Last season Fox Sports began their flagship Big Noon Saturday slate of college football games with a massive showdown between #1 Texas and #2 Ohio State.<\/p>\n
This year will not start with the same bang.<\/p>\n
Fox announced their first three games for Big Noon Saturday to kick off the 2026 season and unfortunately many of the criticisms of the timeslot and the games at the network\u2019s disposal remain.<\/p>\n
Big Noon Saturday will begin with the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers. But they won\u2019t be facing Texas. Instead, they will be hosting North Texas. At least it\u2019s in the same state, right?<\/p>\n
In Week 2, Fox will have a marquee non-conference game for another rare trip from an SEC north to Big Ten Country when the Michigan Wolverines host the Oklahoma Sooners.<\/p>\n
However, Week 3 returns to more glorified preseason action when the Ohio State Buckeyes host their fierce in-state rivals, the Kent State Golden Flashes. The last time those two teams played, Ohio State defeated Kent State by a 66-0 scoreline.<\/p>\n
Primetime with @gusjohnson<\/a>, @joelklatt<\/a> and @JennyTaft<\/a> \ud83e\udd29<\/p>\n Big Noon Saturdays are almost here \u23f3\ud83d\udd1c\ud83c\udfc8 pic.twitter.com\/gBjiCXOfnN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Fox has largely been successful<\/a> with their Big Noon Saturday window and making it into a premier timeslot for college football action. That has largely been built around top Big Ten programs like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and now Indiana. The odd Big 12 matchup has been featured too, namely when Deion Sanders and Colorado were a national story in his first season on the Boulder sidelines.<\/p>\n Although there have been protestations<\/a> from schools<\/a> over being forced to play games in the timeslot and reduce the homefield and recruiting advantage that night games often bring, Fox has committed<\/a> to continuing to put their biggest and best matchups at Noon ET.<\/p>\n The bigger problem is the lack of actual must-see games.<\/p>\n Fox knows that powerhouse schools like Ohio State and Michigan will bring viewers, no matter who they play. But they won\u2019t be able to compete with the SEC on ABC<\/a> and reclaim their top spot in the college football rankings by putting out teams like Kent State and North Texas, with all due respect to the Mean Green\u2019s fine 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n Compare this to the SEC on ABC primetime lineup that will feature LSU-Clemson, Ohio State-Texas, and Lane Kiffin returning to Oxford to visit Ole Miss for the first time as LSU head coach. Which series of games would you rather watch as a sports fan?<\/p>\n The good news for Fox is that conference play begins in earnest in Week 4 with Iowa-Michigan and Illinois-Ohio State as the two main possibilities and things should pick up from there. But by then, the ratings gap will likely be far too big to close.<\/p>\n \t