Ad Disclosure
Big Ten teams traveling West won’t face early kickoffs, league executive says
Published:
Big Ten schedules through the 2028 season were revealed by the league on Thursday. In the first three years of the new league configuration, USC will host Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State. Oregon will host Ohio State, Michigan, and Nebraska. Washington will host Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State.
The best of the B1G are headed West.
Don’t expect too many early games.
League COO Kerry Kenny says the B1G will not schedule 9 a.m. local time kickoffs for games played on the West Coast, per The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach. The four incoming Pac-12 schools could still play 11 a.m. CT/noon ET games when they travel into the traditional B1G footprint.
USC and Colorado recently played in a Big Noon Kickoff showcase game that brought in 7.24 million viewers. That game kicked off at 9 a.m. local time back in Los Angeles — a very rare kick time for the Trojans and something the school reportedly had to agree to ahead of time.
If the B1G wanted to schedule, say, Oregon-Ohio State for a Big Noon Kick, it certainly could and fans would absolutely tune in. But the league doesn’t necessarily need to.
Matchups like Oregon-Ohio State or Washington-Michigan or USC-Penn State will likely draw huge TV numbers regardless of when they’re scheduled.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.