[Tuck4Bama]

KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee towns of Martin and Knoxville are separated by about five hours.

But when it comes to their college football programs, they are worlds apart. Not that anyone has to tell Southern Miss Coach Jeff Bower.

One week after Southern Miss handled UT-Martin 35-13, Bower takes his Golden Eagles eastward to Southeastern Conference country Saturday for UT's home opener, a 6 p.m. game. And he knows this test will be a tad tougher than his last game against a Tennessee program.

"We're going up there to a good environment to face a talented team," Bower said. "You'll find out a lot more about your football team. We'll know a lot more than we know right now."

Bower showered the Vols with praise earlier this week, but he could just as well have been talking about his own program. Southern Miss isn't expected to be a Band-Aid for UT's 45-31 loss at Cal last weekend. The Golden Eagles were ranked No. 24 in the preseason by The Sporting News.

They feature a strong running game and they undoubtedly will field a better defense than the Bears did.

Southern Miss expects to see very different UT