Ohio State fans were furious with the number of noon games their beloved Buckeyes had to play last season. They aren’t going to like the way the 2025 college football season starts, either.
After finishing the 2024 regular season with six consecutive noon games, defending national champion Ohio State will open the 2025 season against the Texas Longhorns at Big Noon on Fox.
Week 1️⃣ & Week 1️⃣4️⃣ on @CFBONFOX 📺 pic.twitter.com/2vEfHknCJT
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 12, 2025
The game will be a rematch of OSU’s 28-14 win over Texas in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl. Fox also announced that Ohio State vs. Michigan will be broadcast on Fox, which means a noon start.
Eleven Warriors noted that when Fox Sports originally announced it would broadcast OSU vs. Texas, an article on their site stated it would be a Big Noon contest, but that was later removed.
Buckeyes fans were very vocal in their displeasure with the glut on noon game times during last season. Their concerns prompted Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork to say that the school would discuss it with Fox during the offseason.
“I think that’s an offseason conversation, honestly, but here’s what I’ll say: Fox has the first pick. We’re the biggest brand within the Big Ten,” Bjork told Eleven Warriors in November. “We have the most fans who watch our games. The ratings are really high, and I’ll just kind of leave it at that, but that’s really an offseason conversation”
As Bjorks noted, the problem for OSU fans (and fans of other Big Ten schools) is that the ratings for Big Noon are good enough to justify Fox Sports ignoring their concerns.
Even though Ohio State vs. Texas is the kind of game that deserves a primetime audience, Fox remains fully invested in owning the noon window, and there’s no better way to do it than with a game like this.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.