Could Huskers-Horns kick off early? Posted by: Brian Christopherson on July 15, 2010 at 2:13PM CST
Like most people, I've spent the past few months assuming Nebraska's Oct. 16 showdown with Texas at Memorial Stadium would be a night game on ABC.
But hold the phone. Those who love to turn left have something to say about that.
Yes, NASCAR's Sprint Cup race in Charlotte is scheduled to be shown by ABC that night at 7:30 p.m.
So if ABC were to show the Nebraska-Texas game, your options are either 11 a.m. (national broadcast) or 2:30 p.m. (regional broadcast).
So you wonder if ESPN, which is partnered with ABC, ends up showing it in primetime given the hype the game will garner.
As of now, Ohio State at Wisconsin is scheduled to be shown on ESPN or ESPN2 at 6 p.m. central. If Nebraska and Texas keep their noses clean early in the year, perhaps the suits bump OSU-Wisconsin to the Deuce and put Huskers-Horns on ESPN.
It just seems like a game that needs to be played under the lights, doesn't it? I know Nebraska has played some big-time national games at 11 a.m. before -- 1994 against Colorado (a 24-7 win) and 2000 against Oklahoma (a 31-14 loss) come quickly to mind. But night games bring a different energy. More juice in the crowd, which is surely not unrelated to the fact some fans literally have more juice in the system.
Also consider that it's hard to bring recruits in for early games. And the environment that surrounds this game figures to offer a big recruiting opportunity for Nebraska. So you can guess that those in the Husker camp would prefer this game at night for that reason alone.
Just something to think about as we edge closer to fall camp, which is now just 23 days away. Not that anyone's counting.