Michigan-Rutgers to Take Place in Primetime - 7 PM Kickoff Announced
Big Ten Network announces that the Michigan-Rutgers game will be one of its primetime games this year with a 7 PM kickoff on October 4th.
As a Jersey alum, I'm pretty pumped.
Link:
http://btn.com/2014/04/22/btn-releases-2014-prime-time-slate/
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:02 AM ^
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:07 AM ^
Remember, this is primetime on the BTN, this isn't ESPN. The whole prime time schedule is pretty awful, with Cinci vs OSU probably the best game. And they clearly tried to get the new teams a primetime game each.
PSU vs Rutgers
Cincinnati vs OSU
Illinois vs Nebraska
Michigan vs Rutgers
Nebraska vs Northwestern
MSU vs Maryland
That's a blah series of games if I've ever seen them. So while this year's home schedule is pretty bad (Utah isn't really a bad non-con home team, it just shouldn't be like the 2nd most exciting home team on the entire schedule), I wouldn't use this as evidence.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
Tuverbille is 2-0 all-time vs. Urban.
Cincy is coming off 9-4 season could be a great one.
Only question is if Munchie Legaux is ready to go.
Hey, that rhymes!
Cincinnatti 28, Ohio 24
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
Michigan is 0-3 against SEC teams and Rutgers is 2-0 (LOL Arkansas Bielema karma!)
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
Yea, and said SEC team lost their next 8 games as well.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
As painful as it is to say, in that same time span that "said SEC team lost eight in a row," we went 3-6, so I'm not exactly feeling confident that we are going to run Rutgers out of their own stadium in primetime.
I'm not claiming that. However, when you say that Rutgers has done something that we haven't done in 6 years, he's trying to make a direct comparison. However, the SEC team to which he is referring went 3-9 last year. Out of the three SEC teams that we've played in the given timeframe, none finished the season with fewer than 9 wins. I'm just pointing out that Rutgers beating a team that went 0-8 in the SEC says almost nothing about Rutgers just like Michigan beating Vanderbilt in 2006 said nothing about Michigan (it wasn't until we eviscerated ND in week 3 that we started getting attention).
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
Yes, but this is going to be great for recruiting in talent rich NJ.
It may be better for Rutgers' recruiting than ours. The crowd will be overwhelmingly for Rutgers and LOUD. God forbid we pull another UConn or worse.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
More evidence that our schedule sucks this year.
It's a road game.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
I want to go, but tickets are pretty expensive for the game. Cheapest are 100-200 bucks on stubhub. Good seats are 200-350. NY/NJ ppl have too much money!
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:03 AM ^
[Some comment about Michigan's inherent superiority to the new schools]
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
My heart feels the same way, but my head thinks differently. With the declining population base (and hence talent pool) of the Midwest, expanding our conference into richer fields may be the only thing that keeps the B1G from a long slow slide into football irrelevance. We will be well advised to get used to this and claim MD and NJ for our conference.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
Closer proximity to the DC and VA recruiting grounds is good for us as well
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
I agree, but I don't think there's been a fanbase more excited to join a conference than Rutgers. That counts for something in my book, so I welcome them. I can't say the same thing for Maryland though.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
teams of young athletes traveling to new places and engaging other teams.
That said, this will be something of a must-win game for Hoke, declining Michigan prestige, etc.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
everyone in America is totally gonna wanna watch that one
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
MT @Mark__Snyder Last year, #Michigan's ESPN/ABC reg season games averaged the 3rd most viewers of any team behind #Bama and #TAMU.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) April 22, 2014April 22nd, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
How did their BTN games do, though?
I guess BTN has to compete at those slots, too, I just hate their coverage. Of course, if I were ESPN/ABC I'd definitely choose State v. Nebraska rather than us v. Rutgers, so that's fair.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
Can't compare apples to oranges. I think the Michigan-Rutgers game will probably be one of the highest rated BTN games of the season. And I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a viewership number competitive with MSU-Nebraska.
