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ESPN releases primetime schedule for B1G games
Published:
It’s never too early to get excited for some primetime B1G football.
ESPN announced its slate of primetime B1G games for the 2016 season. They will be broadcast on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. That doesn’t necessarily mean these games will play host College GameDay, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.
Here are the B1G games that will show up on the worldwide leader in primetime:
Oct. 8: Michigan at Rutgers (7 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET)
Oct. 15: Ohio State at Wisconsin (8 p.m. ET)
Oct. 22: Ohio State at Penn State (8 p.m. ET)
Oct. 29: Northwestern at Ohio State (5:30 p.m. ET)
Oct. 29: Nebraska at Wisconsin (7, 8 or 9 p.m. ET)
Nov. 5: Nebraska at Ohio State (8 p.m. ET)
Nov. 12: Michigan at Iowa (7 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET)
Oddly enough, ESPN’s slate features Ohio State in four of the seven primetime games, but Michigan State — the reigning B1G champs — aren’t part of the lineup. The Spartans will be on NBC when they take on Notre Dame in non-conference play.
The Buckeyes will take on Penn State on Oct. 22 in what has already been declared a “whiteout” in Happy Valley. Michigan will also travel to Iowa in what’s already been declared a “blackout” in Iowa City.
Not surprisingly, six of ESPN’s seven primetime games feature either Michigan or Ohio State. The only game that doesn’t feature those two teams will be a B1G West showdown with Nebraska and Wisconsin.
In total, eight of the 14 B1G teams will have a primetime slot.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.