We’re now a full two months into the college football season and we finally have ourselves what is going to feel like a full plate of football. That’s because the Big Ten is back from the dead and here to fill your football needs all day Saturday and even a bit on Friday.

Beyond the Big Ten, our friends in the Mountain West have decided to join the party and are back in as well, which means our viewing window gets much longer. Football after dark is back, folks. The total impact is more football for longer this week than we’ve had all season long. Let’s. Go.

Here’s a look at which games to catch this week and where you can find them all.

Thursday, October 22nd Games

Just one game on Thursday night this week and it’s not exactly a noteworthy one, but it is football. It’s a 6:30pm CT kick on ESPN and you’ve got 3-2 Arkansas State at 2-1 Appalachian State. Football.

Friday, October 23rd Games

Things pick up a bit on Friday night as we’ve got 4 total games and 3 on broadcast television. Things kick off at 6pm with a bad not great game on ESPN3. At 6:30 you’ve got Tulsa at South Florida on ESPN.

Then at 7pm CT we get the triumphant return of the Big Ten in the matchup we’ve all been waiting for: Illinois at #14 Wisconsin. That’s on BTN, which is just happy to have something live to broadcast, even if you could substitute a “classic” game from the same matchup a decade ago and get the same result.

At the same time, CBS Sports Network has Louisiana at UAB. So, options I guess.

Saturday, October 24th Games

Saturday is that moment we’ve all been waiting for. While we still await the return of the Pac-12 and some of the lower tier conferences, the Big Ten is back and that gives us the closest thing we’ve had to a full Saturday slate all season.

The action kicks off at 11am CT. You’ve got #1 Clemson set to demolish Syracuse on the ACC Network. FOX has a similar death sentence for Nebraska at the hands of #5 Ohio State. FS1 has #20 Kansas State hosting Kansas. ABC has unranked Oklahoma at unranked TCU. The SEC Network has Auburn at Ole Miss. The Big Ten Network has Rutgers at Michigan State. There are also several games online only that may be of some interest if you get bored. Check the full listings below if so.

At 1pm CT you’ve got Tulane at UCF if you need to fill some commercial time. That’s on ESPN2. Then you’ve got FAU at #22 Marshall (yes, really) on Stadium to keep your TV screen active.

At 2:30pm you’ve got the return of Hawkeye football. Iowa, of course, travels to Purdue and you can watch on the Big Ten Network.

The 2:30 slot has some solid action elsewhere with #2 Alabama at Tennessee on CBS. ABC has #3 Notre Dame at Pitt. FS1 has #8 Penn State at Indiana. ESPN has Baylor at Texas. Wake Forest is hosting #19 Virginia Tech on ESPN3 because the ACC. The big one in this time slot (other than Iowa, of course) is #17 Iowa State at #6 Oklahoma State on FOX.

We’ve got a pair of staggered starts at 3pm that will help fill the halftime void. Georgia Tech is at Boston College on the ACC Network. Then Kentucky is at Missouri on the SEC Network.

The Big 12 gives us a nice random 4:30 start for West Virginia at Texas Tech. That’s on ESPN2.

At 6pm, you’ve got South Carolina at now unranked and 1-2 LSU on ESPN. FS1 has Utah State at Boise State as the Mountain West joins the fun. You’ve also got Wyoming at Nevada on CBS Sports Network.

In the primetime slot we get a pair Big Ten matchups. BTN has Maryland at Northwestern while Game Day will be at #22 Minnesota as they host #18 Michigan.

At 7pm, Virginia is at #11 Miami on ACC Network while ESPNU has Louisiana Tech at UT-San Antonio.

AND THE NIGHT CAPS ARE BACK BABY!

The action keeps rolling at 8pm CT with unbeaten #9 Cincinnati at unbeaten #16 SMU on ESPN2. At 9:15 you’ve got Texas State at #12 BYU on ESPN. That’s worth tuning in to just to watch former Iowa QB target Zach Wilson, who cancelled his trip to Iowa City when he learned Spencer Petras had taken his scholarship and settled on BYU. Seems to have worked out for them, hopefully it works out for the Hawkeyes.

But wait, there’s more!

Things wrap up with a pair of 9:30pm (!!) kicks. CBS Sports Network has UNLV at San Diego State while FS1 brings us Air Force at San Jose State. Football after dark is back, baby!

And that’s it for this week. Here’s a look at the full slate for week 8: