Auburn, Tide won't stumble

Nick Saban hasn't inherited the most talented Alabama football team in Crimson Tide history, and he often stumbles early when taking over a new team.

It won't happen Saturday, however.

Alabama should beat Western Carolina ... by a lot.

When the Crimson Tide faced Western Carolina at home in 2003, it won 52-0. When Saban began his five-year run at LSU, his team beat Western Carolina 58-0 in 2000.

Auburn will face a tougher game from Kansas State, which went 7-6 last season but still scored a win over Texas.

Let's go to the opening-week picks:

Western Carolina at Alabama: Somebody tell Saban not to play quarterback John Parker Wilson too long Saturday. The last guy who held the Alabama head coaching job did that against Western Carolina in 2003 and lost his starting quarterback, Brodie Croyle, to a knee injury. As much as Saban gets worked up over having to, you know, answer questions from reporters, he might implode when asked for the 100th time, "Did you consider not playing John Parker Wilson in the second half?" ... Alabama 42, Western Carolina 6.

Kansas State at No. 18 Auburn: In a recent fan poll, Kansas State supporters voted the Wildcats' 38-9 win over Nebraska in 2003 as the program's biggest road win in the last 25 years. A win Saturday would come close to matching that. But with conference pride on the line, Auburn should roll. ... Auburn 28, Kansas State 14.

No. 15 Tennessee at No. 12 California: The Vols won last year 35-18 after leading 35-0 at one point in the second half. A UT victory could provide a big boost for the Southeastern Conference in its attempt to get a team in the national title game for the second straight year, but it's hard to imagine a good Cal team losing at home. ... California 20, Tennessee 14.

Oklahoma State at No. 13 Georgia: Thomas Brown rushed for 256 yards in seven games last year, including five starts, before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He's a Doak Walker Award nominee, and this might be when he gets his candidacy off to a good start. ... Georgia 27, Oklahoma State 20.

Western Kentucky at No. 6 Florida: If Western Carolina went to Gainesville by accident and Western Kentucky went to Tuscaloosa, would anybody notice the difference? ... Florida 48, Western Kentucky 12.

Richmond at Vanderbilt: The Commodores' Chris Nickson opens his second season as starting quarterback. He threw for 2,085 yards last season and rushed for 694. He also completed 15 touchdown passes and scored nine. But he threw 13 interceptions. His path to consistency starts Saturday. ... Vanderbilt 31, Richmond 13.

Troy at Arkansas: Houston Nutt is 8-1 in season openers as Arkansas coach, with the only loss coming to Southern California 50-14 in 2006. Nutt will be 9-1 after Saturday. ... Arkansas 30, Troy 10.

Louisiana-Lafayette at South Carolina: The most interesting part of this game is that redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Smelley of Tuscaloosa will start for the Gamecocks. Senior Blake Mitchell is sitting out because of a one-game suspension. ... South Carolina 38, Louisiana-Lafayette 20.

Ole Miss at Memphis: Poor ol' Ed Orgeron. The Ole Miss coach can't say or do much of anything without it ending up on one of those streaming video Web sites. Memphis traditionally has been a tough game for the Rebels, but they'll squeak one out Saturday. ... Ole Miss 20, Memphis 17.

Idaho vs. No. 1 Southern California: The ultimate practice game for the Trojans, who will lose this season but not Saturday. ... Southern California 55, Idaho 10.