I will start this thread in anticipation of the May upfronts and the possibility of September game announcements being announced. I imagine most of the power conference schedules will be announced by the end of the month.

Most if not all of the schedules have been announced with possible dates to be moved to accommodate TV/streaming.

I predicted back in January after the dates were announced...
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FOX CBS NBC
noon 3:30pm 7:30pm

Sept. 5 North Texas at Indiana Ball State at Ohio State Boise State at Oregon
Sept. 12 Iowa State at Iowa Oklahoma at Michigan Duke at Illinois
Sept. 19 Virginia Tech at Maryland Colorado at Northwestern USC at Rutgers
Sept. 26 Iowa at Michigan Illinois at Ohio State Oregon at USC
Oct. 3 Michigan at Minnesota USC at Washington Ohio State at Iowa
Oct. 10 Indiana at Nebraska Washington at Iowa USC at Penn State
Oct. 17 Ohio State at Indiana Nebraska at Oregon Penn State at Michigan
Oct. 24 Indiana at Michigan Oregon at Illinois Iowa at Minnesota
Oct. 31 Minnesota at Indiana Washington at Nebraska Ohio State at USC
Nov. 7 Oregon at Ohio State Michigan State at Michigan No game: Miami at Notre Dame
Nov. 14 Northwestern at Ohio State Michigan at Oregon USC at Indiana
Nov. 21 Iowa at Illinois Indiana at Washington Ohio State at Nebraska
Nov. 28 Michigan at Ohio State USC at UCLA Washington at Oregon
>

Draft Order:
1. FOX: Nov. 28 (Mich-OSU)
2. FOX: Oct. 17 (OSU-IU)
3. FOX: Nov. 7 (Ore-OSU)
4. CBS: Sept. 12 (Okl-Mich)
5. NBC: Oct. 31 (OSU-USC)
6. CBS: Sept. 26 (Ore-USC or Ill-OSU, Two years in a row CBS picked Week 4)
7. NBC: Oct. 3 (USC-Wash or OSU-Iowa)
8. FOX: Oct. 24 (Ind-Mich) - First World Series Week
9. CBS: Nov. 14 (USC-IU, Mich-Ore, or NW-OSU)
10. NBC: Nov. 21 (OSU-Neb or IU-Wash)
11. FOX: Oct. 10 (IU-Neb)
12. CBS: Sept. 5 or 19 (Does it really matter?)
13. NBC: Same

ABC SNF Predictions:
Sept. 5: Clemson at LSU
Sept. 12: Ohio State at Texas
Sept. 19: LSU at Mississippi
Sept. 26: Oklahoma at Georgia
Oct. 3: Vanderbilt at Georgia
Oct. 10: Georgia at Alabama
Oct. 17: Alabama at Tennessee
Oct. 24: Texas A&M at Alabama
Oct. 31: Auburn at Mississippi??? (Florida-Georgia but likely will be a 3:30pm game. I'd put Clemson at Florida State on SNF)
Nov. 7: Alabama at LSU
Nov. 14: Texas at LSU
Nov. 21: LSU at Tennessee
Nov. 28: Auburn at Alabama

Miami's biggest games are Oct. 3 at Clemson, Oct. 17 vs. Florida State, and Nov. 7 at Notre Dame (will be on NBC). Miami-Clemson has a case for SNF. FSU-Miami likely doesn't.

Nov 21 ABC SNF Could be A&M vs Oklahoma to possibly prevent LSU from being the night game 3 weeks in a row. It is predicted to be a ranked matchup, but it still depends on how good the teams are

(05-06-2026 05:30 PM)Glenn360 Wrote:  Nov 21 ABC SNF Could be A&M vs Oklahoma to possibly prevent LSU from being the night game 3 weeks in a row. It is predicted to be a ranked matchup, but it still depends on how good the teams are

I didn't track it super closely last season, but ABC doesn't always have the top game in the night slot. Maybe a 2/3 and 1/3 split, something like that? They could very easily think that A&M vs OU is the "better" matchup and still put it on at 3:30.

