Louisiana Tech (0-2) at No.19 Texas A&M (0-1)        8:30 pm EDT

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Nearly two weeks removed from facing Florida State's ferocious
defense, No. 19 Texas A&M goes to the other end of the spectrum
when it plays porous Louisiana Tech in its home opener. 

The Aggies (0-1) were limited to just 20 yards of offense in the
second half of their 23-14 loss to Florida State in the Kickoff
Classic.  But things should turn around quickly against
Louisiana Tech, which allowed 56 points to Nebraska and then 64
in a defeat to Central Florida.  In addition, Texas A&M put up
63 points on the Bulldogs in the last meeting between the
schools two years ago. 

The Aggies will run the ball with the trio of Sirr Parker, Dante
Hall and D'Andre Hardeman.  When they pass, Branndon Stewart
will look for big-play split end Chris Cole or flanker Leroy
Hodge. 

On defense, the Aggies will have to contend with a duo as potent
as the one they faced in Florida State's Chris Weinke and Peter
Warrick.  Tim Rattay loves to throw the ball and Troy Edwards is
usually on the other side of his passes for the Bulldogs.  The
numbers are staggering. 

Against Nebraska, Rattay threw for 590 yards and Edwards caught
21 passes for an NCAA-record 405 yards and three touchdowns.
Rattay passed for 523 yards and Edwards added 13 receptions for
205 yards and a pair of scores in the loss to Central Florida.
Edwards also leads the Bulldogs with 29 rushing yards on three
carries. 

Rattay is 89-of-132 for 1,114 yards and seven touchdowns against
only one interception, while Edwards has 34 receptions for 611
yards and five scores -- all in two games.  But the defense has
been so bad that it has forced the opposition to punt only four
times. 

Linebacker Dat Nguyen (pronounced Win) should be busy dropping
back in coverage.  But he should welcome the challenge, since
the undersized playmaker was pounded by a huge fullback in
nearly every play against Florida State.  He still managed 13
tackles in that game.