Two of the nation's premier rushing attacks meet in Bloomington this Saturday, as the Illinois Fighting Illini are set to take on the unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. On the other side of the ball, both teams rank among the best in the country at stopping the run. Illinois hasn't won its league lidlifter since 1993, a streak the Illini want desperately to stop.

Two of Illinois' running backs, including leading rusher Rashard Mendenhall, are banged up. Indiana is off to a perfect 3-0 start after last weekend's 41-20 win over Akron. Thanks to their potent ground game, the Hoosiers, picked to finish last in the Big Ten by several preseason publications, have been lighting up the scoreboard through three games. Illinois holds a 41-20-3 advantage in the all-time series, though the Fighting Illini have lost the last two games played at Indiana.

TAKE INDIANA HOOSIERS PLUS +2.5 POINTS

The Air Force Falcons try to keep their unblemished record intact this weekend as they travel to BYU for a Mountain West Conference showdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. While the majority of teams in the MWC have yet to play a single conference outing, Air Force is already far ahead of the curve with two league wins in as many tries. Following a 34-3 thumping of South Carolina State in the season opener, Air Force defeated Utah on the road in Salt Lake City and then took out conference favorite and formerly ranked TCU in overtime last week by a final of 20-17. Not only are the Falcons 2-0 in conference play to begin 2007, the squad is the last of the undefeated teams in the MWC at 3-0.

As for the Cougars, they may have won their season opener versus Arizona at home, but since then the team has bowed to both 13th-ranked UCLA in Pasadena (27-17) and to Tulsa last Saturday in a wild, offensive struggle that saw the Golden Hurricane hang on for a 55-47 triumph. BYU leads the all-time series with Air Force with a 21-6 mark, and is 18-6 in conference meetings. Last season, the Cougars ran past the Falcons in a 33-14 decision on the road.

TAKE AIR FORCE FALCONS PLUS +11 POINTS

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Nationally-ranked SEC opponents will collide in Tuscaloosa this weekend as the 16th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide plays host to the 22nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia improved to 2-1 on the young season with a 45-16 romp over Western Carolina last week. The Bulldogs' only loss came by four points to South Carolina two weeks ago, their only SEC tilt thus far.

Including this week's tilt, four of the next five outings for Georgia will take place away from home, so Mark Richt's squad will have to play its best football to stay afloat in the conference race. Fans of the storied Alabama program are as excited as they have been in quite some time. New coach Nick Saban has his squad out to a 3-0 start, including 2-0 in SEC play. Last weekend, the Tide showed a great deal of toughness in a 41-38 victory over Arkansas. Alabama owns a 35-24-4 series lead over Georgia, and the teams did not meet a year ago.

TAKE #16 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE MINUS -3.5 POINTS

Big Ten heavyweights tee it up in Ann Arbor this Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions tangle with the Michigan Wolverines. Joe Paterno has his Lions off to a 3-0 start, having easily disposed of Florida International (59-0), Notre Dame (31-10) and Buffalo (45-24). Penn State has won six straight games and 25 of its last 30 overall. This is the Lions' first road game of the season and they are kicking off their 15th season in the Big Ten. PSU is 6-8 in Big Ten openers and this is the third straight year that the Nittany Lions are opening conference play on the road.

As for Lloyd Carr's Michigan club, it bounced back from consecutive losses to open the year, at home to Appalachian State (34-32) and Oregon (39-7), to blast visiting Notre Dame last weekend in a 38-0 final. The Wolverines have lost just two of their last 39 conference openers, both to Wisconsin, and they have won 31 of their last 33 home games in conference. Michigan owns a 9-3 lead in the all-time series with Penn State, and although many of the games have been hotly contested, the Wolverines have won eight straight in the series. In last year's slugfest in Happy Valley, the Maize and Blue claimed a 17-10 victory.  

TAKE #10 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS MINUS -3 POINTS

The 15th-ranked Clemson Tigers jump back into ACC action this weekend, as they travel to Raleigh, to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack from Carter-Finley Stadium. The Tigers boast a perfect 3-0 start to the season after topping Furman last weekend, 38-10. Tommy Bowden's team opened the year with an ACC battle, getting past father Bobby Bowden and Florida State by a score of 24-18.

