Capsule previews for this weekend's season-opening college football games. All times Mountain and all rankings Associated Press.

Saturday

Appalachian St. (0-0)

at No. 7 LSU (0-0)

TIME/TV: 9 a.m., ESPN Classic.

FAVORITE: LSU by 25.

COACHES: Jerry Moore (140-67 in 17th season at Appalachian State) and Les Miles (34-6 in fourth year at LSU).

LAST YEAR: Appy State went 13-2. LSU went 12-2.

SERIES HISTORY: First meeting.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Since 2003, Tigers are 31-3 at home and have won 22 straight non-conference and have won 22 straight non-conference games at Death Valley since 2000.

No. 17 Va. Tech (0-0)

vs. East Carolina (0-0)

TIME/TV: 10 a.m., ESPN.

FAVORITE: Va. Tech by 10.

COACHES: Frank Beamer (167-85-2 in 22nd year at Va. Tech) and Skip Holtz (20-17 in fourth year at East Carolina).

LAST YEAR: Virginia Tech went 11-3. East Carolina went 8-5..

SERIES HISTORY: Virginia Tech leads, 9-4.

LAST MEETING: Virginia Tech won, 17-7, last year.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Since 2004, Hokies are 16-2 on road outscoring foes by average score of 28-16.

Syracuse (0-0) at

Northwestern (0-0)

TIME/TV: 10 a.m., ESPN2.

FAVORITE: Northwestern by 12.

COACHES: Greg Robinson (7-28 in fourth year at Syracuse) and Pat Fitzgerald (10-14 in third year at Northwestern).

LAST YEAR: Syracuse was 2-10. Northwestern was 6-6.

SERIES HISTORY: Syracuse leads, 4-3.

LAST MEETING: Syracuse won, 13-12, in 1984.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Under Robinson, Orange are 2-14 on road losing by average score of 29-13.

No. 3 USC (0-0)

at Virginia (0-0)

TIME/TV: 1:30 p.m., ABC.

FAVORITE: Southern Cal by 21.

COACHES: Pete Carroll (76-14 in 8th year at USC) and Al Groh (51-37 in 8th year at Virginia).

LAST YEAR: USC went 11-2. Virginia went 9-4.

SERIES HISTORY: First meeting.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Trojans have won 10 straight openers, including last seven under Carroll by average score of 33-11.

Utah (0-0)

at Michigan (0-0)

TIME/TV: 1:30 p.m., ESPN2

FAVORITE: Michigan by 3½ .

COACHES: Kyle Whittingham (24-14 in fourth year at Utah) and Rich Rodriguez (first year at Michigan).

LAST YEAR: Both schools went 9-4.

SERIES HISTORY: Michigan leads, 1-0.

LAST MEETING: Michigan won, 10-7, in 2002.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Since start of 2005, Wolverines have lost six home games, which equals the number of UM losses at The Big House from 1995-2004.

Oklahoma St. (0-0)

vs. Wash. St. (0-0)

TIME/TV: 1:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net.

FAVORITE: Oklahoma State by 6½.

COACHES: Mike Gundy (18-19 in fourth year at Okla. State) and Paul Wulff (first year at Wash. State)

LAST YEAR: Oklahoma State went 7-6. Washington State went 5-7.

SERIES HISTORY: Washington State leads, 2-0.

LAST MEETING: Washington State won, 9-7, in 1952.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Under Gundy, Cowboys are 5-12 on the road while giving up 40 points per game in the losses.

TCU (0-0) at

New Mexico (0-0)

TIME/TV: 4 p.m., Versus.

FAVORITE: TCU by 7.

COACHES: Gary Patterson (62-25 in 8th year at TCU) and Rocky Long (61-61 in 11th year at New Mexico).

LAST YEAR: TCU went 8-5. New Mexico went 9-4.

SERIES HISTORY: TCU leads, 6-3.

LAST MEETING: TCU won, 37-0, last year.

STAT THAT MATTERS: In winning last three years over Lobos, Horned Frogs have outscored New Mexico by combined 103-49.

Miss. St. (0-0)

at La. Tech (0-0)

TIME/TV: 4:45 p.m., ESPN2.

FAVORITE: Mississippi State by 8½.

COACHES: Sylvester Croom (17-30 in fifth year at Miss. State) and Derek Dooley (5-7 in second year at La. Tech.)

LAST YEAR: Mississippi State went 8-5. Louisiana Tech went 5-7.

SERIES HISTORY: Mississippi State leads, 7-2.