(05-06-2026 03:52 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I predicted back in January after the dates were announced...
>
FOX CBS NBC
noon 3:30pm 7:30pm

Sept. 5 North Texas at Indiana Ball State at Ohio State Boise State at Oregon
Sept. 12 Iowa State at Iowa Oklahoma at Michigan Duke at Illinois
Sept. 19 Virginia Tech at Maryland Colorado at Northwestern USC at Rutgers
Sept. 26 Iowa at Michigan Illinois at Ohio State Oregon at USC
Oct. 3 Michigan at Minnesota USC at Washington Ohio State at Iowa
Oct. 10 Indiana at Nebraska Washington at Iowa USC at Penn State
Oct. 17 Ohio State at Indiana Nebraska at Oregon Penn State at Michigan
Oct. 24 Indiana at Michigan Oregon at Illinois Iowa at Minnesota
Oct. 31 Minnesota at Indiana Washington at Nebraska Ohio State at USC
Nov. 7 Oregon at Ohio State Michigan State at Michigan No game: Miami at Notre Dame
Nov. 14 Northwestern at Ohio State Michigan at Oregon USC at Indiana
Nov. 21 Iowa at Illinois Indiana at Washington Ohio State at Nebraska
Nov. 28 Michigan at Ohio State USC at UCLA Washington at Oregon
>

Draft Order:
1. FOX: Nov. 28 (Mich-OSU)
2. FOX: Oct. 17 (OSU-IU)
3. FOX: Nov. 7 (Ore-OSU)
4. CBS: Sept. 12 (Okl-Mich)
5. NBC: Oct. 31 (OSU-USC)
6. CBS: Sept. 26 (Ore-USC or Ill-OSU, Two years in a row CBS picked Week 4)
7. NBC: Oct. 3 (USC-Wash or OSU-Iowa)
8. FOX: Oct. 24 (Ind-Mich) - First World Series Week
9. CBS: Nov. 14 (USC-IU, Mich-Ore, or NW-OSU)
10. NBC: Nov. 21 (OSU-Neb or IU-Wash)
11. FOX: Oct. 10 (IU-Neb)
12. CBS: Sept. 5 or 19 (Does it really matter?)
13. NBC: Same

ABC SNF Predictions:
Sept. 5: Clemson at LSU
Sept. 12: Ohio State at Texas
Sept. 19: LSU at Mississippi
Sept. 26: Oklahoma at Georgia
Oct. 3: Vanderbilt at Georgia
Oct. 10: Georgia at Alabama
Oct. 17: Alabama at Tennessee
Oct. 24: Texas A&M at Alabama
Oct. 31: Auburn at Mississippi??? (Florida-Georgia but likely will be a 3:30pm game. I'd put Clemson at Florida State on SNF)
Nov. 7: Alabama at LSU
Nov. 14: Texas at LSU
Nov. 21: LSU at Tennessee
Nov. 28: Auburn at Alabama

Miami's biggest games are Oct. 3 at Clemson, Oct. 17 vs. Florida State, and Nov. 7 at Notre Dame (will be on NBC). Miami-Clemson has a case for SNF. FSU-Miami likely doesn't.

Pretty good predictions for the Big Ten. My one comment is that I think Michigan-Oregon on 11/14 could end up getting picked higher (maybe #6).

(05-07-2026 09:43 AM)Glenn360 Wrote:  

Four of seven ND/NBC games will be in prime time.

Not bad, considering the NBC/Big Ten deal.

Fantastic. Hope to go in person.

My mock had Michigan-OSU, Oklahoma-Michigan, and USC-PSU as the Top-3 for FOX.

USC-PSU is extremely valuable. The drop-off to the second game that weekend is noticeable (Indiana at Nebraska, Maryland at OSU). Unless there's some backroom agreement, I'm not passing that game up with one of my Top-3 picks if I'm in FOX's shoes.

I like OSU-USC at #4. It should be a no-brainer for CBS / NBC's top selection. It's potentially a Top-3 game, but likely ineligible for a noon ET start.

Indiana-Michigan at #8 is a fantastic get. There's absolutely no competition that week. I would not be surprised if CBS or NBC sniped that one. The only issue is that both schools could easily be coming off losses from the previous weekend.

