Ohio State on Big Noon Kickoff

The Ohio State Buckeyes’ streak that fans and even media have come to hate will continue.

The Big Ten announced Monday that the Nov. 23 game between Ohio State and Indiana will be Fox Sports’ Big Noon Saturday game.

That will mean the Buckeyes will finish the season with six straight noon games. All but one of those will be Big Noon games; the Nov. 16 game against Northwestern is on the Big Ten Network. Ohio State’s Sept. 21 game against Marshall was also in the Big Noon slot.

Buckeyes fans have been expressing their anger at the scheduling rut. They’re especially miffed about the noon home games, where fans miss out on the experience of night games at Ohio Stadium. So news of yet another noon game didn’t go over well, especially for a marquee game that will have College Football Playoff implications.


One can only wonder how Fox Sports lead play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson feels about another Ohio State game on his schedule. During Saturday’s Ohio State-Purdue game, the announcer seemed oddly subdued, even bored, on many big plays. Fans did not criticize him, but instead sympathized with him for having to call another Buckeyes game.


It must be pointed out that Ohio State fans aren’t the only ones who have complained about Fox Sports’ Big Noon games taking away primetime matchups. Penn State hosted Ohio State on Nov. 2, a game between two traditional powers that would have been a perfect fit in primetime, and likely would have been the Nittany Lions’ traditional “White Out” game. Some Penn State fans threatened to boycott Big Noon Kickoff because Fox Sports stuck the game in the noon slot.

[Eleven Warriors]

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.