Thursday 9/2 is going up to 11.We've received a pretty credible tip (confirmed, see update below) that the season opener against Marshall will be moved to Thursday, September 2nd, setting up what we believe is Ohio State's first Thursday night game since defeating Wyoming 24-10 on August 28th, 1997. While that matchup was part of the Eddie Robinson Football Classic, the Marshall game this season won't have any such special event attachments.
No doubt this will not go over well with some of the more conservative members of the fanbase (primarily those that think anything but a 12pm or 3:30pm kickoff is blasphemy) and the move will make travel plans rough for those of you that attend every season opener, but looking at the positives from such a move, the team will have two additional days to prepare for the Hurricanes ahead of their visit to the Shoe the following weekend (which is also rumored to possibly be a prime-time event).
From a television perspetcive, if the game is moved to Thursday, it's probably going to be a BTN telecast. ESPN already has a double-header lined up with Southern Miss at South Carolina followed by USC at Hawaii and the net has a desire to move more kickoff games into the coveted Thursday night spot ahead of Labor Day weekend. Last season featured Indiana welcoming Eastern Kentucky in a renovated Memorial Stadium.
You now have eight months to figure out how to get Friday off of work should you wish to participate in what's likely to be a pretty big Thursday night bash in Columbus.
UPDATE: And in the time it took me to whip up the post, the university has confirmed the move to Thursday night.
