College Football Fans Hoping For ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ Changes Get Rough Awakening

College football fans have made it clear that they don’t like when FOX puts its biggest college football games of the week in the noon E.T. slot.

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FOX did it last year, when Ohio State hosted Texas in Columbus. “Big games should be played at night,” college football fans say. The TV ratings, though, tell a different story.

Last weekend, Texas hosted Ohio State in a night game on ESPN. The game kicked off around 8 p.m. E.T. Texas won a thriller, taking down Ohio State, 24-23, in the game of the season to date.

But while college football fans often complain about noon kickoffs, claiming to prefer night games, the TV ratings would suggest otherwise.

Roughly 14 million fans tuned into Saturday night’s Texas vs. Ohio State game on ABC, according to the TV ratings.

However, during last year’s noon E.T. game on FOX, roughly 16 million fans tuned in to watch Ohio State vs. FOX.

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Not any two games are the same, of course, but the TV ratings are telling. Viewers might say they like night games more, but the ratings – at least for Ohio State vs. Texas – don’t emphasize that.

FOX’s noon kickoffs are here to stay

The noon kickoffs are here to stay, like it or not.

FOX has created a primetime window of their own with the noon E.T. kickoffs. Their pregame show leads right into their biggest game of the day.

College football fans might prefer to attend a night game over a day game – the stadium atmosphere is certainly more exciting at night – but the TV ratings are what bring in the big dollars.

And FOX’s noon kickoffs seem to do just as well, if not better, than some night games on other networks.

College football fans who want these games to be played at night are not going to get what they want.

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This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 3:13 PM.