Welcome back to the College Football Weekly Buffet here at SB Nation.
Every week, I'll be breaking down the weekend schedule, separating the tasty morsels from the leftovers with the help of SB Nation's college bloggers. By the time you wake up Saturday morning, grab your plate and head for the food line, you'll already know exactly what you're going to chow down on.
So let's find out what looks tasty and what might be worth pushing to the side of your plate in this weekend's college football buffet. (All times are Eastern.)
GIVE ME A HEAPING HELPING
No. 8 Nebraska @ No. 7 Wisconsin (8:00pm, ABC) - The consensus is in, most folks seem to think the Badgers will hand the Huskers a loss in their first Big Ten game. Don't forget, though...Nebraska is 11-4 in road games under Bo Pelini.
No. 13 Clemson @ No. 11 Virginia Tech (6:00pm, ESPN2, ESPN3.com) - Clemson heads to a very tough place to open the season, Blacksburg, VA. Coming off wins over Auburn and Florida State, Clemson isn't the "other" team in this game anymore.
No. 3 Alabama @ No. 12 Florida (8:00pm, CBS) - A week after pummeling Arkansas in a key SEC West showdown, Alabama arguably faces an even more difficult, though less heralded, foe this weekend in Gainesville. The big questions are, how will Charlie Weis attack an impenetrable defense and can Florida overcome it's deficiencies at WR?
I'LL HAVE A SCOOP OF THAT, PLEASE
No. 14 Texas A&M @ No. 18 Arkansas (12pm, ESPN, ESPN3.com) - Two old-school rivals who will soon be new rivals clash this weekend. Bobby Petrino needs to get his Hogs regrouped after last week's loss. Given who they played before Alabama, perhaps a lot of their numbers were inflated to begin with.
I'LL TASTE IT FIRST...
Northwestern @ No. 24 Illinois (12pm, ESPN2, ESPN3.com) - It's Homecoming in Illinois and the 4-0 Illini will have to keep an eye on the Pat Fitzgerald Intense-o-meter to make sure it's a good one.
Arizona @ USC (3:30 FSN) - Do you like shootouts? Cause you're looking at one. Arizona's passing game brings just as much to the table at the Trojan's.
Baylor @ Kansas State (3:30pm, ABC, ESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - Playing Baylor used to be the gimme Big 12 game every season. Robert Griffin III has made sure that's no longer the case.
Michigan State @ Ohio State (3:30pm, ABC, ESPN, ESPN3.com) - A Michigan State team beset by injuries heads to Columbus to face an Ohio State team beset by scandal. The Spartans are a different team week-to-week, wonder who will show up for this one.
Washington @ Utah (7PM FSN) - This one feels like the first real home game of the year for the Utes. Husky fans still think they're walking out of here with a win.
I'LL KEEP THAT IN MIND FOR THE NEXT TRIP
Mississippi State @ Georgia (12pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - It's Bulldog vs. Bulldog in this SEC showdown. Georgia leads the all-time series 16-6, though last year’s loss in Starkville broke a nine-game winning streak.
Rutgers @ Syracuse (12pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - SU coach Doug Marrone put the team on lockdown this week to make sure the full news of the team's injuries didn't leak. Marrone might be 2-0 against Greg Schiano, but he's 0-2 against former-Pitt-now-Rutgers DC Frank Cignetti.
No. 21 Georgia Tech @ NC State (3:30pm, ABC, ESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - The NC State Wolfpack returned from Cincinnati last week with not much more than their uniforms. Perhaps it is time to introduce the beer keg defense.
No. 17 Texas @ Iowa State (7PM FX) - Texas remembers what happened last year when Iowa State came to Austin. Our newest CFB blog, ISU's Wide Right and Natty Lite, is hoping to keep it up.
UCLA @ No. 4 Stanford (10:30 FSN) - The Bruins are taking it easy in practice as they prepare for a physical match-up. Senior leader "Moose" Martin has really taken a lot of the younger Stanford guys under his wing.
Oregon State @ Arizona State (10:30 FSAZ) - The Beavers are very questionable heading into this one. Over at ASU, this year just feels different.