The Michigan-UConn game last year, if I remember correctly, was one of the highest rated games of that weekend.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
I can't imagine that's the case about Michigan-UConn, since it wasn't even televised in much of the country (California included). I had to watch it on my iPad, but I imagine only the hardcore fans did that.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
It shared the ABC 8pm slot with KSU-Texas, but it was televised in the Midwest, East Coast, and Florida so a good portion of the country did get the game. Hard to dissect the rating more, but the ABC 8pm game was the highest rated game of the week.
I also think it was on reverse mirror with ESPN2 in out of region so you didn't need the internet to watch it. And that rating does not include the reverse mirror rating numbers as well.
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college-football-tv-ratings/
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
It was not on reverse mirror. Trust me on this, all of us out here bitched because it was the first non-televised Michigan football game in a while. All Big Ten home games get the reverse mirror, but because the game was at UConn, it was under the American conference contract, and therefore no reverse mirror.
The reason that slot had such a high rating was because it combined the local viewership of Michigan and Texas. So yeah, that's going to get ratings.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
You're right. I misread the ratings breakdown. The reverse mirror was for 3:30pm not 8pm.
It was available on the west coast on ESPN GamePlan for $24.99 for a single game.
In SD.
It was an abomination on the field with crappy resolution on the screen. Miserable.
When I lived in London I streamed games off ESPN for less money with better resolution.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
The BTN games will never fare as well because ESPN/ABC gets first pick, so they'll always pick the big opponents. But I imagine Michigan-Rutgers in prime time will do decently well, especially in the NY/NJ area.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^
The game is on Yom Kippur, so this time is not a huge surprise. Rutgers administration supposedly pushed for a night game.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
That's kind of awesome actually
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
....with stadium food.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^
Per ESPN, the only known game this would go up against in primetime thus far (i.e., virtually everything is still TBA, as you might expect) would be Michigan State vs. Nebraska, which is going to be the ABC / ESPN game at 8 PM that same evening. Other Big Ten matchups that day, if you're curious - Wisconsin at Northwestern, Ohio State at Maryland and Purdue at Illinois in the annual "Train Wreck Classic".
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
should be on every channel in the primetime slot. I'm talking ABC, both ESPNs, NBC's networks and both major Spanish channels. America, nay, the world, must watch Austin Appleby do battle with Wes Lunt.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
Alabama at Ole Miss
Arizona State at USC
Baylor at Texas
Florida at Tennessee
LSU at Auburn
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^
True, but if ASU-USC was a night game, it would likely be on PST primetime so it wouldn't interfere with the east coast games.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
MOAR night games...yes
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
I cringe when I see a UM game scheduled for BTN, their production is horrible and the announcers are just awful to listen to. I have work to sync my DVR and the radio broadcast so I can stand it. I'd almost rather the game be on ESPN2 with Pam Ward announcing.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
are a half hour to 45 minutes longer.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
I wonder how many Michigan fans show up in maize
RED ALERT: #RFootball's annual Blackout will be vs. Michigan at 7pm on 10/4/14 on the @BigTenNetwork. #ChopMichigan pic.twitter.com/beWXpFfdoq
— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) April 22, 2014
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:50 AM ^
Wait, what? #ChopMichigan? #ChopMichigan!? No! #ChopRutgers! It's fuckin' on now!
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
We'll need to add them to the list of our very top rivalries. I'd peg them in between Illinois and ... .
Wait, is there anyone in the B1G that we care about less than Illinois?
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^
Purdue?
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
I don't know. I was old enough in the Brees/Orton/Painter run where Purdue was pretty good. They took a Rose Bowl spot from us as well, IIRC. Illinois just had a few years of Juice Williams and that was when we sucked anyway.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
the Kurt Kitner teams weren't bad and they stuck a dagger in UM's heart in 1999. UM was up 27-7 in the second half and let Illinois come back and win.
Illinois actually went to more BCS bowls then Purdue. The Illini played in both the Sugar and Rose. Pretty sure Purdon't only made it to the Rose.
I sitll revel in the fact that Brees never beat Michigan. Go Blue!