ESPN Selects Seven Big Ten College Football Games for Prime Time

ESPN has selected seven Big Ten Conference college football games for prime time telecasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 in 2011. The schedule includes at least one team in the College Football Live preseason top 25 poll in every game and four matchups between ranked squads. Every telecast will begin at 8 p.m. ET. Additional games will be announced as the season progresses.

• Coverage of all three co-defending Big Ten Conference champions:
  • No. 14 Wisconsin — coming off an 11-2 season — will play four games, beginning with a season-opening ESPN Thursday night telecast against UNLV on Sept. 1. It will mark the first time Wisconsin has hosted a Thursday night game on ESPN since 2000 when they played Western Michigan.
  • No. 10 Ohio State – which finished the 2010 season with an 11-1 record and a 31-26 victory over Arkansas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl – will be televised twice, highlighted by a matchup against Wisconsin, the only team to beat the Buckeyes last year, Saturday, Oct. 29.
  • A telecast of No. 16 Michigan State – coming off an 11-2 season – against No. 14 Wisconsin Saturday, Oct. 22. Michigan State handed Wisconsin its only regular-season loss last year.
•  An ESPN network will televise newest Big Ten member No. 13 Nebraska’s first two games against conference foes in consecutive weeks: at No. 14 Wisconsin Saturday, Oct. 1 and against No. 10 Ohio State Saturday, Oct. 8.
• ESPN will televise the first-ever night game at Michigan Stadium when the Wolverines host No. 17 Notre Dame on Saturday, Sept. 10.

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