COLUMBUS — Ohio State has announced that their home game next week against Wisconsin will kick off at 12:00 pm on FOX.
Both the No. 4 Buckeyes and No. 6 Badgers are expected to win this weekend in their respective games at Northwestern and Illinois, which will make the game one of the biggest of the 2019 season.
FOX prefers to air their big games in the 12:00 pm slot where there is less competition, which has worked well for them this season. Of course, this game would get ratings no matter the kickoff time.
Wisconsin has the top defense in the nation, allowing just 173.7 yards and 4.8 points per game.
Ohio State, meanwhile, has the nation’s No. 7 offense (534.5 ypg) and the No. 4 scoring offense (49.3 ppg).
The Badgers also have the No. 8 scoring offense (42.5 ppg) and the the No. 11 rushing offense (248.7 ypg), but they will be matching up against a Buckeye defense that ranks eighth in the nation against the run (82.0 ypg) and fourth in scoring (8.8 ppg).
Needless to say, this will be the stiffest test for both teams so far this season, but may not compare to the stiffness of the drinks being made during what will be a cram session of a tailgating period.
Fox is smart to schedule the game at noon. I’m doubly pleased it will be broadcast on Fox and I assume with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt who are a breath of fresh air compared to the fetid tiresome Herbstreit and Fowler. I don’t know why we never get the Todd Blackledge and Sean McDonough team. I’m fine with the game time. I can’t recall ever needing it to be a night game to be more exciting. That’s like needing Viagra to get excited about sex. especially with such good competition and stakes. As for cramming with the stiff drinks, how did anybody ever enjoy a football game with only hot dogs and cokes/hot cocoa? And with kids. Why not set up some slot machines too if you’re so bored with the game. Get some hookers. What happens in Columbus stays in Columbus. Heh-heh. I’ve heard that brats are even tastier after hitting the bong a couple of times. You can wake and bake that stuff with coffee and switch over to the keg around 10 am while firing up the hot wings. Then you call the hookers. You don’t need all day to get effed up if that’s what you’re about. Ask any SEC fan (0r coach). Besides you can always record the game and watch it at 8 pm if you want a night game.
It’s going to be a helluva game and “the first real test of the season”®. It’ll be a huge money maker for everybody as well. Actually I think the UW and PSU games will be the biggest games of the season for the Big Ten, hands down. UW beat S. Florida and nailed C. Michigan in their ooc showcases and PSU won by a TD in their only marquee ooc game with Pitt so it’s difficult to tell how good they are outside the Big Ten. Michigan looked great against Rutgers but how great will they look against ND in the last Big Ten ooc marquee game of the season? The Big Ten avoided matchups against ranked teams in their ooc seasons and that makes it hard to compare them against other top ten teams. Same for UW and PSU which I’m dubious about being top ten.
For those who are upset with the sound provided or the announcers assigned to the games, simply mute the television sound and listen to the Ohio State Radio broadcast instead. In years past, there was a delay of the video on the television as compared with the radio broadcast, but this season (at least with our local radio station) they are in sync. Not only do you get Ohio State broadcasters to listen to, but they also have to better describe the game since they presume you are not watching it, and they also get better and more timely sideline information than the television.
I watch all my games at 730 pm – call it Tevo – skip all the BS and all wrapped up by 930 pm. Screw them all.
Hulu is great for that too with it’s cloud dvr. You don’t have to wait until 7:30 to watch the but it sure helps in avoiding the endless blathering, moronic commercials, and brain dead halftime shows. Some games need the Mute button too regardless especially the ones with Beth or Pam in the booth. It makes sense if you need good blatherers but otherwise it’s impossible to stomach.
A point of fact! ESPN works within the constraints of game management as Fox but they choose to allow the band music to be amplified as part of crowd response after scores. It takes a deliberate and hostile intention to eradicate all sounds of music from the game coverage. If it is not a big deal why not make the fans of bands happy. Because they are hostile creeps who never had eny appreciation for the finer things in life.
Just wish that Fox would let us hear the sounds ofan old fastioned football game in Ohio Statium in the fall. That means the trill fo the sound of the brass of the Ohio State Band when the Buckeyes finnally burst ober the goal line. It is as thrilling a sound as any in the world to a real buckeye fan and it is just damn near sacreligious the way Fox engeners any hint of that joyous sound out of their game coverage! And to what end? Just to give their coverage a more Sunday atmosphere. Yea, here we go steelers! I hope Wisconsin brings their outstanding band and we also get to hear a few strains on On Wisconsin. Just don’t understand the anti band ethos.
Tom- Yeah, that would be nice. Unfortunately, those days are gone. The officials don’t even control time management anymore, it’s the network drones who stand on the 30 and tell the officials (!!) when they can start play again.
You must love Gene Smith’s decision to pipe in canned pop music between plays. Not that they haven’t done too much of it already but now it’s part of the game experience to listen to other people’s crap instead of the stadium sounds and the band.
So glad it’s a nooner. Don’t have to wait all day for the game to be played. Plus, it seems to me the OSU receivers do a better job of catching the long ball during the day games. Expect Olave to have a big hitter.
Wisconsin wins by 5
That’s delightfully random, Jim. 7-2 final? 8-3? How about 11-6?
BOOO. OSU will win by 20.
Looking forward to a GREAT matchup! Love it that Turdstreit and Foulup won’t be calling it, and the absence of alternate uniforms and “blackouts” is nice too. Just a good, old fashioned game of football- perfect.