Big Ten releases Friday night schedule for 2017

The Big Ten released the list of games that will be played on Friday night next year. Michigan State is included, while Northwestern will compete twice.

The Big Ten caused a firestorm when they revealed that, to celebrate their new TV deal with ESPN and Fox, they’ll have Friday night games every year. Even if it’s just six games out of the schedule – with three of them being non-conference – many believed it’s six too many.

However, they’ve already committed to this, and they have to follow through. Here is the full slate of games for next year, all of which are below average at best:

As far as football traditions go, it’s always gone high school on Friday, college on Saturday, and NFL on Sunday. A lot of the Big Ten towns have prestigious high school programs, and don’t want to interfere with them. Certainly, the conference’s elite teams in Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State expressed their displeasure in this move and flat out said no to them.

The first game on that list is the second half of Rutgers and Washington’s home-and-home. Washington won 48-13 on their home field, and there’s no reason to subject a national TV audience to this type of game. The most prestigious name on this list is Wisconsin, but they couldn’t be bothered to play a Friday night game during conference play. Instead, they will take on Utah State in what will likely be a blowout.

And even though Michigan flat-out refused to play on Friday night, their in-state rivals decided to take on the challenge. Michigan State is in the midst of its toughest season in years, as they currently own a seven-game losing streak. It’s the first time in Mark Dantonio’s tenure that they won’t go bowling, and perhaps he wants an extra boost from a big network to help his program get back to prominence. But if they don’t improve next year, it’s going to be ugly to watch.

They will play Northwestern, who will actually have two Friday night games this year. Their game against Maryland might be the best game out of the bunch, but it’s not one that a national TV audience will get excited for.

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Friday Night Lights coming to the Big Ten was already an unpopular decision to begin with. And if this is the best they can come up with, don’t expect the critics to go away anytime soon.