Over the last few seasons, Ohio State football fans have resentfully grown accustomed to the number of noon kickoffs that the Buckeyes have played.
That frustration even got to the point that an Ohio lawmaker tried to get noon ET kickoffs where the Buckeyes take on a top-10-ranked opponent not named Michigan banned this past offseason.
Nov. 1 will mark another noon kickoff for Ohio State in Week 10 of the college football season as the Buckeyes come out of their bye week to host a depleted Penn State team that is winless in Big Ten play and has an interim coach in Terry Smith after the firing of James Franklin.
The meeting between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus will be the fifth time the rivalry matchup will be featured on “Big Noon Saturday,” which was created by Fox, one of the Big Ten’s TV rights partners, in 2019.
The disdain for the noon ET kickoff, largely when it’s against a top-ranked opponent, is from a fan experience standpoint since a noon kickoff compared to a 3:30 or a primetime one doesn’t provide fans who are at the stadium a full day’s worth of pregame festivities. On the flip side, it’s the price of success for Ryan Day’s squad being one of the best programs in the country the last handful of seasons and Fox wanting to send its A-Tier crew of Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft to a Buckeyes’ game for the network’s marquee game of the week.
Oh, the Buckeyes’ have fared pretty well in the “Big Noon Saturday” slot on Fox, too.
Here’s what to know about:
What is Ohio State football’s record on Fox’s ‘Big Noon Saturday’?
Entering Saturday’s game vs. Penn State, Ohio State holds a 21-5 all-time record when featured on Fox’s “Big Noon Saturday” Game of the Week.
Of the five losses that the Buckeyes have taken when featured on “Big Noon Saturday,” four of them have come against Michigan. The other loss for Ohio State was a 35-28 loss to Oregon, a then non-conference opponent, in 2021 at Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes’ best season when featured on “Big Noon Saturday” came in 2019 when they went a perfect 6-0 with wins over Florida Atlantic (45-21), Indiana (51-10), Wisconsin (38-7), Maryland (73-14), Penn State (28-17) and Michigan (56-27).
How many times has Ohio State football been featured on Fox’s ‘Big Noon Saturday’?
Since Fox debuted “Big Noon Saturday” in 2019, the Buckeyes have appeared on the network’s noon ET slot 26 times, with their 27th appearance coming Saturday against Penn State. The Buckeyes appeared on “Big Noon Saturday” six times last season, with five of those being home games at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State has appeared on “Big Noon Saturday” twice this season: Week 1 vs. Texas and then Week 7 on the road at Illinois.
Ohio State football-Big Noon Saturday games
Here’s a season-by-season breakdown of when Ohio State has been featured on Fox’s “Big Noon Saturday”, including final scores of those games:
2019: 6-0
2020: 2-0
2021: 3-1
2022: 3-1
2023: 2-1
2024: 4-1
2025: 1-1
Record: 21-5
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football ‘Big Noon Saturday’ record: How Buckeyes have fared on Fox marquee game
Reporting by John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
