COLLEGE FOOTBALL : TODAY’S GAMES TO WATCH

GAME OF THE DAY

Florida State at Miami

TV: Channels 2 and 8, 6 p.m., PDT.

Preseason No. 1, 1988, vs. postseason No. 1, 1987, first week of the season. This is the real kickoff classic. The Hurricanes won this one last year on the way to their national championship, but they needed a botched two-point conversion try from Florida State to do it. You hate to bet against Miami, but it’s a shadow of last year’s team. Sixteen players, three of them receivers, have gone on to the National Football League. You wonder how good the able but limited Steve Walsh will look this season, with Michael Irvin and Brian Blades gone. At least the traditional cockiness prevails. Said Dale Dawkins, the new name along with Randal Hill: “We’re going to be just as good, or better.” Hill, just 18, could emerge as the Miami crowd-pleaser. Last season, in kick return duties, he showed near world-class speed, returning 19 kickoffs for a school-record 497 yards. “That was fun,” says Hill. This could be a different ballgame, though. Of course, Bobby Bowden needs to fill a few holes himself at Florida State. His quarterback, Danny McManus, and top linebacker, Paul McGowan, are gone. But nobody will notice, with Deion Sanders terrorizing from his cornerback position and Sammie Smith taking handoffs. In the last five meetings, Miami has won this game four times. Other curious statistics: Florida State is 12-9 against Miami in the Orange Bowl, but only 1-9 in Tallahassee; Miami has outscored Florida State, 49-9, in the fourth quarter in their last three games. Anybody remember Florida State leading Miami in the third quarter last year, 19-3?

THE SOUTH

Tennessee at Georgia

TV: ESPN, 3 p.m., PDT.

Here’s another early-season gift to the fans: two Southeastern Conference championship aspirants battling it out in the first week. Tennessee’s Jeff Francis is one of the top passers in the South, and his arm will be important in this game. The Volunteer offense will need to pick up some defensive slack created when all but two starters from the front seven departed. Reggie Cobb, a sophomore tailback, also will help provide a cushion. He is coming back from a terrific season in which he gained nearly 1,200 yards. Georgia answers with Rodney Hampton, a sophomore tailback who backed up Lars Tate and still gained 890 yards. But Bulldog quarterback Wayne Johnson lacks experience. He started just one game last year. Can you believe this is Vince Dooley’s 25th year as Georgia’s coach?

Texas A&M; (0-1) at Louisiana State

LSU’s Tigers may have the toughest schedule in the country, and what a way to start! Yet you have to like a team that starts Tom Hodson at quarterback. Hodson, a junior who is the country’s No. 2 passer, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. efficiency ratings, holds the LSU record for scoring passes (34) and needs just 2,500 yards to break the record for yards. And to think that LSU was the only school to offer him a football scholarship--some Ivies wanted him to play basketball. The Aggies, after losing to Nebraska last week, may find that the Southwest Conference championship is a more reasonable goal than the national title. They feature John Roper, a devastating linebacker, on defense but nobody you’d recognize on offense. Still, watch tailback Darren Lewis, who gained 668 yards as a freshman last year. He even threw a touchdown pass to help beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. The poor Aggies have to play Alabama next week.

North Carolina at South Carolina

These neighbors haven’t played for four seasons. South Carolina Coach Joe Morrison has a wonderful quarterback in Todd Ellis, who threw for more than 3,000 yards in each of his first two seasons and is now running a pro-type offense. Junior running back Harold Green ran for 1,044 yards last season and keeps defenses honest. The Tar Heels are rebuilding a bit under their new coach, Mack Brown, but he would seem to be the guy to do it. He turned Tulane around in a hurry.

TODAY’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, PAGE 17