Notre Dame and Purdue don't kick off until 8:00 EST on Saturday night so we are looking at another Saturday afternoon to kill. Luckily the lineup this weekend is at least a lot better than it was last week.
The open thread plan remains the same as it was this past weekend. We will have a general open thread for the day games starting at 12:00 EST then another one specifically for Notre Dame at Purdue that will open at 7:00 EST. If you have your laptop, tablet or smartphone handy stop by and join the conversation.
If any of you are looking for full TV schedules I suggest the link below.
*All times listed are EST.
Rankings are per the USA Today Coaches Poll
Thursday 12 September
#24 TCU at Texas Tech 7:30 ESPN
TCU quarterback Casey Pachall is out at least 8 weeks with a broken arm so Trevone Boykin is back on the job full time. At Tejas Tech Kliff Kingsbury has been starting a true freshman walk-on quarterback named Baker Mayfield. After two games Mayfield has completed 64 of 90 passes for 780 yards, 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Oh yeah and he only played the first half this past weekend. Granted those stats were piled up against SMU and Stephen F. Austin but that's still a pretty nice stat line for a kid that was in high school 4 months ago and isn't even on a scholarship. So is Mayfield for real? Is Kingsbury the freshman QB whisperer? I'm guessing Gary Patterson has other ideas.
Friday 13 September
Air Force at Boise State 8:00 ESPN
Air Force is coming off of a beatdown at the hands of Utah State and Chris Petersen's Broncos are still mentally recovering from an ugly week one loss to Washington. So who gets back on track here? I'm guessing Boise does takes care of business on the Smurf Turf.
Saturday 14 September
UCLA at #15 Nebraska 12:00 ABC
The Blackshirts got exposed a little bit in a week one matchup with Wyoming. Can we officially call this a trend? How does a former stud DC like Pelini let that happen? I'm still not convinced that UCLA is all that great but I really am surprised that the Huskers are favored in this game. The Bruins roughed up the Huskers last year so I'm curious to see if the Blackshirts have enough pride to show up and give Taylor Martinez and company a chance to win the game this time.
#7 Louisville at Kentucky 12:00 ESPN
The Louisville schedule is really, really weak. Help us Mark Stoops you might be our only hope!
Tulsa at #13 Oklahoma 12:00 ESPN2
Oklahoma hasn't looked real formidable in their first two games. Can Tulsa sneak up on them? Naaaaahhh.
Virginia Tech at East Carolina 12:00 FOX Sports 1
I could see East Carolina winning this game.
Boston College at USC 3:00 PAC 12 Network
Is this game really scheduled? How did that happen? Can Kiffykins and the Trojans bounce back after a loss to Wazzu? I suspect that the Trojans will be able to take care of business in this one.
#1 Alabama at #6 Texas A&M 3:30 CBS
What's not to like about this game? tWWL has to be upset that they don't have this as the prime time game of the week. There are just too many storylines to count in this one. Can Johnny Football beat Alabama for the 2nd straight year? Since both teams can't lose I suppose we will all just have to sit back and enjoy watching it all unfold.
Tennessee at #2 Oregon 3:30 ABC
What are the chances that Tennessee can make a game of this? The Vols put up a lot of points against Austin Peay and Western Kentucky. I'm thinking this one likely won't go so well for them though.
Nevada at #9 Florida State 3:30 ESPN
Seminole quarterback Jameis Winston looked pretty awesome against Pitt on Labor Day. Will his second game be equally impressive?
#3 Ohio State at California 7:00 FOX
Sonny Dykes appears to have a pretty decent offense and not much of a defense in his first year at Cal. That said the Golden Bears have absolutely nothing to lose in this game and they are playing at home. Can Cal make a game out of this?
Vanderbilt at #14 South Carolina 7:00 ESPN
Ol' Ball Coach should get the Cocks back on track here. Will Clowney continue to be frustrated by teams scheming away from him? I would imagine that's the plan for every team on their schedule at this point.
Mississippi State at Auburn 7:00 ESPN2
Are either of these teams really very good? Meh.
#21 Notre Dame at Purdue 8:00 ABC
Wait, do we have to listen to Herbie and Mushburger for the 2nd straight week? Say it ain't so! Can they at least put Eminem back in the booth? For the whole game this time? This game being in tWWL "game of the week" slot will draw the ire of many. Oh well. Let's just hope the Irish can get back on track by pummeling the Boilers. Full previews from the staff are coming soon.
Ole Miss at Texas 8:00 Fox Sports 1
This is suddenly interesting. Mack brown fired DC Manny Diaz on Sunday and now has Greg Robinson trying to teach guys to tackle this week. I'm sure that will fix everything. So if the Horns get embarrassed again will Mack survive the weekend? Is Greg Robinson on the cusp of becoming the interim Head Coach at Texas? Hook em!
Oregon State at Utah 10:00 FOX Sports 1
Oregon State lost to Eastern Washington in their opener then bounced back and picked up a W against Hawai'i. I'm thinking this one will go right back in the other direction for the Beavers. I'm amazed at how inconsistent that program is.
#18 Wisconsin at Arizona State 10:30 ESPN
What's up with tWWL airing a late PAC-12 game? Regardless this is a good chance to see Sparky play against a good opponent.
What other games should we be trying to keep an eye on? We'll see you in our open thread on Saturday night.