Thank goodness college football starts for real this weekend.

OK now that the miserable non-conference schedule is out of the way, on to the real season. OSU is bunched up with a large number of undefeateds at the top of the polls. OSU can probably get to the BCS championship if they remain undefeated, but given weakness of schedule, they probably need help – if they end the regular season with the same record as an SEC and a PAC-12 team, I fear the Buckeyes would be odd man out. A quick glance suggests that these games and weekends could define who plays for the championship:

• Weekend of September 29: #23 Wisconsin @ #3 OSU, #6 LSU @ #9 Georgia. Certainly OSU’s biggest bump in the road, and an LSU win on the road could vault them up the standings.
• Weekend of October 5: #16 Washington @ #5 Stanford. Go Huskies!
• Weekend of October 12: #2 Oregon @ #16 Washington, #20 Florida @ #6 LSU.
• Weekend of October 19: #8 FSU @ #3 Clemson
• Weekend of October 26: PSU @ #4 OSU
• Weekend of November 9: #2 Oregon @ #5 Stanford, #6 LSU @ #1 Alabama
• Weekend of November 23: #10 Texas A&M @ #6 LSU
• Weekend of November 30: #1 Alabama @ Auburn, #3 Clemson at #12 South Carolina, #4 OSU @ #18 Michigan, #22 ND @ #5 Stanford, #8 FSU @ #20 Florida,
• Weekend of December 7: Conference Championship games. Very possibly a rematch for OSU vs Northwestern or OSU vs Michigan?

Looking forward to a great season!