Ohio State is now set to play at least two night games on NBC in the network’s first year of televising Big Ten football.
The network announced Wednesday that Ohio State’s Sept. 23 road game at Notre Dame will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised by NBC. The game will also be streamed on Peacock.
Ohio State is also set to play a 7:30 p.m. game on NBC when it hosts Michigan State on Nov. 12, a game time the Buckeyes agreed to even though ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Sunday that Ohio State is among the Big Ten schools that have pushed back against playing November night games.
It’s no surprise the Buckeyes’ clash with the Fighting Irish will be televised by NBC in primetime, considering NBC has the TV rights to all Notre Dame home games in addition to its new Big Ten package, which will feature weekly Saturday night matchups.
It will be the second year in a row Ohio State plays Notre Dame under the lights, as the Buckeyes’ 2022 season opener against Notre Dame was a 7:30 p.m. game on ABC.
This year’s trip to South Bend will be Ohio State’s first since 1996, when the Buckeyes played the second leg of a home-and-home with Notre Dame that started in 1995. Ohio State enters this year’s game with five straight wins against the Fighting Irish, as the Buckeyes won both of those games, a pair of Fiesta Bowls against Notre Dame in 2006 and 2016 and last year’s 21-10 victory in the Shoe.
Kickoff times and TV networks have now been set for three of Ohio State’s regular-season games, as the Buckeyes’ rivalry game with Michigan will be played in its traditional noon time slot on FOX. Kickoff times and TV networks for the first three weeks of the college football season, including Ohio State’s first three games against Indiana, Youngstown State and Western Kentucky, are scheduled to be announced next Wednesday, according to The Athletic.