LAST MEETING: La. Tech won, 38-23, in 1996.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Bulldogs' eight wins last year were one fewer than the total in Croom's first three years at MSU.

No. 9 Clemson (0-0) vs.

No. 24 Alabama (0-0)

TIME/TV: 6 p.m. ABC.

FAVORITE: Clemson by 5½ .

COACHES: Tommy Bowden (69-42 in 10th year at Clemson) and Nick Saban (7-6 in second year at Alabama).

LAST YEAR: Clemson went 9-4. Alabama went 7-6.

SERIES HISTORY: Alabama leads, 11-3.

LAST MEETING: Alabama won, 56-0, in 1975.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Tigers closed last season on 6-1 run while Crimson Tide skidded to 1-4 finish.

No. 6 Missouri (0-0)

vs. No. 20 Illinois (0-0)

TIME/TV: 6 p.m., ESPN.

FAVORITE: Missouri by 8.

COACHES: Gary Pinkel (49-37 in 8th year at Missouri) and Ron Zook (13-23 in fourth year at Illinois).

LAST YEAR: Missouri went 12-2. Illinois went 9-4.

SERIES HISTORY: Missouri leads, 14-7.

LAST MEETING: Missouri won, 40-34, last year.

STAT THAT MATTERS: In roaring to school's first 12 win season in 116 years of football, Tigers outscored foes by average score of 39-23 including five wins by 28 points or more.

Washington (0-0) at

No. 21 Oregon (0-0)

TIME/TV: 8 p.m., Fox Sports Net.

FAVORITE: Oregon by 14.

COACHES: Tyrone Willingham (11-25 in fourth year at Washington) and Mike Bellotti (106-52 in 14th year at Oregon).

LAST YEAR: Washington went 4-9. Oregon went 9-4.

SERIES HISTORY: Washington leads, 58-37-5.

LAST MEETING: Oregon won, 55-34, last year.

STAT THAT MATTERS: In beating Huskies for fourth straight time last year (longest streak vs. UW in 76 years), Ducks ground out school-record 465 yards rushing.

Sunday

Kentucky (0-0)

at Louisville (0-0)

TIME/TV: 1:30, ESPN.

FAVORITE: Louisville by 4.

COACHES: Rich Brooks (25-35 in 6th year at Kentucky) and Steve Kragthorpe (6-6 in second year at Louisville).

LAST YEAR: Kentucky went 8-5. Louisville went 6-6.

SERIES HISTORY: Kentucky leads, 11-9.

LAST MEETING: Kentucky won, 40-34, last year.

STAT THAT MATTERS: After losing 46 straight games to top-10 foes since 1977 prior to last year, Wildcats went 2-1 vs. top10s last year including win over Cardinals.

Colorado St. (0-0)

vs. Colorado (0-0)

TIME/TV: 5:30, Fox Sports Net.

FAVORITE: Colorado by 14.

COACHES: Steve Fairchild (first year at Colo. State) and Dan Hawkins (8-17 in third year at Colorado)

LAST YEAR: Colorado State went 309. Colorado went 6-7.

SERIES HISTORY: Colorado leads, 58-20-2.

LAST MEETING: Colorado won, 31-28 in overtime, last year.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Teams have split last six "Rocky Mountain Showdowns" by with Buffaloes outscoring Rams by slender margin of 155-141.

Monday

Fresno St. (0-0)

at Rutgers (0-0)

TIME/TV: 2 p.m., ESPN.

FAVORITE: Rutgers by 5.

COACHES: Pat Hill (85-55 in 12th year at Fresno State) and Greg Schiano (38-46 in 8th year at Rutgers).

LAST YEAR: Fresno State went 9-4. Rutgers went 8-5.

SERIES HISTORY: First meeting.

STAT THAT MATTERS: Since 2003, Bulldogs are 2-7 in road games vs. BCS schools while yielding 30 points per game.

No. 18 Tennessee (0-0)

at UCLA (0-0)

TIME/TV: 6 p.m., ESPN.

FAVORITE: Tennessee by 8.

COACHES: Phillip Fulmer (147-45 in 17th season at Tennessee) and Rick Neuheisel (first year at UCLA).

LAST YEAR: Tennessee went 10-4. UCLA went 6-7.

SERIES HISTORY: Tennessee leads, 7-4-2.

LAST MEETING: Tennessee won, 30-24, in 1997.

STAT THAT MATTERS: In Vols' 10 wins last year, UT outscored foes by average score of 35-20. In four losses, Vols were outscored by average of 41-20.