Friday Night Lights: Washington vs. Rutgers Moved, Plus Other Schedule Thoughts
Pac-12 after Dark has quickly become Big Ten after Dark.
The Big Ten announced that three Washington Huskies football games will kick off at 6 PM PT or later this season, including a Friday night home game on October 10 against Rutgers.
And there may be more.
This is not unexpected. The Big Ten didn’t bring Pac-12 teams into play in the 12:30 Eastern time slot every Saturday. It’s modern college football, and it’s part of the deal. Of course, Friday night traffic in Seattle makes weekday games an adventure for fans, but it’s likely to happen once per season.
The two other home kickoff times announced Thursday will both kick off on Saturdays at 8 PM PT on the Big Ten Network — the August 30 opener against Colorado State and the following week on September 6 vs. UC Davis.
The other known kickoff times are at Washington State and the Rutgers game. Here’s what we know so far, and what we expect to see.
August 30: Colorado State, 8 PM (Big Ten Network): Get the sunset filters ready. This will be a late one. If the Huskies take care of business as they should, the stadium might have a few less folks at halftime. Wear shorts, but bring a jacket.
September 6: UC Davis, 8 PM (Big Ten Network): This is definitely one the conference has appropriately tucked away. It could be a breakout game for backup quarterback Kai Horton.
September 20: at Washington State, 4:30 PM (CBS): The Cougs got a TV deal that includes a couple of CBS games, and this will be one of them. This game should provide significant visibility for both programs, and is at least early enough for grandpa to catch most of it. The Dawgs will head to Pullman off a bye, and should be plenty motivated after being upset by WSU last year at Lumen Field.
September 27: Ohio State, TBD: Assuming both teams take care of early business, this should fall somewhere just behind Alabama at Georgia as one of the marquee games that Saturday. This will likely end up at 5 PM or earlier.
October 4: at Maryland, TBD: This one could go in many different directions. It may not be announced until six days prior, as FOX waits to see how UW looks against Ohio State and Maryland’s performance against Wisconsin.
October 10: Rutgers, 6 PM (Big Ten Network): This one always seemed like a potential Friday game. The good news is that the Huskies host a Friday game rather than being on the road. The bad news is that Rutgers is coming off a bye, and UW will be returning from Maryland.
October 18: at Michigan, TBD: The Wolverines have always made it clear they’re not playing on Fridays, so this one was never going to be moved. The time slot could land anywhere between noon and 5 PM PT.
October 25: Illinois, TBD: This feels like a Big Ten after Dark pre-order, though if both teams are in the College Football Playoff conversation, it could get some love. Illinois will be coming off a bye.
November 8: at Wisconsin, TBD: Copy-paste from the Illinois game. Yet another team off a bye, and the Huskies will travel to Camp Randall for this one. This game, though — if both teams are cooking — has Big Noon kickoff potential. Big if, though.
November 15: Purdue, TBD: I say TBD, but pencil this one in for 8 PM on the Big Ten Network.
November 29: Oregon, TBD: The potential is there for a lot of big games that weekend, but this has some FOX potential at either noon or 5 PM if the Huskies can get to the final week of the regular season with three or fewer losses. Both teams will be coming off a bye. If this one lands on the Big Ten Network, well, we know things have not gone well for the Dawgs.
