Don’t look now, but your 2-0 Iowa State Cyclones are coming off a bye week, ready to get back to business on Saturday. If you’re like me and you’ve re-watched the CyHawk game over and over since September 7th, you’re probably ready to watch this team play live again. Hopes are high, the future looks bright, and there’s no better place to be than Jack Trice stadium on the first official weekend of fall.

Weather: Warm and possibly rainy

Annoyingly, it looks like there will be chances for rain most of Saturday. However, if it isn’t raining, it shouldn’t be too hot and humid and there is potential for a nice tailgating day. Clouds will help keep your sunburn chances down and there doesn’t seem to be much chance for high winds or severe weather. Cross fingers and toes for no lightning and we should be good to go.

Food: Salami and cream cheese bites

Fast. Easy. Won’t get soggy if it’s rainy. I love a dip or a crunchy snack mix at a tailgate, but if it’s going to be a wet tailgate, you might want to contribute something that won’t be a mushy mess in bad weather. As the beer gets flowing, you’ll want a little salty bite to accompany your beverage. These are perfect.

Drink: Summer beer fridge clean out

If you haven’t already, the time to transition to fall beer is nearly here. This would be a good time to drink up all your summer beer you have in your beer fridge or basement. If you’re not a seasonal beer drinker, just go ahead and do whatever you want. Weirdo.

Game: Crossnet

This says it’s volleyball meets four square and can be set up anywhere…I’ve seen this popping up all over the place and it looks SO fun. Competitive, but not too physically demanding (you don’t want to be soaked with sweat during the game). Or, if it’s raining, just play Rock Paper Scissors or something.

Song: All For You by Janet Jackson

We’re continuing my walk down college memory lane with another song from my freshman year of college at Iowa State. My roommate (hi Kari!) and I listened to this CD on repeat in our Towers dorm room. Sure, we didn’t have air conditioning, we had to walk soooo far to class and football games, and we had to shower in flip flops. But there isn’t much I would change about that first year at ISU, including the soundtrack .