I don't value OSU-Indiana or Oregon-OSU as the rest of the crowd, as there are multiple solid broadcasting options on the Saturdays that those games are played. If I'm picking for FOX, I'm more than happy broadcasting PSU-Michigan or MSU-Michigan and securing products on weeks with a limited inventory of quality matchups. I'll have a far better overall schedule of games if I play my cards that way.

Value based drafting. It wins fantasy football leagues.

(05-07-2026 11:37 AM)thrill_house Wrote:  My mock had Michigan-OSU, Oklahoma-Michigan, and USC-PSU as the Top-3 for FOX.

USC-PSU is extremely valuable. The drop-off to the second game that weekend is noticeable (Indiana at Nebraska, Maryland at OSU). Unless there's some backroom agreement, I'm not passing that game up with one of my Top-3 picks if I'm in FOX's shoes.

I like OSU-USC at #4. It should be a no-brainer for CBS / NBC's top selection. It's potentially a Top-3 game, but likely ineligible for a noon ET start.

Indiana-Michigan at #8 is a fantastic get. There's absolutely no competition that week. I would not be surprised if CBS or NBC sniped that one. The only issue is that both schools could easily be coming off losses from the previous weekend.

I don't value OSU-Indiana or Oregon-OSU as the rest of the crowd, as there are multiple solid broadcasting options on the Saturdays that those games are played. If I'm picking for FOX, I'm more than happy broadcasting PSU-Michigan or MSU-Michigan and securing products on weeks with a limited inventory of quality matchups. I'll have a far better overall schedule of games if I play my cards that way.

Value based drafting. It wins fantasy football leagues.

I think the peak is still more important. A valuable second best game might make that week more attractive to a broadcaster. If I'm FOX and I select Oct. 17 as one of my top three, I then would get two shots at a mega game and a great backup. We all saw PSU go in the tank last year. Would FOX take a gamble on USC-PSU and see 2025 PSU happen?

I know you don't want to hear it but while Indiana won the title Ohio State is the ratings king of the Big Ten. When in doubt you take OSU first. Ohio State vs. the defending national champ? If FOX passes on them, CBS or NBC might actually get into a fistfight over it.

By drop-off to second game (attendance * pricing = valuation)

1. Week 13: Michigan at Ohio State: $36.7 milliion (runner-up USC at UCLA $5.4 million)
2. Week 2: Oklahoma at Michigan: $36.5 million (runner-up Iowa State at Iowa $8.7 million)
3. Week 8: Indiana at Michigan: $25 million (runner-up USC at Wisconsin $6.2 million)
4. Week 6: USC at Penn State: $26.4 million (runner-up Maryland at Ohio State $14.2 million)
5. Week 9: Ohio State at USC: $16.4 million (runner-up Washington at Nebraska $5.7 million)
6. Week 7: Penn State at Michigan: $24.7 million (runner-up Ohio State at Indiana $14.2 million)
7. Week 5: Ohio State at Iowa: $11.2 million (runner-up Michigan at Minnesota $7 million)
8. Week 10: Oregon at Ohio State: $25.7 million (runner-up Michigan State at Michigan $22.3 million)
9. Week 1: Western Michigan at Michigan: $11.6 million (runner-up Ball State at Ohio State $8.8 million)
10. Week 4: Iowa at Michigan: $17.5 million (runner-up Illinois at Ohio State $14.8 million)
11. Week 3: Kent State at Ohio State: $8.7 million (runner-up UTEP at Michigan $7.4 million)
12. Week 11: Northwestern at Ohio State: $10.5 million (runner-up Michigan at Oregon $9.6 million)
13. Week 12: Ohio State at Nebraska: $11.8 million (runner-up UCLA at Michigan $11.7 million)

EDIT: Michigan is at OSU this year.

By highest top-end games....

1. Week 13: Michigan at Ohio State $36.7 million
2. Week 2: Oklahoma at Michigan: $36.5 million
3. Week 6: USC at Penn State: $26.4 million
4. Week 10: Oregon at Ohio State: $25.7 million
5. Week 8: Indiana at Michigan: $25 million
6. Week 7: Penn State at Michigan: $24.7 million
7. Week 4: Iowa at Michigan: $17.5 million (what a year to have Michigan season tickets)
8. Week 9: Ohio State at USC: $16.4 million
9: Week 12: Ohio State at Nebraska: $11.8 million
10. Week 1: Western Michigan at Michigan: $11.6 million
11. Week 5: Ohio State at Iowa: $11.2 million
12. Week 11: Northwestern at Ohio State: $10.5 million
13. Week 3: Kent State at Ohio State: $8.7 million

EDIT: Michigan is at OSU this year.

