Five national games to watch

 No. 15 BYU at Washington, 3;10 p.m. -- The first of two non-conference tests against teams from the Pac-10 for the Cougars. Next week, the Cougars play UCLA. This game figures to be the easier of the two. Washington is still rebuilding under Tyrone Willinghman. The Huskies got hammered in their opener last week, losing to Oregon, 44-10.

San Diego State at Notre Dame, 3:45 p.m. -- Notre Dame opens its season at home a week after most of the major-college teams. The Irish are supposed to be much-improved and should get off to a good start against SDSU, which is weak on defense. The Aztecs lost their opener last week to Cal Poly, 29-27.

No. 17 South Florida at Central Florida, 7:00 p.m. -- Pitt was the team that was supposed to challnge West Virginia for supremacy in the Big East. But with the Panthers losing to Bowling Green in the opener, South Florida looks to be the next in line to challenge. The Bulls travel the short distance from Tampa to Orlando for a showdown with the defenidng Conference USA champs. This will be a good gauge for coach Jim Leavitt's club.

Miami at No. 5 Florida, 8:00 p.m. -- The old U vs. the new U. Miami used to be 'the U' until Florida receiver Louis Murphy this week said the Gators should have that distinction now that the Hurricanes are in a constant state of rebuilding. Randy Shannon needs to start winning some games. Winning at Gainesville would certainly provide a boost for his stagnant program.

No. 12 Texas Tech vs. Nevada, 9:05 p.m. -- Don't sleep on the Wolf Pack. They were 6-7 last season and lost by a combined 12 points to the top three teams in the WAC -- Hawaii, Fresno State and Boise State. The high-powered Red Raiders could have a field day with the Nevada defense, though. The Wolf Pack surrendered 28 or more points on six occasions in '07.