ESPN announced its primetime college football slate for the upcoming 2013 college football season on Monday, granting the Big Ten six games -- as long as you include Notre Dame's two games.
Wisconsin gets just one, though -- the Sept. 28 game at Ohio State will be televised on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 at 7 p.m. CT. Looking at the Badgers' 2013 schedule, that one was pretty much a no-brainer for primetime designation.
#Badgers & #Buckeyes Sept. 28 in Columbus in prime time (7 pm CT) on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2. 4th time in last 6 years two teams have met at night
— Badger Football (@BadgerFootball) April 29, 2013
Naturally, we would've liked more than just one primetime showing, as night games at Camp Randall Stadium are truly a spectacle to behold. Also, Wisconsin's typically pretty good under the lights -- the Badgers are 31-6 in their last 37 night games. Over the last five seasons, 24 percent of Wisconsin's games have come at night, and the Badgers are 11-5 in those games.
Last year's night games, excluding the Big Ten Championship Game, were mostly rough for the Badgers -- the first was the Week 3 16-14 win over the Gary Andersen-led Utah State Aggies on Sept. 15, and the second was the 30-27 loss at Nebraska two weeks later. The last night game vs. Ohio State was -- welp -- the second of those two consecutive nightmarish last-minute losses in 2011.
The rest of the 2013 Big Ten TV schedule:
DATE | TIME (CT) | GAME | NETWORK |
Sept. 7 | 7 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Michigan | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
Sept. 14 | 7 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Purdue | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
Sept. 28 | 7 p.m. | Wisconsin vs. Ohio State | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
Oct. 5 | 7 p.m. | Ohio State vs. Northwestern | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
Oct. 12 | 5 p.m. | Michigan vs. Penn State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
Oct. 26 | 7 p.m. | Penn State vs. Ohio State | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
Update: Looks like there's a chance we could see more night games this season. Wisconsin-Northwestern one week after the Ohio State game would be pretty interesting. Remember, the Big Ten has previously been adverse to night games in November.
More #B1G prime time games will be announced next week - stay tuned.
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) April 29, 2013