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The Ohio State football team learned of its final unknown kickoff time this week, which involves a matchup against Indiana on November 23rd. Despite having the potential of a Top 10 showdown in Columbus, the game has been scheduled for noon.
The Buckeyes are fresh off 45-0 blowout of Big Ten rival Purdue. That contest kicked off at noon as well. In fact, it was the third straight early slot for the program dating back to a noon game with Nebraska.
This week’s matchup with Northwestern will also start at 12 PM, as will the season finale vs. Michigan. That means the Buckeyes will play six consecutive noon games to finish out the year. Fans are rightfully peeved!
This means … six consecutive 12 noon starts to close the season for the @OhioStateFB Buckeyes as the conference announced today that the Nov. 23 game vs. No. 5 Indiana at Ohio Stadium will kick off at 12 noon with FOX televising to a national audience.
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) November 11, 2024
You’d have to go back a month to find the squad’s last primetime meeting, which came in a one-point loss to top-ranked Oregon on October 12th. It seems the conference is intent on keeping the Buckeyes in the early slot.
There are pros and cons to each start time. Early games give attendees a chance to get to the stadium quickly, enjoy the action, and hit the road before nightfall. Mid-afternoon starts can offer a similar scenario.
But night games help produce an atmosphere that outweighs those early kicks for the home team. Ohio State won’t be able to experience that!
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin previously spoke on that advantage after learning that his Rebels would be snubbed an opportunity to play an SEC game at home under the lights. Start times matter!
“I think that’s proven over time in NFL and college [that playing at night is beneficial]. Playing at night in an electric atmosphere is a homefield advantage… LSU gets to play at night again, I guess? Shocker… I feel bad for our fans not having one night conference game.”
-Lane Kiffin
The Buckeyes’ lone home primetime matchup came in mid-September against Western Michigan. They won’t host a conference game at night.
Ohio State’s five league home games include matchups against Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, Indiana, and Michigan. Four have or will start at noon, with the Iowa game kicking off at 3:30 PM. That means 0 primetime Big Ten contests in Ohio Stadium for one of college football’s biggest brands.
Some have come out in support of the early starts, referencing how successful the viewership for programs like Big Noon Kickoff have been throughout the season. Joel Klatt of FOX was one of them.
Lots of talk about Big Noon Saturday…Here are some things I think you should know
– Big Noon Saturday has been the most watched CFB window for the last few years…last year our window avg. almost 7m viewers/game
– Prior to Big Noon this window in CFB was non-existent…— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) November 11, 2024
The majority of Ohio State football fans could care less about the viewership. Big games deserve to be under the lights. They want a night game!
With Indiana still undefeated at the time of this writing, and the Buckeyes firmly in the College Football Playoff hunt, the noon start is head-scratching. Fans flooded social media to voice their displeasure with the snub on Monday.
“Think I’m going to pass on my season tickets next year. No fun going to snooze-nooners every single game.”
“Big Noon is killing great matchups. This is really gross. Please make it stop.”
“I mean, play the cards you’re dealt. I get it. But it doesn’t change the fact that this is ridiculous.”
Ohio State football won’t host a conference game at night, and that’s a shame. The Buckeyes will hope to see better fortune during their 2025 schedule.