They May Be Playing for SEC-ond

This is one of the few marquee games on the weekend before “rival” Saturday but is a matchup with Southeastern Conference and national implications.

Auburn has lost two in a row since a 7-0 start and must win to keep hope alive in the SEC West Division race. The Tigers can win the West title and advance to the Dec. 6 SEC title game if they win out against Georgia and Alabama and Mississippi State loses one of its last three conference games.

Auburn is coming off an embarrassing loss in which ex-Heisman Trophy candidate Dameyune Craig threw four interceptions and fumbled twice in a 20-0 loss to Mississippi State. The shutout loss was Terry Bowden’s first in 55 games as a coach. The Tigers basically have no running game. You thought USC had problems. Auburn ranks 109th in nationally and gained only 19 yards in 12 carries against Mississippi State.

Bowden spent the bye week quelling rumors he’s unhappy with his contract situation and is a top candidate to replace Texas’ John Mackovic.

Georgia is in much better shape, but is also boxed out in the SEC East race unless it gets help. The Bulldogs can’t win it without a Tennessee defeat. Georgia could end up 10-1, ranked in the top five and get shut out of an alliance bowl. But given the Bulldogs are 22-22-1 the last four seasons, they’ll gladly take a Citrus Bowl bid.

Second-year man Jim Donnan, the former Marshall coach, got the Georgia job only after Kansas’ Glen Mason got cold feet. Sometimes the best hires are the ones you don’t make. Donnan has been a perfect fit and belongs on any short list of coach-of-the-year candidates.

The line: Georgia by 6.

ON TV

* Penn State (7-1) at Purdue (7-2), ESPN, 9 a.m.: A Purdue win keeps its longshot Big Ten title hopes alive and makes the Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 22 a potential Rose Bowl decider. A Penn State win could prolong the conference outcome until Nov. 29, when the Nittany Lions play at Michigan State.

The line: Penn State by 6.

* Iowa (6-3) at Northwestern (4-7), ESPN2, 9:30 a.m.: With an early game in the Pigskin Classic and no bowl bid in sight, Northwestern’s season ends 12 days before Thanksgiving. The only joy left would be knocking Iowa down to the Sun Bowl.

The line: Iowa by 9.

* Notre Dame (4-5) at Louisiana State (7-2), Channel 2, 12:30 p.m.: The Irish need to win their last three to warrant bowl consideration. But let’s see them survive this formidable challenge at Baton Rouge. Notre Dame is 11-2 after bye weeks since 1986.

The line: LSU by 11.

* Houston (3-6) at Southern Mississippi (6-3), FSW, 12:30 p.m.: A rematch of maybe last year’s best game, Houston’s 56-49 overtime victory. This year, Southern Mississippi needs to beat Houston or Memphis next week to win the Conference USA title and go to the Liberty Bowl.

The line: Southern Mississippi by 19.

* Brigham Young (6-3) at New Mexico (7-2) ESPN2, 2 p.m.: A showdown of two of four teams tied for first at 4-2 in the WAC Mountain Division. The problem for both schools is that they lost to Rice, which is also 4-2. BYU appears settled again at quarterback with Kevin Feterik.

The line: New Mexico by 4.

* Oregon (5-4) at Arizona State (7-2), Channel 9, 3:30 p.m.: One week after upsetting Washington, the Ducks get a chance to knock off another team with big bowl plans. If Arizona State does not win the Pac-10 title at 9-2, it probably will get a geopolitically correct Fiesta Bowl bid.

The line: Arizona State by 9 1/2.

* Texas A&M; (7-2) at Oklahoma (3-7), FSW, 4 p.m.: For the Aggies, it’s simple: If they beat Oklahoma and Texas, they win the Big 12 South title and play Nebraska in the championship game. For the Sooners, it’s also simple: They stink.

The line: Texas A&M; by 14.

* Tennessee (7-1) at Arkansas (3-5), ESPN2, 5 p.m.: Victories over SEC bottom feeders Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt and the Volunteers advance to the SEC title game. A win there and Tennessee wins at worst a trip to the Sugar Bowl, at best a shot at the national title in the Orange Bowl.

The line: Tennessee by 25.

* California (3-6) at Arizona (4-5), FSW, 7:15 p.m.: Neither team is a factor in the Pac-10 race, but let’s look ahead. Cal plays at Stanford on Nov. 22 in the 100th “Big Game,” and Arizona can still spoil Arizona State’s season on Nov. 28.

The line: Arizona by 11 1/2.

5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. Oregon’s Saladin McCullough to take the Pac-10 rushing lead against Arizona State. The senior tailback’s per-game rushing average of 107.6 yards ranks second behind injured Washington back Rashaan Shehee’s 107.8. McCullough is looking to become the first Oregon back to win the conference rushing title since Bobby Moore in 1971. FYI: Oregon and Arizona State combined for 1,122 total yards in last year’s meeting.

2. Alabama (4-5) to lose at home to bowl-hungry Mississippi State (6-2). It would mark only the third time since 1929 the Crimson Tide has gone winless at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mississippi State is also looking for consecutive victories against Alabama for the first time since 1954-55. Somewhere, Bear Bryant is growling.

3. Kansas State to end its drought against Colorado. Coach Bill Snyder is 0-16-1 against Nebraska and Colorado. The 8-1 Wildcats have already lost to the Cornhuskers, but will never have a better chance to beat the 5-4 Buffaloes than Saturday in Manhattan. No. 10 Kansas State takes a lot of grief over its troubles against the Big 12’s big boys. Here’s a chance to quiet the critics.

