Gene Smith knows Ohio State will host a primetime game in November during the 2023 season. However, he recently indicated that will not become a new norm for the Buckeyes.

When a number of kickoff times for the 2023 season were announced, Ohio State learned it would host Michigan State at 7:30 pm ET on Nov. 11. That game will be a part of NBC’s Big Ten Saturday Night package but flies in the face of certain B1G teams historically not playing primetime games in November.

In a recent interview for Eleven Warriors, Smith confirmed Ohio State will not let home primetime games after the first weekend of November become a regular occurrence. However, Smith did note certain road games might be agreed to depending on the circumstances.

“We will not do it in the future at home. We might do it away,” said Smith on Eleven Warriors’ Real Pod Wednesdays. “If a colleague calls from another school and said, ‘Hey, would you be willing to play a night game at our place?’ We have to make that call. Both athletic directors have to agree on that. And so usually I would talk to Ryan (Day) and see if we’re interested in doing that and we will say yes or no. But it depends on who it is, where it is or what time our team might get back. That always plays a role into their plan. If there’s a second Saturday in November and we’re somewhere and our team doesn’t get back until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, that might be a problem.”

As part of his defense of Ohio State’s stance on the matter, Smith particularly highlighted fans that travel to Columbus from out of town to attend Buckeye games. In Smith’s example, he used a couple from Canton, Ohio in their 70s.

“I always think about that couple in Canton, Ohio, who’s 70-something-years-old, season-ticket holders,” Smith said. “And we really create a problem for them already how we announce our game times. But for them to have to make a decision to come to a night game the Saturday before Thanksgiving, I just would prefer to take that burden off of them. And normally they can come to a noon game or a 3:30 kick and get back home as opposed to trying to get a hotel room.”

While the “tolerances” of Ohio State (and other B1G programs) have been highlighted in the new media deal recently, there are really only 1-2 games that are ever likely to be impacted. After all, The Game is traditionally set for a 12 pm kickoff, so that leaves just a couple of weekends impacted by Ohio State’s stance on primetime games at home.

(H/T Eleven Warriors)