Hannah Montana was wrong

The GIST: Conference play finally comes to town this weekend, meaning the effects of realignment will be on full display. Here’s to old rivals and new enemies.

No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini (3-0) vs. No. 22 Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0), tonight at 8 p.m. ET (Fox): Huskers QB Patrick Mahomes Dylan Raiola has almost singlehandedly put Nebraska football back on the map, making tonight’s tilt the first ranked matchup hosted by the Huskers — a ’90s powerhouse — in over a decade.

No. 11 USC Trojans (2-0) vs. No. 18 Michigan Wolverines (2-1), tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS): The Big House is a brutal environment for a Big Ten debut, but USC is looking confident behind QB Miller Moss and his Heisman-worthy performances. Meanwhile, after a slow start to their national championship defense, Michigan badly needs this dub to reclaim their start-of-season swagger.

No. 12 Utah Utes (3-0) vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0), tomorrow at 4 p.m ET (Fox): Rumor has it Utah’s Cam Rising is healthy enough to start, so tomorrow’s bout could be a battle between two seventh-year QBs. This is the starting line of the Utes’ quest to win the Big 12 in their first year — and the Cowboys are one of the top competitors in their way.

No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers (3-0) vs. No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners (3-0), tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC): The Sooners’ first conference game as an SEC squad is a doozy: The Vols are a well-oiled offensive machine who’ve outscored their first three opponents a whopping 191–13. That said, this is also Tennessee’s toughest test yet — can Oklahoma prove that Rocky Top’s all hype?

The GIST: If you thought Wednesday night volleyball was exciting, just wait until you see the Top-10 matchups that the sport’s “It Girls” have for you this weekend. It’s official: We’re living in the Golden Age of college volleyball.

No. 1 Pitt and No. 5 Nebraska snag Top-10 sweeps: When Hannah said “Nobody’s Perfect,” she clearly hadn’t heard of the top-ranked Panthers. On Wednesday, Pitt dominated intrastate rival No. 3 Penn State in front of a record crowd to capture their season’s seventh win — all without dropping a single set. Holy moly.

• Elsewhere on Wednesday, Nebraska also bagged a big one, upsetting No. 2 Stanford in a stunning and redemptive sweep of their own. The Cornhuskers’ attack was formidable, but it was their blocking that brought down the house — and the Cardinal.

No. 4 Louisville wins the Battle of the Bluegrass: Veteran outside hitter Anna DeBeer has officially found her 2024 groove, racking up 13 kills and 12 digs to lead her Cardinals to a 3-1 road dub over state rival No. 11 Kentucky. The win marked Louisville’s fourth ranked dub in nine matches and banked some much-needed momentum heading into their Sunday showdown…

The weekend’s biggest matchup: With no fewer than six Player of the Year candidates between them, Sunday’s game between Nebraska and Louisville is wildly deserving of the national TV treatment it will receive at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC. On the line? A massive W before conference play starts next week.

• As if that’s not exciting enough, the Jayhawk Classic is also serving up a nail-biting round-robin. Host No. 10 Kansas bested No. 6 Purdue in last night’s 3-1 dogfight, and now both teams will take on No. 9 Creighton this weekend. So much volleyball, so little time.

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🏑 Field hockey: No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1) vs. No. 1 Northwestern Wildcats (6-0) — Today at 4 p.m. ET — BTN

• If defense wins championships, then this kick off to Big Ten play could be an early conference title-game preview: Northwestern has allowed only one goal all season, and Iowa has conceded just two. Stingy.

⚽ Men’s soccer: No. 18 NC State Wolfpack (5-0-2) vs. No. 6 UNC Tar Heels (4-0-2) — Today at 7 p.m. ET — ACCNX

• NC State answered their season’s low expectations by grabbing their first ranking since 2019 just in time to visit their intrastate rival. A win here would boost the Wolfpack’s national profile even higher — and seriously shake up the ACC power dynamics.

⚽ Women’s soccer: No. 1 Stanford Cardinal (8-1-0) vs. NC State Wolfpack (3-5-1) — Sunday at 1 p.m. ET — ACCNX

• The red-hot Cardinal were supposed to take the ACC by storm after joining the conference this season — which made last night’s 1–0 Stanford loss to No. 13 Wake Forest even more shocking. Can they right the ship to close out their first cross-country road trip of the year?

⚽ Women’s soccer: No. 5 Michigan State Spartans (7-0-2) vs. No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1-1) — Sunday at 2 p.m. ET — BTN

• Michigan State’s hot season start grew even hotter last night’s commanding 4–1 win over preseason–No. 6 (but since-humbled) Nebraska. Penn State will be the Spartans’ toughest road test yet, especially with Nittany Lion striker Kaitlyn MacBean on an absolute tear.

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