<p>It could be the game that decides the SEC West championship when No. 5 LSU visits No. 14 Auburn on Saturday only three weeks into the season. After all, they are the two teams expected to battle for supremacy in the West.</p><p>The only problem with putting the winner on a pedestal is no matter which team wins, there are some imposing opponents left to be played.</p><p>Both teams will have to play Georgia, the favorite in the East. LSU also has to visit Florida one week after its trip to Georgia. Auburn has Georgia at home, but takes on another perennial East power, Tennessee, on the road. Georgia's toughest foes in the division will be the Gators and Vols.</p><p>Auburn has rolled over a pair of foes, Louisiana Monroe 31-0 and Mississippi State 43-14. LSU struggled to a 22-21 overtime victory over Oregon State and hammered outmanned Arkansas State 55-3 last week.</p><p>"I was pleased with the way that we created a little identity as a team in terms of the physical nature of the way we played the game, especially offensively," LSU coach Nick Saban said of the Arkansas State game. "Defensively, I didn't think we played like I'd like for us to play in the game. We weren't as physical and aggressive against the run as I'd like for us to be."</p><p>Saban's stoppers better get in a groove before Saturday. They will be facing two of the SEC's top tailbacks _ Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and Ronnie Brown.</p><p>Auburn's defense faces a pretty fair tailback, too _ LSU's Justin Vincent.</p><p>Auburn's starting defense has yet to give up any points, but that will definitely change on Saturday. Auburn is a 1 1/2-point favorite.</p><p>"Against the two teams that we've played, we'd like to play a little more dominating," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We're playing probably one of the better teams in the country this week. I'm not saying we've played bad, we're just going to have to play better."</p><p>Don't worry, Tommy. Your Tigers will play better than Saban's Tigers. Auburn 24-17.</p><p>Elsewhere around the SEC this week:</p><p>_ Western Carolina (no line) at Alabama: The I-AA Catamounts are averaging 52.5 points per game. Alabama is averaging 38. Guess which team hits its average. Alabama 38-10.</p><p>_ Louisiana Monroe (plus 31) vs. Arkansas at Little Rock: Hogs may be flat after giving Texas a battle last week. Tribe has already lost to Auburn 31-0. This ends their run at SEC teams for this season. Arkansas 34-7.</p><p>_ No. 11 Florida (plus 3) at No. 13 Tennessee: The winner emerges as the top challenger to Georgia in the East. Visiting teams have each won two in a row in this series. Vols have two freshman quarterbacks; Gators have one proven sophomore. Florida 24-21.</p><p>_ Marshall (plus 18 1/2) at No. 3 Georgia: The Thundering Herd almost beat Ohio State last week. They almost beat Troy the week before. They won't almost beat the Bulldogs, but they will keep it interesting. Georgia 28-14.</p><p>_ Indiana (plus 1 1/2) at Kentucky: How can it be? Gerry DiNardo's Hoosiers are unbeaten. Will they stay that way against the Wildcats? You bet. Indiana 24-17.</p><p>_ Vanderbilt (plus 7) at Mississippi: The Rebels are having trouble developing an offense. So is Vandy. Could this possibly go into overtime scoreless? Nope. Ole Miss 7-3.</p><p>_ Maine (no line) at Mississippi State: The Black Bears are no match for Sylvester Croom's Bulldogs. Mississippi State 35-7.</p><p>_ South Florida (plus 13 1/2) at South Carolina: After a disappointing loss to Georgia, the Gamecocks are down. Lou Holtz won't let them stay that way. He'll have his team ready to play. South Carolina 27-10.</p><p>___</p><p>Last week's totals: 6-0 straight, 1-5 vs. spread; for year, 15-1 straight, 3-12 vs. spread.</p>
