Saturday college football viewers’ guide

Break out the chips and cold drinks but let Chris Dufresne handle the remote. Each Friday, the Times’ national college football writer handicaps what’s worth watching, and skipping, on Saturday’s menu of games.

MORNING

Kent State (0-0) atNo. 2 Alabama (0-0)

9 a.m. KDOC

This is the first game at Bryant-Denny since the deadly April 27 tornado that killed 50 people in Tuscaloosa. The twister flirted with wiping out the campus and stadium, so emotions will be heavy. Expect Alabama to be more courteous than usual in gratitude for Kent State players traveling to Tuscaloosa over the summer to help rebuild houses. This is what college football should be about instead of all the off-season garbage that’s been dumped on our front lawns. Roll Tide, but roll gently. Please allow the Golden Flashes at least a few flashes of brilliance.

Akron (0-0) atNo. 18 Ohio State (0-0)

9 a.m., ESPN

The Buckeyes marching band opens festivities with its tribute, “Thank God for the Miami Scandal,” which focuses on the triviality of a coach lying to the NCAA when compared with a booster who provided prostitutes to players. This week, four months after he resigned in disgrace, former coach Jim Tressel was honored with a tribute wall at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. We believe it is located adjacent to the photo of Woody punching out that Clemson player. Akron’s best shot at victory is to hope a Buckeyes’ win is later ordered vacated by the NCAA.

9 a.m.: Utah State at Auburn, ESPN2

9 a.m.: Miami (Ohio) at Missouri, FS West

9 a.m.: Northwestern at Boston College, ESPNU

9 a.m.: Indiana State at Penn State, BTN

9:30 a.m.: Appalachian State at Virginia Tech, Ch. 13

MIDDAY

South Florida (0-0) at No. 16 Notre Dame (0-0)

12:30 p.m., Channel 4

Love Notre Dame, hate Notre Dame. Who cares, just as long as Lindsey Nelson is doing the play-by-play taped replay. Wait? What? Well, at least Holtz is back coaching in South Bend on Saturday. Skip Holtz, son of Lou, will lead South Florida into the place where his dad won the national title in 1988 and poor-mouthed every overmatched opponent like South Florida. The thing is, South Florida now has B.J. Daniels, the kind of quarterback who could wreck Notre Dame’s opener and short-circuit all those BCS bowl predictions.

12:30 p.m.: Minnesota at USC, Channels 7, 3, 10, 42

12:30 p.m.: Western Michigan at Michigan, ESPN2

12:30 p.m.: James Madison at North Carolina, FS West

12:30 p.m.: UCLA at Houston, Prime

12:30 p.m.: Louisiana Monroe at Florida State, ESPNU

12:30 p.m.: Arkansas State at Illinois, BTN

12:30 p.m.: Delaware at Navy, CBSSN

AFTERNOON

Florida Atlantic (0-0) at No. 22 Florida (0-0)

4 p.m. ESPNU

Notre Dame channel-surfers cruising over from the Peacock Network can watch former Irish coach Charlie Weis debut as offensive coordinator for Florida … or not. Weis was hired by first-year Coach Will Muschamp to make people stop reminding shell-shocked quarterback John Brantley that he’s not Tim Tebow. One thing that hasn’t changed about the Gators, they’re acutely agoraphobic. Florida hasn’t left the state for a nonconference game since 1991.

1:45 p.m.: BYU at Mississippi, ESPN

4 p.m.: East Carolina vs. South Carolina, Prime

EVENING

No. 3 Oregon (0-0) vs.No. 4 LSU (0-0)

at Arlington, Texas, 5 p.m. Ch. 7

Good to see they found enough front-line players to stage this game. It was sketchy there for a while. Louisiana State forges on without quarterback Jordan Jefferson and receiver Russell Shepard, sitting out for various run-ins with authority. Oregon star corner Cliff Harris, the man who would have covered Shepard, is also suspended for allegedly driving a car 118 mph while under the influence. This game is No. 1 on the viewers’ list and No. 3 on the FBI’s list.

No. 5 Boise State (0-0) vs.No. 19 Georgia (0-0)

5 p.m., ESPN

OK, who were the geniuses behind putting the day’s two best games on at the same time? If you said Bristol Palin, you’d have the “Bristol” part right. Try to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome from toggling back and forth. Or, tape one game and watch the other during the rerun of “Saturday Night Live.” Remember, if Boise State wins, it was just one game and everyone knows the Broncos would finish 5-7 if they played in the SEC.

5 p.m.: Tulsa at Oklahoma, FX

7 p.m.: Louisiana Tech at Southern Mississippi, FSWest

7:15 p.m.: Colorado at Hawaii, ESPN2

7:30 p.m. (delayed): Grambling at Alcorn State, ESPNU

chris.dufresne@latimes.com