Even as Ohio State fans were already bracing for it, the official announcement that the Buckeyes’ season opener against Texas will be broadcast by Fox at 12 p.m. ET still stung.
So much so that one former Ohio State star said he’s considering organizing a protest against the noon kick.
On the latest episode of their Bleav in Buckeyes podcast, ex-OSU players Chimdi Chekwa and Bryant Browning expressed their dissatisfaction with Fox’s announcement regarding the Texas game. And Chekwa, in particular, took issue with the news, noting the difference in atmospheres between a noon game and a night game game at Ohio Stadium.
“Texas-Ohio State, that’s just historically a primetime-level matchup and it’s almost robbing us of that experience and it’s a home game,” the former All-American cornerback said. “I don’t go to a ton of games. This is a game that I will go to and maybe let my let my son and my family experience a night game at Ohio State, big time matchup versus Texas and we just may not get it… I’m close to just organizing a protest here.”
Browning, meanwhile, recalled the memories he still has from the last time Ohio State hosted Texas: a 2005 matchup that ABC aired in primetime. The national nighttime broadcast which saw Vince Young and the eventual national champion Longhorns defeat the Buckeyes drew 9.9 million viewers, which would have marked the sixth-most watched game of the 2024 college football regular season.
Even two decades later, Browning says he still encounters fans who reference that night at the Horseshoe. And while this year’s Buckeyes-Longhorns showdown — a rematch of last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal Cotton Bowl — could very well be a classic, it’s hard to imagine it resonating in the same way the 2005 primetime showdown did.
“People remember it at night. And it being at noon really affects things,” Browning said. “And especially it being Week 1 of the season kicking off the college football season. It has to be at night. So Fox has to get this right.”
This is hardly the first instance of college football fans taking issue with Fox prioritizing its noon slot, although Ohio State fans in particular seem to have drawn the short end of the stick. The 2024 season saw Fox feature the Buckeyes at 12 p.m. ET a total of six times, one-half of Ohio State’s regular-season schedule.
To this point, however, Fox hasn’t shown any inclination to change its approach, pointing to the success it’s found in the noon window. And unless that changes, don’t expect the complaining to stop anytime soon. Especially in Columbus.