Saturday spotlight: Ohio State vs. TCU

in Arlington, Texas

7 p.m. (Ch. 5)

Urban Meyer is known to deal in some hyperbole when he's impressed. And the Ohio State coach was piling it on Dwayne Haskins Jr. before the young quarterback ever arrived on campus.

Meyer raved that Haskins — from the private Bullis School in Potomac, Md. — was fundamentally the best prep quarterback he'd ever seen. "His release, his footwork, his bounce in the pocket, his ability to get out of trouble and his arm strength and size are absolutely ideal," Meyer said.

Haskins is living up to Meyer's hype so far.

A sturdy, pro-style quarterback with a mighty right arm, Haskins threw five touchdown passes in his debut and four more last week. He's already 42-for-56 for 546 yards with just one interception in limited action — limited because both of his games were blowouts and the backups mopped up.

Certainly Saturday's clash with Texas Christian at the home of the Dallas Cowboys will be the season's first decent measuring stick.

Haskins' potential has been duly noted by TCU defenders, who gave up just two pass plays longer than 10 yards in last week's rout of SMU.

"He can for sure throw, but I think he can move, too," Horned Frogs senior safety Niko Small said. "The film I've watched, that guy can run around when he wants to. I think he makes smart decisions. … I think he can do it all, honestly."

11 a.m. (Ch. 5)

Oklahoma needs to start adjusting to life without RB Rodney Anderson, out for the season because of a right knee injury. The Sooners showed last season that an early loss to Iowa State isn't necessarily a playoff killer, but such an upset would leave them without any room for error the rest of the way.

2:30 p.m. (Ch. 5)

2:30 p.m. (Ch. 4)

The winner will emerge as the team perhaps most likely to challenge Alabama in the SEC West. Both already have big nonconference victories — LSU over Miami (Fla.) and Auburn over Washington. Last year, LSU rallied from a 20-point deficit at home to beat Auburn 27-23.

2:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Oklahoma State leads the nation in total offense while Boise State is fourth. Oklahoma State seeks its first major victory with new QB Taylor Cornelius, while the Broncos would cement their status as a leader in the Group of Five conferences by beating a ranked team on the road.

7 p.m. (Ch. 9)