Let's begin with the co-favorites, East Carolina and Louisville. There isn't much separating them, which is why everything could hinge on what transpires late in the season when they square off Nov. 15 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville.

EAST CAROLINA and LOUISVILLE: Comparing the co-favorites
Both teams are led into battle by outstanding signal callers. ECU's David Garrard, now a highly regarded senior, showcases a powerful arm and has also shown signs that he is in the process of mastering the nuances of playing the QB position. Louisville's talented junior southpaw, Dave Ragone, again figures to post eye-catching numbers. Despite the loss of top receiver Marcellus Rivers to graduation, ECU still has a formidable group of wideouts for Garrard to throw to, led by seniors Derrick Collier and Arnie Powell. As for Ragone, he'll be connecting on a regular basis with proven standouts Deion Branch and Zek Parker. The Cardinals also have a consistent pass-catching tight end in junior Ronnie Ghent.

In the backfield, ECU has the potential to establish a solid ground assault, keyed by underrated senior Leonard Henry and talented sophomore Terrance Copper. With Louisville's sophisticated attack that is effective in keeping the opposition off-balance, senior Tony Stallings will have the opportunity to run through some gaping holes.

If the offensive lines hold up their end of the bargain, both East Carolina and Louisville should field high-octane attacks that can score points in bunches. This means that should either fall behind early or need a late rally to pull out a victory, the attack force has the ability to get the job done.

On the defensive side, the edge going into the season is with East Carolina. The Pirates not only return nine starters but also have a super blue-chipper setting the tone in physically gifted senior LB Pernell Griffin. They also have the necessary edge pass-rushers in senior Bernard Williams and junior John Williamson. An experienced deep patrol is keyed by sophomore cover man Kelly Hardy.

On the other hand, Louisville has to replace such notables as DT Donovan Arp, LB Rashad Harris and CB Rashad Holman. Fortunately for the Cardinals, they have a pair of top-echelon performers to lead the way in junior DE Michael Josiah, a proven sack artist who is now up to 270 pounds (235 last year), and instinctive and reliable junior FS Anthony Floyd.

The kicking game for both teams should be OK, provided that East Carolina's juco transfer, Jared Preston, is able to effectively handle the punting duties.

Schedule-wise, Louisville has to deal with a challenging non-conference slate that includes a mid-September trip to Illinois and a Liberty Bowl rematch against Colorado State. For East Carolina, there are non-conference road battles against Syracuse and North Carolina.

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
As mentioned, you can never count out Southern Mississippi. Jeff Bower's squad is always dangerous, especially on the road, where they fell to Tennessee by just three points last season and defeated Alabama 21-0 at Tuscaloosa last season. Anytime you go into enemy territory, a quality defensive unit is critical if you hope to win against solid opposition.

This year, the big question for the Golden Eagles is the defensive front. Graduation losses were huge, including the likes of Cedric Scott, John Nix, Daleroy Stewart, DeQuincy Scott and Gerald Mumford. Also moving on from the defensive secondary are CB Raymond Walls and safety Leo Barnes. Folks, that's a lot of talent to replace in one year.

While linebackers Rod Davis and Roy Magee and safety Chad Williams are top-echelon performers, you would have to expect a dropoff in the performance of the defense. This doesn't bode well when you factor in a brutally tough road schedule that includes trips to Alabama, Louisville, Penn State and East Carolina.

On offense, RB Dwayne Woods will have to make up for the injury loss of Derrick Nix, while QB Jeff Kelly will have to connect with blue-chip junior wideout LeRoy Handy on a consistent basis. A veteran offensive line that returns all five starters, keyed by junior guard Torrin Tucker, has to perform at a high level from the get-go. The Golden Eagles also need more consistency from the kicking game, which is another worrisome area considering the challenges they face this season.

UAB (Alabama-Birmingham)
If Southern Mississippi slips and East Carolina or Louisville don't perform up to the level expected, watch out for Watson Brown's steadily improving Blazers. The key component for UAB is senior QB Jeff Aaron. After opening the 2000 season as the No. 3 signal caller, the athletically gifted 6-2, 218-pounder emerged as one of the more exciting QBs in the nation. Aaron started the final six games in 2000, and UAB posted a 4-2 record, including a hard-fought 33-30 loss in overtime to Southern Mississippi.

