Michigan and Michigan State ADs agree that they will not have a night game.. Yet at least
/s
It would be cool to establish a new tradition with Nebraska, their fanbase is very knowledgeable and friendly. Unlike the clowns from EL, Nebraska fans in our neighborhood after dark would not result in any shenanigans. Plus would allow for more travel time!
I suppose if you're limiting it to a team we play every year, it'd have to be from our Division. I can't imagine we'll ever be playing The Game at night, so by default it would have to be Penn State, since they're the only other big opponent beyond State and the Buckeyes that we will play annually. It'd probably be more fun to change it up every once and a while depending on who we're playing rather than pick one opponent that always plays in the Big House after dark.
Yeah, I was going to say the same - PSU seems the most likely. Although we could also have our signature OOC game in September played at night, too.
would be perfect in my book, rotating it around to one of the hotter home games on the schedule, and never the same team two years in a row. I believe television generally dictates what is and what isn't a night game, but I would love to see Michigan more open to it.
We are set up to have PSU and Wisconsin/Nebraska in alterante years at home. Also - non-November. This would be a good night game scenario for us every year.
We could rotate in some other B1G teams, but I don't know it Illinios or Indiana is going to be night-game worthy. We could also rotate in an OOC game, but our post-ND scheduling has to get waaaaay better for that to be worthwhile. I'm sorry, Arkansas does not cut it, "SEC" be dammned.
I think Staee is just being chicken.
Good. That would be nothing but bad for the city, although we would still kick their asses on the field.
We should play nobody at night. We should show up for kickoff at 1:00 PM and if the television cameras want to broadcast it, then fine.
/Boom Schembechler'd
Long, long ago; before TV became ubiquitous in the college football world, all Michigan games started as 1:00, which was the only "proper" time to begin according to Bo.
Bo's exact words: "Toe meets leather at 1:00. You want to take pictures, c'mon down."
A different man for different times.
Sounds like there aren't sufficient couches left to provide light for a night game at MSU
I'm fine with just selecting one game a year, not having any sort of 'tradition' associated with who we play our night game with. Penn State will likely get the nod several times, though.
2014 could be Penn State, 2015 could be Northwestern, 2016 could be Wisconsin. I'm not sure about 2017 though (MSU is the only early home conference game [Oct 7, 2017], the other candidates would be Rutgers [Oct 28] or Minnesota [Nov 4]). I suppose these could change depending on our nonconference slate.
Given how infrequently we'll be playing some of the teams, it might make sense in certain years to play Nebraska, Wisconsin, etc. My personal preference would be to find a suitable replacement for ND (long term or series of home and home matchups).
The question will be if they decide to have it during odd years. It will probably rotate between PSU (2014), Wisconsin (2016), and the nonconference Arkansas (2018) and VT (2020) games in the near future. I doubt they do a night game for the games you mentioned in odd years though. PSU will always be home during even years so unless Michigan gets a good cross division opponent in odd years at home it will be tough to do a night game if MSU is not an option.
Leave nonconf games as night games.
I'm sick of night games. Last year Michigan was 0-3 at night.
The game being at night probably ran a distant third to quality of opponent and road game as reasons we lost to Alabama in Dallas, at Notre Dame, and at Nebraska.
If Michigan State wants a night game, let them play it against somebody else. A program of their caliber needs gimmicks to generate interest. Michigan doesn't.
Yeah, naming regular season games and then having sequels under that naming, what a Michigan State thing to do.
Oh wait.
lol @ night games as a gimmick. I knew it was a slippery slope once we started allowing those silly marching band half time shows. In my day, we didn't interrupt the game so that a bunch of fancy boys in pompous outfits could go trotting about in formation, tooting their horns. T'il my last breath, I'll insist that trombones are the devil's instrument!
If you schedule a good opponent, it usually requires a return away game. And I doubt Michigan will schedule two marquee nonconference games in a year unless ND is one of them.
ND is off the schedule, hopefully forever, so we can just do home and homes with various programs. Also we were able to get Utah to visit and not have to visit in return, so you can get midrange teams sometimes.
