Predicting the first 3 weeks of the 2025 college football TV schedule

Conferences reveal their full kickoff time and community placement schedules for the primary three weeks of the school soccer season Thursday. At The Athletic, it has turn out to be an annual, if semi-futile, train to mission at what time and on which community these video games seem. Like an NFL mock draft, if we choose one incorrect time or community, it implodes a lot of all the lineup. However no one will (or ought to) keep in mind this mini-mock draft as soon as the complete slate is unveiled.

Earlier than studying the rundown, right here’s a refresher on every league’s tv contract. That is the second season the ESPN household of networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Community) has unique rights to the SEC’s residence video games and in-conference matchups. The ACC has the same rundown (subbing out SEC Community for ACC Community) with a weekly sport on The CW. The Massive 12 continues its partnerships with ESPN and Fox and has added TNT, which can present 13 video games that includes convention members this fall.

That is the Massive Ten’s second full 12 months break up amongst Fox, NBC and CBS, which performed a draft earlier this spring. Fox largely broadcasts Massive Ten soccer at midday ET, whereas CBS instructions the three:30 p.m. ET time slot and NBC airs video games in primetime. FS1 and BTN additionally broadcast Massive Ten video games, and Peacock streams round 9 contests every year. Notre Dame has an unique contract with NBC for its residence video games, and the community beforehand introduced these begin occasions. For the Irish’s three primetime kickoffs, NBC will shuffle its Massive Ten time slot.

Among the many different conferences, the Mountain West has offers with Fox, TNT and CBS, whereas the American seems on ESPN’s household of networks. Of their second and closing 12 months because the Pac-2, Oregon State and Washington State have agreements with The CW, ESPN and CBS. The Solar Belt airs solely on ESPN, whereas the MAC and Convention USA compete on ESPN and CBS Sports activities Community.

We selected to give attention to Weeks 1-3 reasonably than incorporating Week 0 (Aug. 23), which accommodates only one power-conference matchup: Iowa State versus Kansas State in Dublin, Eire (midday ET, ESPN). For this train, we included video games that seem on Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and FS1, or video games already set on The CW or different networks. TNT has kickoff home windows far and wide, so the three Massive 12 video games listed here are extra network-based projections. All occasions Jap.

Week 1

The season’s first full weekend consists of a number of video games with occasions and networks already launched. The SEC historically opens the season with powerhouse nonconference matchups, and this 12 months is not any completely different. On the season’s first Saturday, the SEC scheduled three video games in opposition to the ACC, and all three have been unveiled in main viewing home windows: Tennessee versus Syracuse in Atlanta (midday, ABC), Alabama at Florida State (3:30 p.m., ABC) and LSU at Clemson (7:30 p.m., ABC). ESPN additionally introduced California at Oregon State (9:30 p.m.) in a gathering of former Pac-12 North Division foes.

ABC/ESPN additionally introduced a Thursday doubleheader (Boise State at USF, 5:30 p.m., ESPN; Nebraska versus Cincinnati in Kansas Metropolis, 9 p.m., ESPN) and standalone video games on Friday (Georgia Tech at Colorado, 8 p.m., ESPN) and Sunday (South Carolina versus Virginia Tech in Atlanta, 3 p.m., ESPN; Notre Dame at Miami, 7:30 p.m., ABC) plus Invoice Belichick’s North Carolina debut Monday in opposition to TCU (7:30 p.m., ESPN). With the remaining SEC and ACC video games a hodgepodge of matchups in opposition to non-power packages, there’s little room for projection. Plus, U.S. Open tennis protection might affect ESPN’s time picks Saturday.

The Massive Ten has one power-packed matchup (which Fox already has claimed) with Ohio State opening in opposition to Texas in a School Soccer Playoff semifinal rematch. It appears doubtless the Massive Ten will announce this kickoff time along side a future evening sport or two to pacify an agitated Buckeyes fan base that has grown weary of midday kickoffs. However Fox, which airs primetime baseball on the primary two school soccer Saturdays, has an excessive amount of fairness invested within the midday window, which is the place we mission this matchup. As for the remaining video games, the Massive Ten’s media companions are left to only one power-conference conflict, and that options former Pac-12 foes Utah and UCLA. We’ll mission NBC will air the Bruins’ debut of quarterback Nico Iamaleava on the Rose Bowl in primetime, and CBS will choose up Penn State’s season opener in opposition to Nevada.

