ABC/ESPN Selects Seven 2015 Big Ten Football Games for Prime Time

By Kevin Kelley -

ABC/ESPN has selected seven Big Ten football games for their prime time schedule in 2015, including three featuring Ohio State.

The slate kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 3 when TCU travels to face Minnesota in a non-conference match-up. The game will be televised by ESPN at 9pm ET.

Later in the season, Minnesota will visit Ohio State and Michigan State will visit Nebraska in rare Big Ten prime time games in November. Both games will kick off at 7 or 8pm on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Earlier this month, the Big Ten Network announced seven games that are slated for prime time this season.

Listed below are the Big Ten football games announced for ABC/ESPN. Additional games could be announced later this spring or summer.

Thursday, Sept. 3
TCU at Minnesota – 9pm, ESPN

Saturday, Sept. 12
Oregon at Michigan State – 8pm, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

Saturday, Oct. 17
Penn State at Ohio State – 8pm, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

Saturday, Oct. 24
Ohio State at Rutgers – 8pm, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

Saturday, Oct. 31
Michigan at Minnesota – 8pm, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

Saturday, Nov. 7
Minnesota at Ohio State – 7 or 8pm, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Michigan State at Nebraska – 7 or 8pm, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

Football Schedules

Comments (40)

@Bill

Right, they only play 2 legit teams too bad none of the 2 teams they manhandled in the CFP weren’t ones. You must be Special Ed Conf fan.

schoup, the big ten (how many teams are there?) Wins one national championship in a row and you think that you have captured the world title.
Learn how to count before you call someone special ed.

The B10 won a title unlike the SEC that was selected, It’s funny the first year when you have to win it on the field the SEC is embarrassed, Btw, they were embarrassed in a bunch of games by their supposed superior teams..

schoup–You have no shame.
I remember the year Florida was SELECTED National Champ when they beat OSU and their heisman winner. Was your QB named Will Smith? He look like he was running around in concrete shoes and the 300 pound Gators had rocket back packs.

Was Florida SELECTED National Champs when they beat your OSU?
Your heisman QB winner look like he was running in concrete shoes and Florida’s 300 pound lineman look like they had jet pack on.
Your QB look like Will Smith running around all night.

Yes Schoup,O State did win title but they do play a VERY weak non conf schedule every year,albeit this upcoming years non conf isnt as weak as normal,and Big10 wasnt rated that strong across the board most of last year so beating up on them (including my Wolverines) isnt a big bragging point

Why does ESPN have to decide which games will be Primetime games now? Why don’t they just wait until 1.5 weeks before to schedule the times of the games, because those may not be Primetime worthy when they come around.

Look at the schools on this list. Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Nebraska. Any game involving those teams will get eyeballs no matter what.

They announce what is potentially on the slate now the fact is whether the game is on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 is determined by how compelling the match up is at the time it comes around. Also a game that may be the ABC game in one area is the ESPN game based on region.

B1G rules are that night games must be announced and set before the season. Kind of an outdated policy, but a lot of the stadiums still don’t have permanent lights.

All those replies make sense, but I remember last year Illinois @ Ohio State was pre-selected as a prime time game, and it wasn’t worth putting it there.

That’s because Urban Meyer wanted more night games on the schedule. They’re not all going to be winners. Also ABC/ESPN have fewer options now that they’ve lost primetime inventory to FOX.

This seems prelim schedule b/c ABC/ESPN have the rights to Bama/WI on Sat 9/5 and that will be a prime time as it’s the best game they have rights to that day Also they have the rights to 9/7 Labor Day game with OSU and Vtech, that Labor Day game is always a prime time game.

OSU-VT is an ACC game, not a B1G game. The games in Arlington, Houston, and Atlanta have their own personalized TV deals, which is why ‘bama-Wisc isn’t on CBS.

ABC/ESPN owns the rights to ACC games. OSU/Vtech is already listed as a ESPN game. The Cowboy Classic which is the WI/Bama games rights are owned by ABC/ESPN also. CBS rights to the SEC are for SEC in conf games and thus they also may get rights to a home game in OOC maybe, There are stipulations even on the OOC SEC games vs P5’s b/c SEC also has a deal with ABC/ESPN

Regardless, the site has always reported on TV schedules by conference, and that is in all cases determined by who the home team is. This was a post about Big Ten night games–that is, games which are hosted by the Big Ten.

