Penn State-Ohio State could have been prime time worthy. But Big Noon got dibs

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Mike Mulvihill, Fox’s president of insights and analytics, has seen photos of the white T-shirts being sold at The Family Clothesline in downtown State College.

In bold navy blue letters, the shirts at the front of the store read: Big Noon Games Suck.

“How does it feel to talk to the most hated man in Happy Valley this week?” Mulvihill asked over the phone Thursday morning as he navigated an airport bouncing from Fox’s coverage of the World Series in New York before shifting gears for the “Big Noon Kickoff” at the venue in State College this weekend.

Ah yes, he knows exactly how some Penn State fans view Saturday’s noon kickoff for No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 4 Ohio State. But before anyone tries to vilify Fox for making this the Big Noon game, Mulvihill is asking fans to hear him out.

The stream of commentary announcing this game with Fox Big Noon and the accompanying pre-game show hasn’t done the network many fans in Happy Valley. Some fans lament Big Noon for taking their marquee home game, one that Penn State wanted as the White Out night game, and instead placing it in the noon television slot.

You know what, they are absolutely right, we have to show up and show up at BOTH shows!! Don’t forget to stop by The Family Clothesline and pick one of these up before you go! pic.twitter.com/tazkipsydV

— The Penn State Troll (@ThePSUTroll) 28 October 2024

How we got here: Fox had picks one, two, five, six and seven in the annual network draft between itself, CBS and NBC. Think of the draft as you would a fantasy football draft. There is a large board and networks change. This Penn State-Ohio State game was not selected among the top four picks.

“This game was on the board for us at No. 5 when we have three consecutive picks, and there’s just no way I can allow this game to fall to the eighth pick,” Mulvihill said. “It would almost be misconduct on my part. Given that the draft played out the way it did, it was just obvious we had to take it.”

The announcement of a noon kickoff this month wasn’t a surprise, but Penn State fans have taken to social media to potentially boycott the “Big Noon Kickoff” and instead go to ESPN’s “College GameDay,” which is also on site without for Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Mulvihill hopes that doesn’t happen, but he also knows that setting the conference’s marquee game at noon will never win everyone over.

“It’s our job to put the schools that we partner with in front of as many people as possible,” Mulvihill said. “If we can give our schools as much exposure as possible, it should not only benefit Fox, but it should benefit these programs. What we’ve found over the last 6 years is that it’s very clear that putting our best game at noon is the one that delivers the biggest audience to those games.”

What Fox found was that Penn State-Ohio State, which was the Big Noon game the last time the Buckeyes were in State College two years ago, is doing about a third better in noon ratings than when it airs in prime time, Mulvihill said .

“There’s a belief that prime time is somehow inherently better, but that’s not really matched by the analysis,” he said.

Still, that doesn’t mean fans have to like it. TV ratings are often the furthest thing from their minds. They worry that Penn State has a team that can push an Ohio State roster with a national title or a bust mindset. Saturday also marks the last time Ohio State plays in Beaver Stadium until 2028. Penn State heads to Columbus next year and then cycles through games against Michigan in 2026 and 2027 before the Buckeyes return.

At noon, there is less time to tailgate. Anyone heading downtown Friday night — and this city is already brimming with anticipation for Saturday — will likely need to turn up before last call. Beaver Stadium’s traffic woes, notorious here around noon games — the byproduct of everyone arriving within a tight window as opposed to traffic flowing all day as it would for a 3:30 p.m. or night game — are bound to pop up up Saturday morning.

“(The) 7:30 energy is always different,” middle linebacker Kobe King said. “With a dinner game, we’ll just get right to it.”

Saturday marks the first time in 25 years that Beaver Stadium will host two teams ranked in the top five of the AP poll. As the dueling ESPN “College Gameday” and Fox “Big Noon Kickoff” pre-game show sets are built in the parking lots outside Beaver Stadium, the magnitude of Saturday is clear. It’s a focal point for this season, for the College Football Playoff race and for a community that lives and breathes the ebb and flow of every fall Saturday.

Mulvihill understands the desire of students and fans who want to sleep in before diving into the prime time game. But ratings and TV money are king.

“I think there’s a less vocal part of the fan base that appreciates the day starts because we’ve heard from coaches and ADs throughout the conference that they like the logistics of the day starts,” Mulvihill said . “When you play a night game on the road, your team might not get home until 3 in the morning.”

He understands why some fans still haven’t wrapped their heads around what was considered an unconventional idea in the spring of 2019, when Fox gathered with Big Ten head coaches and athletic directors to pitch them the idea of ​​taking the conference’s best game that week and sets it at noon. At the time, Penn State head coach James Franklin was one of the biggest supporters.

On Wednesday night, Franklin said tongue in cheek that he loves a dinner start.

“I’ve seen it all over social media,” Franklin said. “Our fans couldn’t be more excited. … Nothing better than a noon game in Happy Valley.”

While Penn State’s annual White Out game is next Saturday against Washington (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten), Fox worked with Penn State to ensure the White Out would not be at noon. While there is little Penn State can do to prevent any network from picking their game, there was an agreement that by picking Penn State-Ohio State at noon, Fox would not also catch White Out.

And maybe let’s not forget the other part of all this. As fans at home settle in to watch Penn State-Ohio State, viewers in two key states in the presidential election will continue to be bombarded with campaign ads during commercials. It’s also a big reason why this game ended up on Fox at noon.

“The election was definitely part of it,” Mulvihill said. “I’m sure there’s campaign advertising fatigue in Pennsylvania because it might be the most important state in the election, but we took it pretty seriously that the game is three days out from Election Day, and we knew it would be a of the biggest games of the season and we wanted to take advantage of that advertising opportunity.”

(Photo: Matthew O’Haren / Imagn Images)