While he's still a developing pure passer, Aaron combines excellent arm strength with superior scrambling and improvisational ability. He's experienced at working in the shot gun. The Blazers will also incorporate a no-huddle, one-back set this season with the idea of providing Aaron with more options in the passing game.

Assisting Aaron will be effective senior RB Jegil Dugger and talented junior wideout Willie Quinnie. Keying the offensive line is 6-4, 325-pound senior OG Preston Fray, a three-year starter. Overall, though, UAB will be fielding a relatively inexperienced line that lost three players to graduation.

The Blazers have plenty of talent on defense, too, led by highly regarded seniors Eddie Freeman and Bryan Thomas. Freeman, an athletically gifted interior DT, has the tenacity and desire to complement his physical prowess at 6-4½ and 290 pounds (he bench-presses 500-plus pounds). Last season he recorded 10 stops behind the line, five-and-a-half sacks, 10 QB hurries and five passes batted down.

Thomas is a super-quick, explosive 6-4¼, 258-pound edge pass rusher. Last season he recorded 10 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 13 QB hurries and five passes batted down. He also blocked three kicks.

The Blazers also have excellent senior FS Adrian Singleton. Overall, this is a veteran defensive unit that returns 19 of 22 first- and second- teamers. The only key loss to graduation was DE Otis Leverette. There is definitely reason to believe that the Blazers could be in the bowl hunt this season, provided they survive a rugged early schedule that includes trips to Florida State, Pittsburgh and Southern Mississippi.

TCU
In the post-Dennis Franchione/LaDainian Tomlinson era, TCU must prove it can match its recent success . Now it will be up to former defensive coordinator Gary Patterson to continue the winning ways, with the Horned Frogs moving from the WAC to Conference USA.

Sophomores Ricky Madison and Corey Conley are in line to replace Tomlinson, with Andrew Hayes-Stoker another potential contributor in what figures to be a RB-by-committee. With Tomlinson no longer the focal point, expect the Horned Frogs to allow QB Casey Printers to open up the offense more, looking to get the ball in the hands of talented junior WR LaTarence Dunbar.

Defensively, the Horned Frogs lost to graduation a dominating outside pass rusher in Aaron Schobel, an inside force in DT Shawn Worthen and quality safeties Curtis Fuller and Russell Gary. Therefore, senior DE Chad McCarty, senior LB Chad Bayer and junior CB Jason GossBeing are being counted on to deliver big-time performances.

TULANE
At Tulane, what could be a dynamic attack force will likely have to offset a suspect defense that has a ton of question marks.

The Green Wave have the ability to air things out with veteran QB Patrick Ramsey and also have a rising star in sophomore RB Mewelde Moore. With a defense that figures to struggle mightily, it will be up to Ramsey, Moore and company to produce 30 to 35 points per game on a regular basis. Ramsey's key targets at WR are sophomore Roydell Williams and senior Terrell Harris. Up front, the top player for the Green Wave is senior LT Chrys Bullock. But Bullock suffered a sprained knee during fall practice and is listed as questionable for the BYU game on Saturday.

Last year, the Green Wave finished with a 6-5 record and lacked consistency, suffering a 21-17 loss to Army (Army's only victory of the season). This year, the schedule is tougher overall, with road trips to BYU and LSU to open the campaign. And instead of Houston and Memphis, the Green Wave must face TCU and UAB.

HOUSTON
Houston could be a team to keep an eye on if Kelly Robertson is the answer at QB and former Texas Longhorn Chris Robertson performs up to the high level expected at RB. Houston also has good options at WR in Orlando Iglesias and Brian Robinson. At QB, freshman Barrick Nealy (6-4, 220) could be in the mix with Robertson. Nealy is mobile, athletically gifted and possesses excellent potential.

Defensively, there are questions to be answered, but the Cougars have some intriguing performers, led by sophomore LB Justin Davis, senior CB Jason Parker and junior FS Hanik Milligan. The kicking game, meanwhile, must show monumental improvement.

