Ohio State football fans are back at weaponizing their fierce love for the team. This time, it might finally be for an important reason. On opening week this season, the Buckeyes will face a highly-touted Texas team since their semi-final matchup. Ryan Day’s boys trounced Steve Sarkisian’s 28-14 to advance to the National Championship game, which they won with much fanfare. However, a change in operations has sent OSU fans into a tizzy.
Rematches of previous seasons’ playoff games generate an overwhelming amount of excitement. Naturally, the OSU vs Texas 2.0 game, scheduled for August 30, is a huge game for fans of either team. On one hand, Ryan Day will be entering the ground as a National Championship defender. On the other hand, Texas will debut the one player everyone in the community wants to see – Arch Manning. Last time, the game was broadcast by ESPN, which had 19.2 million fans tuning in. That number was already a drop from that of 2023’s semifinal game, which saw 23.2 million viewers.
2024 was the first year that saw the extended playoff bracket of 12 teams. This year, FOX is going to broadcast the Texas-OSU game. It is slated to be held at noon, and will be shown in FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff programme. The network, valued at $22.7 billion, might have just dug its own grave with this move. Because let’s face it, the timing makes it difficult for fans to tune into the game. Moreover, nobody wants to miss a chance at seeing Manning take the field for the first time as the Texas QB1. Naturally, fans are beyond pissed, and have even called for a ban against the show.
SIGN THE PETITION TO END FOX BIG NOON KICKOFF!https://t.co/hJHX5s3lC4
— Buckeye Blitz (@BuckeyeBlitzz) May 12, 2025
The petition, as of now, already has more than 200 signatures. “This has gone TOO FAR. A top 5 matchup should NEVER kickoff at noon,” reads the description of the petition on Change.org. And the sentiment is true. The ‘Saturday night’ tradition of college football gets marred with a time slot like this, where some people can still be busy at work. And, it’d be a real pain for fans watching far away from the action, like the West Coast, where they have to wake up early to catch the game!
The logic behind FOX setting this time slot is that they’d rack up on viewership, leading into the pre-game show for the games at night. And the network knows how lucrative the OSU fanbase is, already set for some big numbers. Ergo, money will be raining down on FOX. But fans, known for their lethal tongues when they’re pissed off, are letting the network know that the decision is not a welcome one because missing Arch Manning debuting and facing off against likely Buckeye QB1 Julian Sayin is for sure, a travesty.
Ohio State fans are angry at FOX for changing college football traditions
“Big Noon Kickoff is the worst thing to happen to american sports,” wrote one disappointed fan. The program also has an extremely important game lined up for that dreaded slot. It’s the OSU game against arch-nemesis Michigan, scheduled for Week 14. Fans will just not have it when marquee games, which are the spirit of college football, are scheduled at such oddball-worthy times. “This should be prime time. Noon games are awful,” wrote another.
“Texas at Ohio State being a Big Noon Kickoff game is a crime against humanity,” wrote another user. To set the record straight, there was also an accompanying clip from the iconic Texas-OSU faceoff in 2005. “THIS is what Texas at Ohio State should look like,” they added further. The clip truly showed the grandeur that a prime matchup like this enjoys. A sea of red, with opening clips of a majestic Vince Young and Ted Ginn. The game was broadcast by ABC, and the Young-led Longhorns defeated Ohio State 25-22. Imagine how lacklustre that game would’ve been if it had been played when the sun was at the zenith.
Texas at Ohio State being a Big Noon Kickoff game is a crime against humanity.
THIS is what Texas at Ohio State should look like: https://t.co/pPXJ4MRq2d pic.twitter.com/dvtr0tvbqE
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) May 12, 2025
Fans are adamant that FOX prioritize fans first, and then worry about viewership. “Yet another massive game that should be at night ruined by big noon kickoff. Fox sports must be stopped,” one angry fan tweeted. It’s only fair that a game as hyped as this one fits in the spirit of college football, that is, at night. That’s how it had been for so long, until Big Noon Kickoff premiered in 2019.
FOX should know better than to mess with Ohio State football fans. This is the very first game of the season, and also entails some of the most talked-about football entities in college sports. A 12 pm kickoff will not just dampen the charged atmosphere of the game; it will just disappoint passionate fans in general. How is the media juggernaut going to weather this storm?
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