Ohio State will open the 2017 season with back-to-back primetime games.
It was announced Thursday the Buckeyes' season-opener at Indiana on Aug. 31 would be an 8 p.m. kickoff while the Week 2 showdown against Oklahoma in Columbus will begin at 7:30 p.m.
This was hardly a surprise, of course, as Ohio State's opener comes on a Thursday. That Big Ten tilt in Bloomington was always going to be played at night. So, too, was the matchup against the Sooners. Ohio State–Oklahoma is one of the marquee non-conference games of the 2017 season; a night game only made sense.
These surely won't be the only two games the Buckeyes play under the lights this season, however. In fact, there's a decent chance half of Ohio State's games require nighttime viewing.
| Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Aug. 31 | at Indiana |
| Sept. 9 | Oklahoma |
| Sept. 16 | Army |
| Sept. 23 | UNLV |
| Sept. 30 | at Rutgers |
| Oct. 7 | Maryland |
| Oct. 14 | at Nebraska |
| Oct. 28 | Penn State |
| Nov. 4 | at Iowa |
| Nov. 11 | Michigan State |
| Nov. 18 | Illinois |
| Nov. 25 | at Michigan |
The Buckeyes' 2017 schedule can be seen at the right of this story, and a quick look shows us some strong candidates for potential night games. The first, and most obvious, is Ohio State's home game against Penn State on Oct. 28. That's about as close to a lock as it can get for Urban Meyer and Co. to host a home night game. Look for that to be the Buckeyes' big recruiting weekend of the year, too.
Two additional road candidates that seem likely are the Oct. 14 matchup at Nebraska and the Nov. 4 game at Iowa. The Hawkeyes hosted Michigan last season for a November night game — and won — so perhaps Iowa goes back to that plan when Ohio State comes to town this year. Everyone else seems to try it.
If those three scenarios all happen, that would bring the Buckeyes' total to five night games for the season. That number would tie for most in Meyer's tenure in Columbus. Ohio State also played five night games during its national championship 2014 season.
However, there are two additional games on the schedule that could also be played at night — though selecting both seems unlikely. The Buckeyes played a night game at Rutgers in 2015 and with a trip to Piscataway on the schedule in late September, there's a chance it happens again because whenever Ohio State comes to town, it's a big deal. Another option could be the Nov. 11 game against Michigan State. The Buckeyes played a November night game against the Spartans in 2014, so it could be an option again this season despite the fact Michigan State has taken a couple of steps backward recently.
If all of those play out, that would give Ohio State a total of seven night games for 2017. The more likely scenario, however, is just one of those final two gets played under the lights and the Buckeyes end up with six — exactly half their regular-season schedule.
As of right now, there don't appear to be any plans for the Ohio State–Michigan game to be played at night.
Six night games would be the most in the Meyer era. As mentioned above, Ohio State played five in 2014. In 2012 and 2013, the Buckeyes played three. And in 2015 and 2016, the number was four.
Kickoff times will be released sporadically throughout the next few months.
But just a word of advice if you're planning to make a trip or two to an Ohio State game this fall: Bring the coffee with you. It may be a long evening.