CINCINNATI
Cincinnati has a few necessary components, including depth in the backfield with Ray Jackson and DeMarco McCleskey and a quality wideout in exciting junior LaDaris Vann. The Bearcats also have high hopes for redshirt freshman WR Daven Holly. But to return to postseason play, they need a QB to emerge from a group that includes highly regarded freshman Gino Guidugli, former Arizona State Sun Devil John Leonard and senior Adam Hoover.

Based on the Bearcats' first scrimmage on Aug. 18, Leonard appears to have the early lead in the No. 1 QB derby. Guidugli also accounted himself well while showcasing the most impressive pure skill level of the three. He's viewed as the Bearcats' likely QB of the not-too-distant-future.

Coordinating the offense this season is former San Jose State head coach Dave Baldwin, so expect more creativity and excitement when the Bearcats have the ball.

Last year, the defense held up its end of the bargain in nine of 12 games, proving to be an opportunistic group that forced the opposition into a number of critical mistakes. New coordinator A.J. Christoff hopes to build on that success, but to do so, he'll have to get solid play from a completely restructured linebacking corps. Headliners on defense for the Bearcats include athletically gifted junior DE Antwan Peek, hard-working senior DT Kirk Thompson and speedy senior CB LaVar Glover.

Special teams should be in good shape once again, keyed by accurate junior PK Jonathan Ruffin, who connected on 26-of-29 field goals last season (24 came from inside 40 yards).

MEMPHIS
Tommy West takes over as head coach at Memphis, looking to generate significantly more offensive than last season, when the Tigers scored 19 or fewer points in eight games. Had the attack force come through, four additional wins would have been possible. Remember, the Tigers fell to Tennessee 19-17, while losing by three points in overtime to both Houston and Cincinnati. Along the way, despite the offensive struggles, they were able to defeat East Carolina.

Memphis will incorporate a spread offense this season, featuring four WRs and a one-back set. At the controls will be Travis Anglin, a 6-3½, 200-pound junior who missed all but three games last year due to a high ankle sprain. Prior to going down, he had completed just 43.3 percent of his aerials. His primary targets will be junior Ryan Johnson and 5-9, 161-pound senior Bunkie Perkins.

In the backfield, Sugar Sanders led the Tigers in rushing last season with 646 yards, but he'll be challenged for playing time by physically talented juco transfer Dante Brown, who will take part in his first practice session in pads on Tuesday. Up front, the offensive line has a quality anchor in junior Jimond Pugh.

While the defense carried the Tigers, the key personnel that enabled them to perform at such a high level have moved on. This includes DT Marcus Bell, DE Andre Arnold (could end up at Grambling), LB Kamal Shakir, CB Michael Stone and FS Idrees Bashir.

With so many key losses, a dropoff in performance would be expected. However, the Tigers still have talent on D. DE Tony Brown gets the job done, while ILB DeMorrio Shank's return from the injury list provides a boost. A three-year starter, Shank missed all of last season with a broken foot. He'll step into Shakir's old spot. The Tigers could receive another huge boost along the defensive front if 6-4½, 340-pound sophomore DT Albert Means, who played last year at Alabama (started final four games), is eligible to play this season. A ruling on his status for the 2001 campaign is expected within the next week or so.

For a team in transition, the schedule isn't favorable. Memphis has to go on the road to face Mississippi State, Louisville, East Carolina and Tennessee.

ARMY
Army was able to upset Tulane on homecoming at Michie Stadium last season, but this was its only victory of the season. Todd Berry's Black Knights fought hard throughout and were actually within striking distance in a number of games until things fell apart in the fourth quarter.

Besides replacing FB Michael Wallace, the Black Knights have to settle on a QB. Chad Jenkins and Curtis Zervic are in the mix, along with freshman Reggie Nevels and Jeffrey Dixon. Early returns after the first scrimmage have Jenkins beginning to distance himself from the others, although both Nevels and Dixon have flashed the necessary long-range potential.

In Berry's spread offense, senior wideout Omari Thompson is the key component, along with TE Clint Dodson. Thompson also excels in the punt return game.