The Southeastern Conference is proving this season that there is a difference between smart scheduling and smart opponents.

Florida has a smart schedule. The Gators play nine of their 12 games inside the state, face Hawaii a year after the Warriors were flashy, and get Miami and Florida State several years after that pair dominated the sport.

Vanderbilt simply has smart opponents with nonconference games against Duke, Rice, Miami of Ohio and Wake Forest. The GPA gauntlet starts tonight when Bobby Johnson’s Commodores travel to Oxford, Ohio.

“It’s hard to have a succinct plan and say you’re going to follow it all the time, because you just don’t know who is going to be available,” Johnson said of Vandy’s schedule. “We’re playing Duke and Wake Forest this year, and Miami of Ohio is an excellent academic school, but those weren’t the only criteria we used. Miami helped us out of a scheduling mess last year, and we’re returning the favor.”

The RedHawks are coached by Shane Montgomery, who was an offensive assistant at UTC from 1993 to 2000. They have offensive issues but three Butkus Award candidates at linebacker, so they could put an early dent in the SEC’s greatest-year-ever theory.

Pasquali’s Pix:

N.C. State at South Carolina: Steve Spurrier has won 17 straight openers, having gone 12-0 at Florida, 2-0 with the Washington Redskins and 3-0 with the Gamecocks. The Redskins part surprised me, too. Gamecocks 20, Wolfpack 13.

Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech: It’s not every century when more folks can name the starting quarterback at Jacksonville State (Ryan Perrilloux) than at Georgia Tech (Josh Nesbitt). Yellow Jackets 34, Gamecocks 17.

Georgia Southern at Georgia: Discussing all those preseason injuries in Athens now seems petty considering half of GSU’s available scholarship players Saturday are freshmen. Bulldogs 51, Eagles 14.

Hawaii at Florida: No Colt Brennan. No June Jones. And you thought last season’s Sugar Bowl was ugly? Gators 52, Warriors 7.

Appalachian State at LSU: Give the Mountaineers the advantage at quarterback and the Tigers the advantage everywhere else. Tigers 27, Mountaineers 16.

UTC at Oklahoma: The lone edge going for the Mocs is coach Rodney Allison. He is undefeated in BCS bowls, while Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops has lost four straight. Sooners 59, Mocs 10.

Alabama vs. Clemson: Why so much pressure on the Tigers? Because Alabama (No. 24) and Wake Forest (No. 23) are the only two teams in the AP preseason poll that Clemson faces. Tigers 20, Crimson Tide 17.

Tennessee at UCLA: Even Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel has the underrated Vols potentially going a long way in his office pool. Vols 31, Bruins 14.

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