Indiana’s showdown with Ohio State on Oct. 17 is shaping up to be a noon kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
That’s the expectation after The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman reported the television network and start time as part of his look at the Big Ten’s media-rights setup with FOX, CBS and NBC. In that report, Dochterman listed the first five selections from the networks’ television draft, and FOX used one of its top picks on Ohio State at Indiana.
The network’s other early choices included Michigan at Ohio State and Oklahoma at Michigan.
If the report holds, the Big Ten Championship Game rematch in Bloomington will air on FOX with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call. Klatt’s comments on his podcast in June seemed to point in that direction already, suggesting he knew he’d be at Indiana for the game.
Official kickoff times and TV assignments are usually released 12 days before each game, but Indiana’s first five games are already known. They are:
vs. North Texas (FOX, Noon ET)
vs. Howard (BTN, Noon ET)
vs. Western Kentucky (Peacock, 4 p.m. ET)
vs. Northwestern (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)
at Rutgers (TV TBA, 8 p.m.)
Dochterman also noted that trades can happen after the draft. Under the current setup, FOX has five of the top 11 selections, while CBS, NBC and Big Ten Network each have three. FOX also controls games for FS1, and NBC handles Peacock matchups.
The networks are drafting for the order of a weekend rather than locking in a specific game, which is why final selections for a given weekend are often made 12 days before kickoff.
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The real intrigue now is how the rest of the targets shake out around that top tier. Tyler Morris, Davion Chandler, Lebron Bond and Shazz Preston are all positioned for larger roles, while the tight end spot remains unsettled with unproven options. Turbo Richard could also become a bigger part of the passing attack, which only adds another layer to a receiver competition that should stay worth watching all offseason. [Read more 🡒]