Tom O'Brien's first season in Raleigh hasn't gone according to plan, as his team dropped the first two games to UCF (25-23) and former team Boston College (37-17). The Wolfpack finally landed in the win column last weekend, topping Wofford, 38-17. The Tigers hold a huge lead (47-27-1) in an all-time series that dates back to 1899 and are 16-15 in games played in Raleigh. In addition, Clemson has captured the last three meetings.

TAKE #15 CLEMSON TIGERS MINUS -7 POINTS

The 21st-ranked Kentucky Wildcats are coming off one of the biggest wins in program history, and they will attempt to carry the momentum into this weekend's SEC clash with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Kentucky has earned a spot in the AP poll for the first time since the 1984 season, thanks largely to a 40-34 victory over rival Louisville last Saturday. That victory marked the program's first triumph over a top-10 team in 30 years. The 3-0 start for the Wildcats is their best since winning four in a row to start the 2002 campaign.

Arkansas opened the season with a 46-26 victory over a solid Troy squad. After a week off, the Razorbacks returned to action last Saturday against Alabama. In what turned out to be a tremendous matchup, the Hogs dropped a heart-breaking 41-38 decision, and they hope that four straight home games will be just the remedy needed to get over the painful setback. Kentucky and Arkansas have met on four previous occasions, and each team has two victories in the series. These squads are meeting for the first time since an unforgettable 2003 battle that required seven overtime periods to decide the outcome.

TAKE #21 KENTUCKY WILDCATS PLUS +7 POINTS

Joey Harrington's third stint as a starting quarterback might be his shortest one yet. With Byron Leftwich now looking over his shoulder, Harrington could be making his final start in an Atlanta Falcons uniform unless he can get the team's offense going in its home opener Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. With Harrington off to a bad start since being handed the starting job following Michael Vick's suspension, many believe Leftwich will soon take over under center after the Falcons signed him Tuesday to a two-year deal worth $7 million. Atlanta (0-2) has generated just 10 points in two games with Harrington as the starter and he's been sacked 13 times - six more than any other quarterback.

This may be his last chance to win one for quite some time, considering his previous NFL stints included a mediocre season in Miami and a disappointing four-year tenure with Detroit after being the third overall pick in 2002. It may be important for Harrington to start strong Sunday with this being the Falcons' first home game, otherwise the boos he so often heard in Detroit might hound him very quickly in Atlanta - and calls for Leftwich could soon follow. If Harrington struggles again this week - he's committed three turnovers without throwing a touchdown pass - the Falcons might turn to Leftwich as early as next week against Houston. Atlanta has totaled 577 yards of offense to rank 27th in the NFL.

A surprise cut by Jacksonville during the preseason after four years as the starter, Leftwich has missed 15 games over the past two seasons due to ankle and knee problems. The good news for Harrington is he's facing a defense which is one of only three in the league that has failed to register more than one sack. However, he still must be wary of one of the game's most feared pass rushers in Julius Peppers.

The defense of the Panthers (1-1) is off to an uneven start. It held St. Louis - an offense which is usually tough to slow down at home - to 238 total yards in a season-opening 27-13 victory. Carolina was not nearly as good in its home opener last Sunday, getting picked apart by first-year starter Matt Schaub in a 34-21 loss to Houston. The offense didn't do its part, either, committing three turnovers and getting held to 66 rushing yards after amassing 186 at St. Louis. Pro Bowl wideout Steve Smith had eight receptions for 153 yards and caught all three of Jake Delhomme's touchdown passes, but Keary Colbert and Drew Carter combined to drop at least four passes.

DeShaun Foster ran for 94 yards on 17 carries in the opener and DeAngelo Williams added 62 on 15 attempts, but that duo was held to 53 yards on 17 carries last Sunday. Foster and Williams combined for nine receptions, but those accounted for only 40 yards. Atlanta's ground game, meanwhile, is off to a rough start, averaging 3.4 yards per carry and failing to rush for 100 yards in either game. That happened only once all of last season with the fleet-footed Vick running an offense which led the NFL in rushing.

TAKE CAROLINA PANTHERS MINUS -3.5 POINTS