ESPN College Football

Back on Oct. 2, Auburn sent a message to the nation that it was a legitimate national title contender by going into Neyland Stadium and routing Tennessee, 34-10 on its home field. The Tigers racked up 400 yards of total offense and forced six Volunteers turnovers, making it nearly impossible for Tennessee to look any worse on either side of the ball.

The teams renew acquaintances this weekend in the SEC Championship in Atlanta (6:00 p.m. ET, CBS), and the Vols come in having looked nearly as bad in their last two games against Kentucky and Vanderbilt as in the first meeting with Auburn. But that may be an advantage since most of the analysis of this game is focused on how bad the Tennessee defense has been.

Vols defensive coordinator John Chavis and his players will be fired up after those embarrassments and should come out for this one with a chip on their shoulders. No one is giving them a chance and they have nothing to lose. After all, it's Auburn that is trying to remain undefeated.

There is a saying in college football that it's hard to beat the same team twice in one year, and for the most part it holds true. In this case, though, the team looking for that second win is a consistent, balanced squad that has dominated nearly every team on its schedule.

Auburn's defense is just too physical and athletic for the Tennessee offense, especially with freshman quarterback Erik Ainge injured and the Volunteers lacking a true passing threat. Rick Clausen will be under center relying on the running of Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs, but Clausen is inexperienced and is not ready to take over a game like this himself, meaning Tennessee's best chance to move the ball will be freshman Brent Schaeffer coming in at QB and using his scrambling ability to provide a spark for the offense.

Tony Brown, Chris Hannon, Robert Meachem and Jayson Swain provide some speed on the outside but they will be facing an Auburn secondary led by the best cornerback in the nation in Carlos Rogers, so the Tennessee offensive line will try everything it can to take the pressure Clausen off by establishing the line of scrimmage and running the ball effectively.

All that emotion and urgency will make the game competitive, but in the end the difference will be the firepower of the Auburn offense. Running backs Ronnie Brown and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams were on a whole different level in their first meeting with Tennessee and should look even quicker on the turf in the Georgia Dome, while the poise and decision making of quarterback Jason Campbell has been outstanding all year and should be again.

Tennessee will be juiced up and looking to prove something, but Auburn will be very tough to beat.

No. 1 USC at UCLA (4:30, ABC)
The only chance UCLA has in this game is to keep the USC offense off the field, because the Bruins' 105th-ranked defense won't be able to stop the Trojans. UCLA's best hope is to run Maurice Drew, control the time of possession battle and hit tight end Mercedes Lewis on play-action passes. Craig Bragg and Tab Perry could also provide some options on the outside, but not enough to keep up with USC.

LenDale White and Reggie Bush will provide the running attack and quarterback Matt Leinart should have a field day throwing to Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett and Bush. It's only a matter of whose number gets called. The Trojans simply have too much firepower.

UCLA will score a little but USC still comes away with a 45-23 victory.

Colorado vs. No. 2 Oklahoma, Big 12 Championship in Kansas City (8:00, ABC)
Colorado deserves congratulations for making the Big 12 title game after a very tumultuous offseason in Boulder, but the bad news is the Buffaloes are playing an Oklahoma team that controls its own destiny in terms of the national championship game and is looking to atone for an embarrassing loss to Kansas State in last year's conference championship.

The Buffs will no doubt come into the game with a good scheme against the OU defense, and their best chance to stay in it will be running Bobby Purify at the Sooners in hopes of controlling the clock and keeping the Sooners' offense on the sidelines. Colorado simply has no wide receivers to challenge the Oklahoma secondary, which could make for a long day for Gary Barnett's offense.

On the other side, get ready for OU quarterback Jason White to put up some huge numbers. Colorado has the 100th-ranked pass defense in the nation and the Sooners should be able to take advantage with Mark Bradley, Brandon Jones, Will Peoples and Travis Wilson all stepping up this year to provide help for Mark Clayton at wide receiver.

The versatility of the passing game will be on display, as will the balance of the entire offense with freshman phenom Adrian Peterson providing big plays on the ground. Look for Peterson to establish himself early and open things up for White to hit some bombs over the top.

Oklahoma wins big, 41-9.

No. 11 Virginia Tech at No. 9 Miami (1:00, ABC)
Virginia Tech was picked in the preseason to finish in the bottom half of the ACC, but the way the Hokies competed in their season opener paved the way for them to get to this point, which is essentially an ACC championship game.

Tech gave the Trojans all they could handle back in August and has grown since then, showing impressive team unity that has been lacking in recent seasons. The test this week will be whether the Hokies can take that fight on the road into a hostile Orange Bowl, where they will face a Miami team that thrives at home.

The Hurricanes are tough to beat when they have incentive, which is in supply this week. The Hurricanes always get up for teams that can be competitive with them, and when you factor in the chance to represent the ACC in the BCS there is plenty for Miami to play for.

On the field, the Hurricanes offensive line has gotten healthy and allowed Frank Gore to get back on track in the running game, lending some balance to the offense and allowing quarterback Brock Berlin to play a little looser. That has also brought back the famous Miami confidence and swagger, which was missing in recent weeks.

The 'Canes have been hurt in recent years by scrambling quarterbacks who can exploit their man-under defense and Virginia Tech's Bryan Randall is just that kind of player. He has been playing well all year and will be the No. 1 key for the Hokies.

Tech comes in with a ton of confidence and momentum and Randall should keep the Hokies in the game with his mobility and ability to create plays. Freshman wideouts Eddie Royal and Josh Hyman will be facing a very good Miami secondary, so Randall will also lean on tailbacks Mike Imoh and Cedric Humes at times.

The real test will be whether a young Virginia Tech team can have the same success on the road that it has enjoyed at home this season, especially against a Hurricanes team that has found itself.

Berlin will see more pressure from Bud Foster's defense than he has seen since the N.C. State game. Darryl Tapp and Jim Davis will come off the ends and get in his face, but Berlin should still be able to hit some big plays downfield to Roscoe Parrish.

Miami gets a 27-29 win.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN "College GameDay" and a regular contributor to ESPN.com during the college football season.