College football’s kickoff weekend is loaded with exciting matchups.

And one of the most highly anticipated games Saturday is Northwestern at Syracuse (12 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

It’s not just Big Ten versus Big East. This one goes much deeper.

It’s a battle of two of the top journalism schools in the country: The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern versus the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse.

As Northwestern alum Mike Greenberg explains to Adnan Virk in the video above from Mike & Mike in the Morning earlier this week, there’s no shortage of ESPN employees who are graduates of these two fine academic institutions. In fact, from the legendary Brent Musburger to rookie ESPN employees fresh out of college who are working as production assistants, you would be hard-pressed to find two schools that are better represented in Bristol.

Knowing how passionate these alums are about their schools and their sports, we asked a handful of prominent graduates on both sides what they think about this game.

The amount of trash-talking might surprise you.

Good luck to both the Wildcats and the Orange, and may the better team win.

JA Adande, ESPN.com Columnist (Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern): “When it comes to Northwestern and Syracuse it’s all about the names: Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism vs. Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Public Communication. Communication? Anyone with a Twitter account can communicate. Journalism is a craft, and Northwestern alumni do it best. Just count the Pulitzer Prize winners.”

Steve Bunin, Anchor and Host (Bachelor’s degree from Syracuse): “I think it’s safe to declare that in basketball and journalism, Syracuse wins hands-down. There really is no contest, and anybody who believes otherwise probably owns purple underwear, and therefore is, clearly, delirious. Weather was always a toss-up with Northwestern. Do you take their wind for our snow? Whose lake-effect affects your life worse? Never could tell. Football, sadly, has become a tough pick, too, but let’s put it this way: If Northwestern wins, it’s a shining moment for their program and university. If Syracuse wins, it’s just another W, and half the people who see the box score will think the Orange beat Northeastern. Go ‘Cuse.”

To read the rest, check it out here on ESPN Front Row.