. Willy threw for career-high 348 yards vs. Temple and has five TD passes of 34 yards or longer. Missouri: LB Jeff Gettys’ interception return gave the Tigers defense a touchdown in all three games. Facts & Figures Missouri is averaging 8.3 yards per snap, best in the nation. ... Missouri P Jake Harry has been used only eight times. ... Offense had school-record 519 yards passing against Nevada. ... Buffalo is 0-2 against Big 12, the last game against Baylor in 2007, and has one win over a BCS school. ... Buffalo is 0-7 vs. ranked teams, losing 38-3 to Rutgers and 45-24 to Penn State last season. ... Buffalo coach Turner Gill is 9-18 in third season but has won seven of last eight. ... Over-under of 71 points is highest of the week, rivaled only by 691⁄2 for Rice vs. Texas. ——— No. 6 LSU (2-0) at No. 10 Auburn (3-0), 7:45 p.m. (ESPN) Line: LSU by 21⁄2. Series Record: LSU leads 22-19-1. Last Meeting: 2007, LSU 30-24. What’s at Stake The winner takes the early SEC West lead and remains solidly in the national championship hunt. With three division teams ranked in the Top 10, any loss among the contenders could prove costly. Key Matchup Inexperienced quarterbacks against two of the nation’s top defenses. Both defenses are ranked in the Top 10 nationally against the run, which puts pressure on LSU’s Jarrett Lee and Andrew Hatch along with Auburn’s Chris Todd. Todd has also platooned at times with Kodi Burns, who presents a bigger running threat if the coaches decide to use him. Auburn’s passing game ranks 11th in the league, LSU’s is seventh. Players to watch Auburn: Todd has not produced many big plays downfield yet but also has thrown only one interception. What he hasn’t done: Run the ball, which could be important in a game in which first downs and points figure to be hard to come by. LSU: Trindon Holliday has averaged nearly 41 yards on his four punt returns, including a 92-yarder. He has yet to be a factor on offense, but has the sprinter’s speed that makes Auburn coaches wary. With those defenses, a special teams play or two could make the difference. Facts & Figures Either Auburn or LSU has won the SEC West six of the last eight seasons ... Auburn has won nine of its last 12 games against Top 10 opponents, including six straight at home. Coach Les Miles is 7-3 with LSU against Top 10 teams ... Auburn’s defense has allowed opponents to convert just 3-of-46 third-down conversions, easily leading the nation ... Auburn tailback Brad Lester sustained a sprained neck last week but is expected to play. LSU linebacker Darry Beckwith is out with a leg injury. ——— Rice (2-1) at No. 7 Texas (2-0), 7 p.m. (FSN) Line: Texas by 30. Series Record: Texas leads 68-21-1 Last meeting: 2007, Texas 58-14 What’s at Stake A return — if a temporary one — to normalcy after Hurricane Ike. Rice is in Houston, and the nation’s fourth-largest city will be in various stages of recovery for a while. The Longhorns have about two dozen players from Houston and hard-hit southeast Texas, and the storm forced UT to postpone last week’s game against Arkansas until Sept. 27. Key Matchup The Texas running game against Rice’s rush defense. QB Colt McCoy is Texas’ leading rusher after two games as the Longhorns search for a No. 1 tailback. Rice is giving up an average of 145 yards per game. Players to watch Texas: RBs Fozzy Whittaker, Vondrell McGee and Chris Ogbannaya. Texas would like one of them to emerge as the No. 1 option before the Big 12 schedule starts. Whittaker was impressive with 72 yards in win over Texas-El Paso. Rice: QB Chase Clement and WR Jarett Dillard have connected for five TDs in first three games this season and 37 times over their career together. Two more would tie the NCAA record between a quarterback and receiver. Facts & Figures How lopsided is this series between old Southwest Conference rivals? Texas has won 37 of the last 38 meetings, including the last five by an average score of 49-13. ... The Longhorns have surrendered only two touchdowns this season but are stinking it up in the secondary again. They’re allowing an average of 261 passing yards to rank 98th nationally after finishing last year ranked 109th. ——— No. 9 Alabama (3-0) at Arkansas (2-0), 12:30 p.m. (Raycom) Line: Alabama by 91⁄2. Series Record: Alabama leads 10-8. What’s at Stake Alabama is in the top 10, and the memory of last season’s 7-6 record is beginning to fade. The Crimson Tide beat Clemson convincingly to start the season, but the return to glory won’t be complete until Alabama does something in Southeastern Conference play. Arkansas is entering a brutal stretch — consecutive games against Alabama, Texas, Florida and Auburn. An upset here would turn quite a few heads. Key Matchup Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs vs. Alabama nose tackle Terrence Cody. Luigs won the Rimington Award last season as the nation’s top center. He’ll line up across from Mount Cody, the 360-pounder who helped the Crimson Tide stuff the run this season. Players to watch Alabama: QB John Parker Wilson has thrown for seven touchdowns in the last two meetings between these teams, including the winner with 8 seconds remaining in 2007. He faces an inexperienced defense that could be vulnerable to the big play. Arkansas: WR Joe Adams, a freshman who chose the Razorbacks over Southern California, caught seven passes for 89 yards in a win over Louisiana-Monroe. Facts & Figures Saturday is the 50th anniversary of the first game Frank Broyles coached at Arkansas, a 12-0 loss to Baylor. Broyles eventually became the Razorbacks’ athletic director and retired at the end of last year. ... Alabama is in the AP top 10 for the first time since the final poll of the 2005 season. ... Alabama coach Nick Saban has played Arkansas six times, but this will be the first time in Fayetteville. Saban beat the Razorbacks last year at Alabama and went 3-2 against them while coaching LSU. Arkansas plays its home games against LSU in Little Rock.