Fansided

Five reasons Friday night Big Ten games will be a disaster

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany speaks with the media during one-on-one interviews as part of Big Ten media day at Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany speaks with the media during one-on-one interviews as part of Big Ten media day at Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Devine Redding, Indiana Hoosiers, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Nov 5, 2016; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Indiana Hoosiers running back Devine Redding (34) runs for a touchdown after catching a pass during the second half at High Points Solutions Stadium. Indiana defeated Rutgers 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /

4) Terrible matchups

So if the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State all want out for Friday night games, or are unwilling to host these games at the very least, where does that leave the conference?

It would make Nebraska likely the most powerful brand and it seems likely the Cornhuskers will host at least one game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. But the conference will not likely make any team play two Friday games as part of this package.

So who else is the conference going to choose to feature in these games? Iowa? Maryland? Rutgers?

It is not likely, in other words, to get a large FOX or FS1 audience to watch Northwestern-Purdue as one of the Friday games. Or even Minnesota-Indiana, if that is the case. Maybe one of those power schools — say, the highly entertaining Ohio State-Indiana matchup — gets one of the Friday slots when played in Bloomington, but there is the potential for a lot of bad or unappealing matchups.

Whether these schools like it or not, the big names draw attendance and draw television eyeballs. And with them deciding not to host and reticent to play in these games at all, does not bode well for good matchups for casual fans.

The conference will likely have to force some teams to help fill these critical TV spots.

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