Image Via: Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
Despite efforts from the university to push it to a Sunday night kickoff, Ohio State’s highly anticipated season opener against Texas is locked into Saturday, Aug. 30. According to Longhorns athletic director Chris Del Conte, Texas blocked Ohio State’s request to move the game to Sunday because it didn’t want to play its Week 2 matchup against San Jose State on a short week.
“Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week for our boys that were just told we were kicking off at high noon?” Del Conte said Wednesday outside the SEC’s spring meetings. “That was never about moving the time of the day, it was just, ‘Hey, do you want to move the day?’ We’re contractually obligated to this day. That was it. The craziness is, ‘Oh my god, they said no.’ I just said no to Sunday. I gotta go to church. I mean, hot dang.”
Del Conte’s comments come after 247Sports reported that Ohio State requested to move their Week 1 game against the Longhorns to Sunday at a later time, only for the Longhorns to shoot down their request. FOX was also reportedly willing to change the time and would have done it if Texas agreed to it, according to Front Office Sports.
If Texas had approved of the Buckeyes and athletic director Ross Bjork’s request, the game would have been likely kicking off around the same time as Notre Dame and Miami, which is slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC. Now with the game likely slotted into a “Big Noon” kickoff, it will not be going against any other notable matchups, potentially giving it higher viewership.
Ohio State could have another chance for a primetime matchup against the Longhorns next season when the two teams conclude a home-and-home series in Austin on Sept. 12, 2026.
