Any list of things some vocal Penn State fans dislike probably includes a coach who cannot win big games, and right behind him are noon games.
Now, some blue-and-white-forever, no-questions-asked fans might support the coach no matter what, happy to wait out a season (or a decade at this point) before making a judgement. Who knows, they suggest, in another few weeks, everyone’s opinion might change.
Even in the aftermath of last week, they preach patience.
That’s not much patience from them for noon games, though. While there is a difference of opinion, those who champion them, like me, are a clear minority.
In the aftermath of last week (a noon game against Ohio State), they would suggest another noon kick this week against Indiana — the fifth of at least six nooners this season — is an affront to the football program in general and an inconvenience to their fandom and tailgating preferences in particular.
They’re wrong about all that, though.
It’s simple, the Big Ten Conference and its broadcast partners basically have three game times each week — noon, 3:30 and 7:30. That’ll be even more standardized next season. (This season was a little less pinned down because CBS Sports only had a handful of games, as opposed to a full schedule.)
The conference wants the best possible matchups to draw ratings and viewers every week. Of course, one partner, Fox Sports, is heavily invested in noon games — and the ratings and viewership numbers prove the wisdom of their approach.
Through the first eight weeks of the season, the most-viewed Big Ten game each week kicked off at noon six times. Five times those games were on Fox. The weeks when a noon game was not the most viewed, it involved either Michigan or Ohio State.
Here are the most-viewed Big Ten games each week of the season so far:
- Week 8, Penn State at Ohio State, noon (9.96 million viewers on Fox)
- Week 7, Indiana at Michigan, noon (3.55 on Fox)
- Week 6, Maryland at Ohio State, noon (4.51 on Fox)
- Week 5, Michigan at Nebraska, 3:30 p.m. (4.48 on Fox)
- Week 4, Ohio State at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. (9.98 on NBC)
- Week 3, Penn State at Illinois, noon (3.22 on Fox)
- Week 2, Nebraska at Colorado, noon (8.75 on Fox)
- Week 1, Ohio State at Indiana, noon (4.65 on BTN)
Clearly, viewers watch noon games, and despite the tailgating or travel concerns for those in person, college football games are just reality TV — competitive events with a live audience.
Viewers and tailgaters who enjoy noon games know they lose less of their day to football with a noon kick, and tailgating after the game is always a popular option for many (not me) if the weather cooperates. So it can be a win-win. Enjoy the win in the stadium and then “win” with additional celebratory and family and friends time afterward.
This season’s half dozen noon games for Penn State are the most since 2021, when there were also six games. There were six in 2019, too.
Now, CBS could be a lifeline for Penn State fans in regard to noon games because it will broadcast games almost exclusively at 3:30 p.m. next season. It only carried a handful of 3:30 Big Ten games this season, but it’ll have more openings next season.
Still, geography and money make the noon games a somewhat logical Penn State staple moving forward. Specifically, with the Big Ten expanding to the West Coast next season, with four schools (Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington) unlikely to ever host a game that kicks off at noon Eastern time, the easternmost schools in the conference logically seem set for those kicks a little more often.
Finally, the one thing noon kicks are not is an excuse for slow starts or underperformance by the football team itself. Both squads begin any game at the same time and with all the health and medical support players have these days, the “body clock” argument seems irrelevant.
Fans have no such excuse, either. The schedule’s the schedule. Noon games represent a first-world problem — if they’re a problem at all.
The solution seems simple: Embrace a breakfast menu for those tailgates — everybody loves bacon, after all — and do the best with you can cheering and supporting the team.
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