Of the Massive 12’s unannounced kickoff occasions and networks, Auburn at Baylor on the opening Friday is the very best sport accessible by far. It is a good spot for Fox to go head-to-head with Georgia Tech at Colorado. The Massive Ten additionally has mentioned shifting a sport to Labor Day Sunday, however we’ll keep away from putting it on this projection.

Week 2

The Massive Ten must make some scheduling modifications to keep away from this case each different 12 months. The league controls simply 5 nonconference video games in opposition to power-conference opponents all season, and solely two are set for this week. In Week 2, the Massive Ten’s three greatest nonconference video games are underneath the opposing convention’s management. With three main networks paying to indicate Massive Ten video games, that’s a difficulty. Maybe one future resolution is to start out convention motion earlier to make sure extra early matchups of adequate high quality for Massive Ten rightsholders.

Though Fox controls most of the high picks within the Massive Ten’s annual draft, this looks like every week it wouldn’t thoughts deciding on third. We’ll give CBS the best choice with top-10 Oregon internet hosting Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m.) and NBC choosing Boston School at Michigan State for primetime. On Fox, extremely ranked Penn State at residence in opposition to Florida Worldwide for Massive Midday. We predict Fox will make up for its gentle opening in Week 2 with the heated Cy-Hawk rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State within the late afternoon.

The SEC has the rights to the week’s high sport, Michigan at Oklahoma (7:30 p.m., ABC). We additionally mission ABC to air the return of the Kansas-Missouri blood feud (3:30 p.m.) and Ole Miss at Kentucky, offering the proper curtain raiser to convention play (midday, ABC). On ESPN, Illinois-Duke is a sneaky-good begin to the day alongside the “nonconference” sport between longtime ACC foes Virginia and NC State.

With ESPN airing the ladies’s U.S. Open closing at 4 p.m., Texas quarterback Arch Manning’s 2025 residence debut in opposition to San Jose State shifts to ESPN2. The ESPN/ESPN2 primetime slate reverse Michigan-Oklahoma entails a number of School Soccer Playoff groups, with SMU internet hosting Baylor and defending Massive 12 champion Arizona State touring to Mississippi State.

Week 3

The SEC once more takes middle stage in Week 3 with defending league champion Georgia touring to Tennessee in a battle of 2024 CFP contributors. Florida at LSU is the SEC’s second-best matchup, however each time Dying Valley is concerned, there’s a tug-of-war between time slot and community. For us, the evening ambiance on ESPN wins over ABC within the noon. ABC then opts for a Massive Ten-SEC noon conflict in Tuscaloosa that includes Wisconsin-Alabama. Arkansas-Ole Miss opens the day on ABC.

The Massive Ten’s weak early slate continues, however at the least it has two convention video games. When the matchups seem uneven within the Massive Ten, it’s a very good rule to wager on essentially the most marketable or highest-ranked staff for nationwide publicity. On this case, we have now Fox with the primary choice, and it picks up Oregon at Northwestern at midday whereas CBS takes USC at Purdue at 3:30. NBC has already introduced Texas A&M at Notre Dame in prime time, in order that shifts its Massive Ten sport to the afternoon. Not one of the Massive Ten’s different video games embody a power-conference opponent, so when unsure, go together with Ohio State.

Ought to Fox land the Massive 12’s best choice this week, search for the Yard Brawl to air both mid-afternoon or within the night. ESPN snags a spunky ACC pseudo-rivalry with Clemson at Georgia Tech, which has the potential to affect the CFP race. ESPN picks up Minnesota at California, and though it might turn out to be an after-dark kickoff, a power-conference matchup between two 2024 bowl groups has extra worth in the course of the afternoon than late at evening.

(Picture: Jason Mowry / Getty Photos)