4. An emotional collapse by North Carolina. Can you believe some nut thought they were the best team in the country? The Tar Heels have to follow Saturday’s 20-3 defeat to Florida State with a trip to Clemson, where North Carolina has not won since 1980.

5. The Big East to not qualify a fourth team for the Liberty Bowl. Pittsburgh is 4-4 but must win two of three games against Syracuse, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Miami is 5-4 and closes against Rutgers (a win) and Syracuse (a loss).

THE REST

Wake Forest (+34) at Florida St., 9 a.m.

Stanford (+15 1/2) at Washington St., 2 p.m.

Illinois (+39 1/2) at Ohio St., 9:30 a.m.

Virginia (-1) at N. Carolina St., 9 a.m.

Temple (+23) at West Virginia, 10 a.m.

Georgia Tech (-7 1/2) at Duke, 10:30 a.m.

North Carolina (-6 1/2) at Clemson, 12:30 p.m.

Florida (-16 1/2) at South Carolina, 10 a.m.

Iowa St. (+43 1/2) at Nebraska, 10:30 a.m.

Kansas (+6 1/2) at Texas, 11 a.m.

Mississippi St. (+3) at Alabama, 9:30 a.m.

Louisville (+10) at Memphis, 11 a.m.

Baylor (+16) at Missouri, 11 a.m.

Kentucky (-4 1/2) at Vanderbilt, 11 a.m.

Michigan (-15) at Wisconsin, 12:30 p.m.

Wyoming (-2 1/2) at Air Force, 11 a.m.

Colorado (+10) at Kansas St., 12:30 p.m.

Rice (Pick) at Utah, noon

Texas Tech (+6) at Oklahoma St., 11 a.m.

SMU (-7 1/2) at Tulsa, noon

Syracuse (-19) at Pittsburgh, 9 a.m.

Hawaii (-1) at San Jose St., 12:30 p.m.

Rutgers (+33 1/2) at Miami, 9 a.m.

San Diego St. (+3 1/2) at Fresno St., 1 p.m.

Indiana (+7) at Minnesota, 4 p.m.

Mississippi (+1) at Tulane, 5 p.m.

TCU (+1 1/2) at Texas El Paso, 5:30 p.m.

N. Illinois (+33) at Miami, Ohio, 10 a.m.

North Texas (+8) at Army, 10 a.m.

Akron (+23) at Toledo, 10 a.m.

W. Michigan (+1) at NE Louisiana, 11 a.m.

Utah St. (+5) at Nevada, noon

Ohio U. (+11) at Marshall, 12:30 p.m.

Idaho (-9) at New Mexico St., 12:30 p.m.

E. Michigan (off) at C. Florida, 1 p.m.

Louisiana Tech (-23 1/2) at SW Louisiana, 5 p.m.

THE TIMES’ RANKINGS BY CHRIS DUFRESNE: 1-25

NO. TEAM (RECORD): COMMENT

1. Michigan (9-0): Forget fair play, Carr’s team has beaten the fur off the Badgers to keep this spot.

2. Florida State (9-0): Yep, the ACC sure is closing the gap on the Seminoles.

3. Nebraska (9-0): Osborne drops keys in hall, Davison makes diving catch!

4. Tennessee (7-1): Manning ticked off they’re trying to give his Heisman to a cornerback.

5. Penn State (7-1): Paterno also confesses he accidentally voted for Truman instead of Dewey.

6. Ohio State (9-1): Ten days until payback against Michigan.

7. North Carolina (8-1): No biggie, you’ll get another national title shot in 50 years.

8. Georgia (7-1): Bulldogs looking to rent Tennessee’s Citrus Bowl winter home.

9. UCLA (7-2): Bruins spend bye week listening to Coach Toledo’s UOP stories.

10. Louisiana State (7-2): Left monster truck tire marks on Alabama in last week’s 27-0 win.

11. Arizona State (7-2): Break out the tortilla chips, it looks like a Fiesta!

12. Washington State (8-1): Critics wonder why Cougars up only 56-0 at the half vs. Southwest Louisiana.

13. Florida (7-2): Only thing left now is to bust Florida State’s chops.

14. Washington (7-2): You guys didn’t want to win that stupid national title anyway.

15. Purdue (7-2): FYI, Boilermakers: Toledo losing does not help your bowl portfolio.

16. Auburn (7-2): Tigers hire private investigator to find lost running game.

17. Virginia Tech (7-2): Fiesta may get stuck with this alliance bowl booby prize.

18. Kansas State (8-1): This team beats everyone except Colorado and Nebraska.

19. Texas A&M; (7-2): Week in review: Bush opens library, Aggies close the book on Baylor.

20. Mississippi State (6-2): No sweat, you play Alabama this week: Roll (Over) Tide!

21. Oklahoma State (7-2): A terrific team in games not involving overtime.

22. Missouri (6-4): Franco Harris claims he owns intellectual rights to “Immaculate Reception.”

23. Wisconsin (8-2): Don’t think we don’t notice those three one-point victories.

24. Iowa (6-3): Can tell grandchildren they led Michigan, 21-7, at halftime.

25. Tulane (6-3): One of every 8.33 schools in poll coached by a Bowden.