College football’s early schedule is often derided for being overloaded with mismatches as top teams schedule de facto scrimmages against mercenary programs who accept 40-point beatings in exchange for an appearance fee. Not so this Saturday, when 14 of the AP’s top 25 teams will face each other in games that will help frame the national championship picture. In addition to the games below, no. 17 Miami visits no. 12 Louisville and no. 24 Texas Tech faces no. 20 TCU.

NO. 6 LSU (2-0) AT NO. 3 AUBURN (2-0)
(Saturday, 3:30 p.m., CBS)

NO. 7 FLORIDA (2-0) AT NO. 13 TENNESSEE (2-0)
(Saturday, 8 p.m., CBS)

By midnight Saturday, clear leaders will have emerged in the SEC’s West and East after presumptive favorites in each division square off in a pair of games on CBS. Up first is LSU at Auburn, perhaps the marquee game of the entire day. LSU defeated Auburn in overtime last year thanks to five missed field goals by Auburn kicker John Vaughn. That win propelled LSU to the SEC West title and bounced Auburn from the national-title picture for good.

LSU, which destroyed a good Arizona defense last week behind an outstanding game from quarterback JaMarcus Russell and a running-back-by-committee approach, must protect Russell to have a chance to pull off the road win. Auburn’s aggressive defensive line has produced nine sacks in two games, disrupting the offenses of Washington State and Mississippi State in the process. If its defensive linemen can get penetration against LSU’s front, it could spell a long day for Russell.

Russell has the experience edge over Auburn’s secondyear starter, Brandon Cox. Cox has played well since the middle of last season, but has yet to win a game of this magnitude. Auburn has the advantage in the rushing department thanks to Heisman-contending back Kenny Irons, but the pressure in this game stills falls squarely on Cox’s shoulders.

Saturday night, the SEC focus shifts to Knoxville, where two of the East’s leading contenders renew their rivalry.Tennessee enters this game a mystery; the Vols crushed Cal in their opener, but had to stop an Air Force two-point conversion attempt to eek out a one-point win last week. If the Tennessee team that faced Air Force shows up against the Gators, expect Vols’ coach Phil Fulmer to be back on the hot seat by night’s end, but a Tennessee win would send them zooming up the polls.

The game may be bigger for Florida, however, as the Gators still face road trips to Auburn and Florida State as well as a neutral-site game against Georgia.A loss here could knock the Gators right out of the SEC race.

NO. 15 OKLAHOMA (2-0) AT NO. 18 OREGON (2-0)
(Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ABC-Regional)

NO. 19 NEBRASKA (2-0) AT NO. 4 USC (2-0)
(Saturday, 8 p.m., ABC)

Although these are Big 12-vs.-Pac 10 non-conference games, they’ll go a long way in determining the pecking order of the major conferences at season’s end. After Cal’s embarrassing loss to Tennessee two weeks ago, these games represent one of the final opportunities for the Pac-10 to prove itself worthy of a second BCS bid.

The afternoon game pits a puzzling Oklahoma team against an Oregon squad that appears to be the second-best in the conference after USC. Oklahoma was supposed to have issues at quarterback after starter Rhett Bomar was kicked off the team, but Paul Thomspon has done just fine in his place. Tailback Adrian Peterson is off to a Heisman-caliber start and is routinely labeled “the best player in America.” So why have the Sooners looked vulnerable in opening wins over UAB and Washington?

The answer is defense, which was supposed to be the strength of the team. Oklahoma has given up too many big plays, and now faces an Oregon team with an excellent running back, Jonathan Stewart, and a dynamic quarterback in Dennis Dixon. Plus, the Autzen Stadium crowd is among the most hostile in the nation.

In Los Angeles, USC is a near three-touchdown favorite over Nebraska, which desperately wants to prove it’s back in the championship picture in coach Bill Callahan’s third season. It was Callahan who dispatched the Huskers’ traditional option attack in favor of the West Coast offense. A bowl win over Michigan sent Nebraska into this season with high hopes, and quarterback Zac Taylor has led an explosive offense in two wins.

Still, their opponent from last week, Nicholls State, does not even belong in the same sentence as USC. The Trojans lost as much talent to the NFL as any team in America, including a pair of Heisman winners, but could still have more pro-caliber players on their roster than anyone else.The new guys looked just fine in a season-opening road rout of Arkansas. Nebraska, which held Nicholls without a single pass completion, will certainly have its hands full trying to stop quarterback John David Booty and receiver Dwayne Jarrett.

NO. 11 MICHIGAN (2-0) AT NO. 2 NOTRE DAME (2-0)
(Saturday, 3:30 p.m., NBC)

On paper, this is Notre Dame’s last true test before facing USC on November 25. Paper, of course, fails to account for the fact that otherwise-mediocre Michigan State (the Irish’s next opponent) teams have had their way with Notre Dame in recent seasons. Still, a victory here will keep Notre Dame in solid position for an eventual berth in the BCS title game.

The questions in this game are all on the Michigan side. The Wolverines have lost three of the last four to Notre Dame, are coming off a 7–5 season, and have produced a pair of ho-hum wins over Vanderbilt and Central Michigan to open the season. The new coordinators on both sides of the field have shaken things up, with the Wolverines attacking more on defense and switching to a zone-blocking scheme in the run game on offense.

Notre Dame has been vulnerable to the run in wins over Georgia Tech and Penn State, and Michigan’s Mike Hart is the best back the Irish have faced so far. If he finds early success, the Wolverines have an excellent chance for the win.

Michigan’s defense will likely blitz liberally, but must get to Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn when it does. Quinn was rattled by the Georgia Tech blitz, but if given time to throw against man coverage, he’ll use this game to pad his Heisman résumé.

Notre Dame appears to be the better team, but that has rarely mattered in this rivalry between the two leaders in alltime victories. These historic foes have had a penchant for playing close games — with Michigan’s 38–0 rout in 2003 the rare exception — and another nail-biter here would not be a surprise.

Mr. Levine is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.