Matt Rhule and his Nebraska football program know what’s at stake right out of the gate when the Huskers’ 2024 season gets underway.
Last week, three of America’s four-largest national television networks conducted what has become known as the “Big Ten Football Draft” as executives and representatives from CBS, NBC and FOX gathered together in a war room to select – more like “fight over,” one would like to imagine – the biggest games each network will get to broadcast during the 2024 college football season.
We are in the midst of “schedule release season” with the NFL set to unveil the full 18-week slate on Wednesday night and the Big Ten’s Big Three of TV partners giving us a small taste in order to avoid CFB withdrawals. Thus far, we know the kickoff times for 10 marquee matchups in the upcoming season and TV info for 11 of them:
Week 1 – Aug. 31
Fresno State at Michigan – 6:30 p.m. on NBC*
LSU at USC – 6:30 p.m. on ABC (Sept. 1)
Week 2 – Sept. 7
Texas at Michigan – 11 a.m. on FOX (Big Noon Kickoff)
Colorado at Nebraska – 6:30 p.m. on NBC
Week 3 – Sept. 14
Alabama at Wisconsin – 11 a.m. on FOX (Big Noon Kickoff)
Notre Dame at Purdue – 2:30 p.m. on CBS
Oregon at Oregon State – TBD on FOX or FS1
Week 4 – Sept. 21
USC at Michigan – 2:30 p.m. on CBS
Purdue at Oregon State – 7:30 p.m. on The CW
Week 14 – Nov. 30
Michigan at Ohio State – 11 a.m. on FOX (Big Noon Kickoff)
Big Ten Championship Game – Dec. 8
7 p.m. on CBS
*all times Central
Tucked into that list of big-time CFB brands, national TV networks and juicy matchups is a showdown that instantly became the biggest news of the week when it was announced – a game that has a chance to supercede all others involving the Big Ten over the first four weeks in terms of atmosphere.
Nebraska.
Colorado.
Primetime kickoff. Under the lights in Lincoln. Under the watchful eye of millions. On an NBC broadcast that does it better than any other network in terms of money and resources poured into the spotlight night game of the week.
Deion Sanders, his quarterback son Shedeur and everything that comes with the Buffs brand under the two of them…
vs.
Matt Rhule, the program’s quarterback of the future who is built for those type of moments in Dylan Raiola and everything the Huskers are hoping to build toward…