The first week of the season is going to be big for B10 and set the early perception story b/c they have a bunch of high profile OOC’s.

WI vs Bama
OSU vs Vtech
MN vs TCU
NW vs Stanford
MI vs Utah
NU vs BYU

Here’s how I see the Big Ten games airing (just some predictions):

Oregon at Michigan State: ABC
Penn State at Ohio State: ABC
Ohio State at Rutgers: ABC/ESPN2
– Reverse Mirror with Florida State at Georgia Tech
Michigan at Minnesota: ESPN2
Minnesota at Ohio State: ESPN
Michigan State at Nebraska: ABC/ESPN2
– Reverse Mirror with Notre Dame at Pittsburgh

How in the world did Rutgers ever get a Big 10 invite to join, let alone a game hosting Ohio State being nationally televised? They have a 120 year plus history of being bad. Is the Big 10 only interested in getting east coast ratings and not quality football? Let’s be honest, Rutgers does not belong. Please go back to playing Colgate and Cornell like you did for over 100 years.

Missouri would have been the better team to go after. Rutgers–what a joke!

Uh, Big 10 was looking to get the NYC TV market. Had nothing to do with how good Rutgers was. Same for Maryland and the Baltimore/DC TV market.

Missouri … KC and St. Louis markets … meaningless.

@Dave

The value of adding Rutgers to the B10 just in BTN is 100million+ in revenue a yr. NJ and the NYC market that Rutgers occupies has close to 12+ million cable subscribers(the combined total is 16 mil including their other addition MD). Those subscribers, most of them b/c few have the absolute lowest cable package, will be paying the 1.10 monthly B10 fee as they jam it into the lowest cable packages possible. B10 is also in the process of renewing their ABC/ ESPN deal, adding Rutgers and MD will make them a ton of money. B10 schools are projected to be making 45+ mil/yr from tv revenue when everything is renewed.

It is good to know that it had nothing to do with athletics. Since Rutgers has never done anything in college football and will probably be cannon fodder for any of the good Big Ten teams for the next several years, what makes anyone think that New jersey and New York fans will pay any attention now that they are in the Big 10? They play in a very modest stadium (52,000) in such a large metropolitan area, how can you be sure that local fans will just continue to follow the Giants and Jets? How many New Jersey and new York fans really follow Rutgers? I would bet that far more follow Notre Dame.

What realistic hope does Rutgers have of ever really challenging in the Big 10? Rutgers seems more like an Indian by the Jersey Shore?

There are more PSU and OSU and Michigan fans in NYC than Rutgers itself. Rutgers is a means to an end.

Hawaii and PSU Dave…Miss’s KC and St Lou market as whole is far from meaningless

dave rutgers qualifies academically and not to mention when the BIG got rutgers and maryland for each house that the BIG Network is offered (not actually in but offered) the BIG gets 100 dollars how many peeps live in NY NJ, Baltimore and DC. it was a smart move.

We’re in the sec! Why would we want to be in the big 10 ahh 11? Ahhh 14? They can’t even count. That’s why we left the big 12 cuz there a joke to. The only two conferences That madder are the sec and Acc.

If you look at the schedule for that day it will be a prime time game. The other games that day of P5’s it’s the best by far that they have rights to. Tx and ND game play but that’s a ND home game with NBC. AZ State and A&M play but that’s not as big of a draw as WI/Bama, The AZ game will be either afternoon or the secondary game with Bama/WI on ABC and the other on ESPN.

Doubt it’s a 2:30 kickoff. The other 6 games that have been played for the Cowboys Classic have been in primetime. With a weak week 1 schedule, good chance the game is on ABC

all you people who talk trash about the “weak” B1G are the same ones who a) wrote them off from having a chance at the playoff before conference play even started… and b) said that OSU didnt deserve to make the playoff… well I think OSU and the B1G proved how wrong you all are by beating the almighty Crimson Tide and DOMINATING the Ducks…. WITH A 3RD STRING QUARTERBACK.

So Ohio State gets THREE prime time night games, but Michigan at Penn State isn’t?
That’s a huge game. Everyone knows it. BS man. Haven’t watched ESPN in years and ABC coverage makes me vomit.

I agree Brad, this is insane. Wait a second… Minnesota gets 3 night games as well??? MINNESOTA?!?!