CENTER OF ATTENTION: WEEK 1

When No. 15 Cal rolled over No. 12 Tennessee, 45- 31, on Saturday night, the Golden Bears' received a dominating performance from their O-line, led once again by Watch Lister Alex Mack. The junior is by all accounts a gentle giant, "an all-around gentleman polite to everyone," says teammate Mike Tepper. But when the ball's in play, Mack's treatment of defensive lineman isn't so genteel. "He'll open the door," Tepper told the San Jose Mercury News, "then slam it real quick in their face." Mack has been named a preseason All-American by multiple publications, and is on the watch list for a handful of postseason awards. He was an All-Pacific-10 first-team pick last year, and is one of Cal's best linemen in recent memory. "He's a special guy," Coach Jeff Tedford said. "He's so smart, he can play all the positions," Tedford said about Mack. "He understands the whole picture. You have to do that when you're directing traffic. You really have to have a pretty good feel of what's going on out there. If something were to happen, you want to be able to choose the combination that gets your best guys on the field."

IN THE TRENCHES

A weekly look at keys to evaluating a football centers

The Center's personality: "To play center, you have to be mentally tough, able to handle stress and able to handle a lot of multitasking," said Howard Mudd, the offensive line coach of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. "It's not all about intelligence. It's about personality. In life, in times of crisis, there are some people you don't want around. Those people couldn't play center. But when you see an accident on the side of the highway, some people pull over, stay calm and know exactly how to make things better. Those people have the personality to play center."

THEY SAID IT

"There's no excuse for us not to be competing for the number one (offense) in the country. That's our goal every year." -- Louisville center Eric Wood, a 6-4, 301- pound junior, who along with dynamic quarterback Brian Brohm, triggers the Cardinals potent offense. Wood was chose by Sports Illustrated as a preseason first-team All-American. Louisville blew away Murray State in its opener, 73-10.

DID YOU KNOW?

He may not be on this year's Watch List, but file USC freshman Kristofer O'Dowd (6-5, 300) away for future consideration. On Saturday night the true frosh from Tucson got the start against Idaho before a crowd of 90,917 in the Coliseum. He was a last minute replacement for injured Watch Lister Matt Spanos. It's always special when a true freshman gets the start in season-opener, but it was especially noteworthy in this case. O'Dowd became the first true freshman center ever to start a Trojan opener. And, by the way, USC won easily, 38-10.

GAMES TO TIVO

This week's head-to-head match-ups of Rimington Watch Listers (all game times are ET): Saturday, Sept. 8

• West Virginia (Mike Dent) at Marshall (Doug Legursky) - 12:00 pm.
• Nebraska (Brett Byford) at Wake Forest (Steve Justice) - 12:00 p.m.
• Utah State (Ryan Tonnemacher) at Wyoming (Tim Bond) - 2:00 p.m.
• Fresno State (Ryan Wendell) at Texas A&M (Cody Wallace) - 3:30 p.m.
• Notre Dame (John Sullivan) at Penn State (A.Q. Shipley) - 6:00 p.m.
• Air Force (Blaine Guenther) at Utah (Kyle Gunther) - 6:00 p.m.
• Brigham Young (Sete Aulai) at UCLA (Chris Joseph) - 6:30 p.m.
• Indiana (Ben Wyss) at Western Michigan (Robbie Krutilla) - 8:00 p.m.
• Colorado (Daniel Sanders) at Arizona State (Mike Pollak) - 10:15 p.m.