Personally I think we should invite SDSU out and let them collect some money to help their program out. I'd even be willing to go for a return visit to some larger West Coast stadium so the West Coast fanbase could see Michigan do something other than die horrible deaths in the Rose Bowl on NYD.
On a Thursday night to open the 2015 college football season. We are playing a return game at UConn this year. It is getting harder to get quality one off games. Michigan did get Oregon St in 2015 and Colorado in 2016 as one off games, but most power conference schools are going to require a return game moving forward especially with 9 game conference schedules.
I like the idea of rotating home-and-homes, but I definitely want ND back on the schedule. I grew up with that rivalry. What I think would be ideal would be a two-on, two-off situation with ND. That would renew the rivalry on a regular basis but still give us a chance to play other major programs.
If we have to have one per year, I'd be cool with rotating between Neb, PSU, Wisconsin, or whoever else the best home game we have is.
I'd prefer that MSU remain a day game. It leads to the easiest transit arrangements, namely avoiding the need for a hotel, for the Michiganders who attend the game at either stadium. If the game was wrapping up at say 10 pm, it would be hard for people not to drive home. Figure you'd be at your car and clear of in town gameday traffic by say midnight if you're lucky, and then you have a possible multiple hour drive home, at which point you might as well bite the bullet and give some hotel some money. Whereas a noon kickoff means in the car at ~7:30 am if you want some time to tailgate before the game, grab dinner post game, and home before midnight.
I'd prefer no night games myself, as it makes for easier regional travel in general. Although I bet the West Coast alums who wake up at 9 am to catch a noon game might beg to differ.
it's asking for trouble with that fanbase of idiots. I've been harassed enough (both in A2 and EL) after games that ended at 3 o'clock. Imagine if those bros had all day to drink, you can bet there would be assaults, fights, etc. Seriously, just a bad idea with that fanbase
Nebraska OTOH, would be sweet.
I'm old (35) and could easily say that personally, I do not want to go to a night game. But they are obviously good for recruiting and TV, so it's all good. I'll go, be happy and realize that as a parent and spouse, my family is going to get kinda dicked the next day with an inattentive meat sack.
But we should never, ever play MSU at night. That is inviting truly bad things to happen.
I thought last year Air Force would have been a great UTL game. I mean, you aren't going to get involved in shenanigans with a crowd like that unless you deserve it. But, I know we aren't going to play Air Force every year.
I don't know what the answer is, but it's not MSU.
I think we should just have the best/earliest west division team whom is playing in A2 in any given year be the night game.
So, Wisc, neb, Iowa... who ever is earliest in the season @ A2
I couldn't find it in here, but this is the story - HERE.
Among the Brandon quotes:
"There's plenty of excitement and plenty of high-pitched emotions associated with that game, I don't think we need to kick it off at 8 p.m. I don't think that will add anything to it and potentially could detract from it."
The quotes from Hollis were slightly more non-commital, leaning a little towards a "wait and see" approach with night games. He talked a little about the successes with Boise State and Notre Dame in East Lansing, but also seemed to think that indeed each game should be approached differently.
How exactly? Everyone gets bored waiting and starts nodding off?
This conference is at war with itself, one foot cemented to the past, the other pushing as far into the future as possible as quickly as possible. TV network, conference championship game, joining the four team playoff system, East coast expansion, etc.
You can break up our historic rivalries, just for the love of god don't make us play at night! Well, maybe a little. But not too often. And not in November. For now.
We've only had one night game, so we don't know what to expect from them long term. But most teams use them as a form of ultra-home team advantage. They save them for big important games to get a compettive edge.
Since OSU and MSU are off the table, we should target the most imortant non-MSU/OSU home game. On even years it will be Penn State. That program is a sleeping giant and will be back in a big, annoying way. We will need, not want, a competitive edge against them when we can get it.
On odd years, it should probably go to whoever the top dog in the west is that comes to A2 (unless someone like Rutgers becomes big in the East). If our OOC scheduling finally becomes worthy, it could be used there as well.
In any case, I don't think a night game at the Big House should be "wasted" on a quasi-exibition game with an Illinois or Indiana.