I DON'T KNOW...SMELLS FUNNY...
Minnesota @ No. 19 Michigan (12pm, Big Ten Network) - Gopher fans are already looking ahead to the rebuilding process in front of them. How good is Michigan, really? They probably won't be too tested this week so we'll have to wait on that.
Penn State @ Indiana (12pm, ESPNU) - Indiana's star running back has been out since the fourth game of last year with a knee injury, yet mysteriously participated in a fifth-tier pro wrestling event in Bloomington last weekend. They have yet to beat Penn State all-time (0-14) and this year doesn't look much better.
Toledo @ Temple (12pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - Toledo will attempt to recover from last week's shady ending against Syracuse. Doing so against a quality Temple team will be a challenge.
Kentucky @ No. 1 LSU (12:20pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - 1...it's the national ranking of the Tigers this game, and the number of times UK has defeated a top-ranked team in recent history. LSU probably shouldn't admit this, but they're kinda looking at this game as a break from the craziness.
Wake Forest @ Boston College (12:30pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - This might be ACC Game of the Year if the year was 2006. Neither team has looked impressive so far. Who wants to look slightly more impressive?
Washington State @ Colorado (3:30 FOX College Sports) - If you're comparing these two offenses, things don't match up too well. A lot of that has to do with Coug WR Marquess Wilson.
SMU @ TCU (3:30pm, CBS College Sports) - TCU's trophy game with their crosstown rival SMU is an underrated one considering how lopsided it's been in recent years.
North Carolina @ East Carolina (8:00pm, CBS College Sports) - The Tar Heels might be looking ahead to their conferencemates a little bit here. History shows you should never overlook the Pirates.
Notre Dame @ Purdue (8:00pm, ESPN, ESPN3.com) - This ain't your Daddy's Purdue offense. But while some things change, Purdue fans make sure to keep some things the same.
Ole Miss @ Fresno State (8:00pm, ESPN2, ESPN3.com) - If the Rebs lose this one, will their AD end up taking the fall for it?
NO THANKS, PLATE'S FULL
Utah State @ BYU (Friday, 8pm, ESPN, ESPN3.com) - Is BYU going to the Big 12? If they are, they probably want to prove they can beat teams like Utah State.
Air Force @ Navy (12pm, CBS) - Could this one-day soon be a Big East contest? Perhaps, but not if Navy's head coach has anything to say about it.
Cincinnati @ Miami (OH) (1:00pm, ESPN3.com) - Isaiah Pead is coming of his most complete game in a UC uniform. Can he make it two-in-a-row?
Nevada @ No. 4 Boise State (2:30pm, Versus) - Boise fans are, um, confident.
Bowling Green @ No. 22 West Virginia (3:30pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - The main topics of concern for WVU seem to be whether BG's offense can move the ball on WVU's 3-3-5 and how well they'll rebound from an emotional, mistake-filled loss against LSU.
Western Michigan @ Connecticut (3:30pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - UConn is still the defending Big East champs and WMU has a great chance to make headlines with a win here. The Huskies could be distracted by all this conference realignment nonsense.
Marshall @ Louisville (3:30pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - Cardinals fans would like to see a change at QB for this one.
Towson @ Maryland (3:30pm, ESPN3.com, ESPN Game Plan) - The Terrapins face Towson for in-state supremacy, as well as a chance to get even on the season.
Idaho @ Virginia (3:30pm, ESPN3.com) - The Hoos have been finding new and exciting ways to disappoint their fans in recent weeks. Does the disappointment end here?
Northern Illinois @ Central Michigan (3:30pm, ESPN3.com) - The Chippewas have fallen and they've fallen quickly. Good news for the Huskies.
Bethune Cookman @ Miami (FL) (3:30pm, ESPNU) - Miami hasn't been accused of committing any NCAA violations in at least three weeks, so that's good news.
Ball State @ No. 1 Oklahoma (7PM FSN PPV) - Cornerback Demontre Hurst will have the honor of wearing the #12 jersey, in honor of fallen teammate Austin Box Saturday.