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Ohio State vs. TCU isn’t the only exciting game on today’s college football schedule

Let’s be honest, today is all about Rutgers vs. Kansas!

Rutgers v Ohio State Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Oh, things are getting serious today! Yes, the Buckeyes are finally playing an opponent with a pulse; yes, the Tiger Bowl is happening down on The Plains; yes the week’s most entertaining game might be Boise State at Oklahoma State, but honestly, who cares?

It is the day that we have all been waiting for. It is like the college football equivalent of Christmas, or Tax Day, or a four-hour visit to the dentist that includes all four wisdom teeth being pulled and a root canal. It’s Rutgers vs. Kansas Day!

Since the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes don’t kick off until 8 p.m. ET against the No. 15 TCU Horned Frogs, there is plenty of time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the other games for a while. Despite the much-anticipated, long-awaited Scarlet Knights and Jayhawks matchup, the noon window doesn’t bring a ton of excitement to the table. However, there are some early opportunities to scout Ohio State’s upcoming opponents.

At noon on FS1, No. 11 Penn State will host the Kent State. While I wouldn’t expect to see the Flashes put up much of a fight in Happy Valley, it should be a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with the Buckeyes’ next major opponent after TCU. OSU and PSU play in State College, Penn., on Saturday, Sept. 29.

If you’d prefer to flip the TV to a more immediate Buckeye opponent, too bad, because Ohio State’s next foe, the Tulane Green Wave, isn’t playing on television today. Instead, they will be traveling to UAB to play the Blazers at 1 p.m. ET in a game broadcast on the Facebook... what is this world coming to?

However, once you get through the dregs of the opening timeslot, things get exciting, because at 3:30 p.m. ET, you’ve got a pair of ranked-vs.-ranked matchups, and two Big Ten contenders hosting teams looking to rebound coming off of losses.

On CBS, we’ve got the Battle of the Tigers as Joe Burrow and the No. 12 LSU Tigers head over to Jordan-Hare Stadium to face the No. 7 Auburn Tigers in a major SEC West matchup. Then, we’ve got the aforementioned most exciting game of the day (non-OSU vs. TCU edition, obviously), as No. 17 Boise State travels to Stillwater, Okla., to take on mulletless Mike Gundy’s No. 24 Oklahoma State Cowboys.

A little closer to home, No. 6 Wisconsin hosts BYU, and No. 19 Michigan hosts SMU.

As we get closer to the Buckeyes’ gametime, at 7 p.m. ET over on ESPN, the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will look to knockoff Ole miss in Oxford, Miss. The Rebels are inexplicably 2-2 vs. the Tide since 2014, but I can’t imagine a scenario in which ‘Bama doesn’t win this one by at least three touchdowns.

Kicking off at the same time as the Buckeyes, just three hours south on I-35 in Austin, will be No. 22 USC and Texas. These two storied programs have quite the history against each other. Neither has looked especially impressive so far this season, but it could be a statement game for either program, if they end up winning comfortably.

We’ve also got some other fun, ranked Pac-12 After Dark options as the No. 10 Washington Huskies visit the Utah Utes, and the No. 23 Fighting Herm Edwardses, a.k.a. the Arizona State Sun Devils, will go on the road to Herm’s alma mater, San Diego State. I don’t expect upsets in either game, but you never know what types of craziness will happen when the sun goes down out west.

Week 3 Saturday Schedule

Matchup Time (ET) TV Streaming
Matchup Time (ET) TV Streaming
Georgia Southern at #2 Clemson 12:00 PM ESPN2 WatchESPN.com
#5 Oklahoma at Iowa State 12:00 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
Kent State at #11 Penn State 12:00 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
#21 Miami at Toledo 12:00 PM ESPN2 WatchESPN.com
Rhode Island at UConn 12:00 PM None WatchESPN.com
Troy at Nebraska 12:00 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Hawai'i at Army 12:00 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Florida State at Syracuse 12:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Rutgers at Kansas 12:00 PM FSN FoxSportsGo.com
Ball State at Indiana 12:00 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Temple at Maryland 12:00 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Murray State at Kentucky 12:00 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
UTEP at Tennessee 12:00 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh 12:30 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Tulane at UAB 1:00 PM None Facebook
UC Davis at #9 Stanford 2:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Vanderbilt at #8 Notre Dame 2:30 PM NBC NBCSports.com
Ohio at Virginia 3:00 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
BYU at #6 Wisconsin 3:30 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
#12 LSU at #7 Auburn 3:30 PM CBS CBSSports.com
#17 Boise State at #24 Oklahoma State 3:30 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
SMU at #19 Michigan 3:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Miami (OH) at Minnesota 3:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Lehigh at Navy 3:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois 3:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
South Florida at Illinois 3:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Duke at Baylor 3:30 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
UTSA at Kansas State 4:00 PM FSN FoxSportsGo.com
Colorado State at Florida 4:00 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
North Texas at Arkansas 4:00 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Wofford at Wyoming 4:00 PM None TheMW.com
Eastern Kentucky at Bowling Green 4:00 PM None WatchESPN.com
Houston at Texas Tech 4:15 PM FOX FoxSportsGo.com
San Jose State at #20 Oregon 5:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
New Hampshire at Colorado 5:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Idaho State at California 6:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Bethune-Cookman at Florida Atlantic 6:00 PM Stadium Facebook
Eastern Michigan at Buffalo 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
#1 Alabama at Ole Miss 7:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Texas State at South Alabama 7:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Arkansas State at Tulsa 7:00 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Alabama A&M at Cincinnati 7:00 PM None WatchESPN.com
Delaware State at Western Michigan 7:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Oregon State at Nevada 7:00 PM None WatchESPN.com
Middle Tennessee at #3 Georgia 7:15 PM ESPN2 WatchESPN.com
Louisiana at #16 Mississippi State 7:30 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
UL Monroe at Texas A&M 7:30 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Missouri at Purdue 7:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Northern Iowa at Iowa 7:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Western Kentucky at Louisville 7:30 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
UMass at Florida Intl 7:30 PM beIN Sports beINSports.com
Akron at Northwestern 7:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
#4 Ohio State at #15 TCU 8:00 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
#22 USC at Texas 8:00 PM FOX FoxSportsGo.com
New Mexico at New Mexico State 8:00 PM Eleven Sports Aggievision
Eastern Washington at Washington State 8:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
#10 Washington at Utah 10:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Prairie View at UNLV 10:00 PM None TheMW.com
#23 Arizona State at San Diego State 10:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Fresno State at UCLA 10:30 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Southern Utah at Arizona 11:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
#18 UCF at North Carolina Canceled
East Carolina at #13 Virginia Tech Canceled
#14 West Virginia at NC State Canceled
Southern Mississippi at Appalachian State Postponed
Norfolk State at Liberty Postponed
Marshall at South Carolina Cancelled