Forgive Virginia Tech fans if they need a little brushing up on the plains: the Hokies haven't ventured into Big 12 country since before there was a Big 12. Holly Anderson's weekly tailgating guide is here for shore dwellers venturing into the flatlands, where the only conceivable sea is the one made of a certain color.

The Lowdown
The fine folks in Lincoln know how to put on a good show on fall Saturdays. This is one of those storied programs with an incredibly rich history, and when you talk to Nebraskans, they're sure to hammer home one point above all others -- they really, really like (and know) football. Unlike some of their midwestern brethren (Madison, holla!), the game itself is the focus of the day, not a punctuation to an afternoon of drinking. Of course, this is akin to saying soccer is mildly popular in Caracas, but over and over again, the sense in Lincoln is one of pure love of the game and knowledgeable, genial fans who'll talk X's and O's with visitors all day.

The tailgating scene itself isn't as vast as you'll find at other schools this size, but there's more than enough of a bar scene surrounding campus to make up for it. And before you go, know that Nebraska is a dry campus. Saturday enforcement levels may vary, but if you're heading to Haymarket (a park popular with tailgaters, next to the baseball stadium) be sure to pack your plastic cups.

What to Wear
It's still plenty warm, so don't concern yourself with bundling up just yet.  Instead, ponder with glee that there are actual human beings walking the planet paying money for and publicly wearing these of their own free will:

Your move, Georgia fans.

(Please don't mistake this for an indictment of these shorts.  As a native Appalachian I will defend to the death the right of my fellow man to wear the tackiest damn thing available, gameday or not. I mean, I have several relatives who go about their daily lives in rhinestone-studded baseball caps. God bless America. Thank you.)

Pregame Stops
 • A unanimous pre-pregame recommendation among Huskers is the Friday night pep rally at Misty's in Havelock.
 • Locals also plug The Watering Hole on O Street, and ask that you not leave without ordering the grilled wings.

Postgame Stops
You can't really go wrong sticking to O Street.  It's within walking distance of campus, and it's wall-to-wall-to-wall bars.  On and around it, you will find:

• The Alley.  Visiting Hokies will feel right at home drinking beer out of mason jars.
 • The Sidetrack.  Three words: Live. Karaoke. Band.  
 • Duffy's.  It's a garden, but with beer!

What to Drink
I have been informed by several reliable Nebraska alumni that there exists, in Lincoln, a phenomenon known as "red beer." This is not the dyed beverage of cheap St. Patrick's Day celebrations, but rather a can of beer mixed with tomato juice, like a middle-American michelada. I'd hesitate to recommend trying this at all, but living breathing human beings apparently purchase and consume this, so what the heck, right? When in Rome ...

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Thanks this week to the upstanding gentlemen of Corn Nation. Holly is a Tennessee-born writer and digital film editor based in Los Angeles, associate editor of Every Day Should Be Saturday, and 1/15 of the PtF coven. She welcomes your adulation and scorn at nastinchka-at-yahoo-dot-com.