No home ND game will be televised exclusively by Peacock this season.

However, NBC says an ND away game will be. Purdue game ?


https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/notre-da...tinue.html

(05-07-2026 11:37 AM)thrill_house Wrote:  My mock had Michigan-OSU, Oklahoma-Michigan, and USC-PSU as the Top-3 for FOX.

USC-PSU is extremely valuable. The drop-off to the second game that weekend is noticeable (Indiana at Nebraska, Maryland at OSU). Unless there's some backroom agreement, I'm not passing that game up with one of my Top-3 picks if I'm in FOX's shoes.

I like OSU-USC at #4. It should be a no-brainer for CBS / NBC's top selection. It's potentially a Top-3 game, but likely ineligible for a noon ET start.

Indiana-Michigan at #8 is a fantastic get. There's absolutely no competition that week. I would not be surprised if CBS or NBC sniped that one. The only issue is that both schools could easily be coming off losses from the previous weekend.

I don't value OSU-Indiana or Oregon-OSU as the rest of the crowd, as there are multiple solid broadcasting options on the Saturdays that those games are played. If I'm picking for FOX, I'm more than happy broadcasting PSU-Michigan or MSU-Michigan and securing products on weeks with a limited inventory of quality matchups. I'll have a far better overall schedule of games if I play my cards that way.

Value based drafting. It wins fantasy football leagues.

Indiana-OSU pulled almost 19m in the B1G CCG a few short months ago. Nobody outside of a Michigan-OSU tussle pulls those kind of numbers in B1G country, ever. I don’t see how Fox could pass on the rematch, the potential for 10m ++ is just too great. Oregon-OSU is a 9-10m game, whats the 2nd best game that weekend pulling? We saw a lot of “solid broadcasting options” pull 4-5m in the past few years…games that you can circle before the season starts and say “ yeah, that one will be 10m” are few and far between, Fox would be foolish to pass any of those up.

Value plays are when you’re trying to decide between OSU-Nebraska or PSU-USC on the same weekend, and you don’t mind picking 2nd.

Edit: OU-Michigan is 10m waiting to happen, too, and it’s on an otherwise forgettable weekend, so that’s a perfectly reasonable choice at 2 or 3. I think the issue I’m having is that you’re overestimating USC, they’ve been a ratings anchor while Oregon does the heavy lifting out west for many years now, since before they joined the B1G. PSU-Oregon is 7m in an off year like last year and 9-10m if both are top 10, but PSU-USC is probably 2m lower in both best and worst case scenarios.

It’s quite ironic that Oregon and Washington have brought far better ratings, far more wins and far less drama to the B1G than USCLA.

(05-07-2026 01:21 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I think the peak is still more important. A valuable second best game might make that week more attractive to a broadcaster. If I'm FOX and I select Oct. 17 as one of my top three, I then would get two shots at a mega game and a great backup. We all saw PSU go in the tank last year. Would FOX take a gamble on USC-PSU and see 2025 PSU happen?

2025 PSU had 2 TV matchups (at OSU, vs. Oregon) that outdrew Indiana's 2 biggest regular-season games, one of which featured PSU. My floor is significantly higher if I select USC-PSU over an Indiana game.

(05-07-2026 01:21 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I know you don't want to hear it but while Indiana won the title Ohio State is the ratings king of the Big Ten. When in doubt you take OSU first. Ohio State vs. the defending national champ? If FOX passes on them, CBS or NBC might actually get into a fistfight over it.

I have zero issue taking Ohio State games vs. bluebloods. If you want to grab Oregon-OSU, OSU-USC, and Michigan-OSU, with your Top-3 picks, go right ahead. You're getting 3 games that should be Top-5 games in the conference this year.

It's Indiana that I don't want to sign up for. We're not drafting the 2025 Big Ten Championship game here; we're drafting the 2026 regular season games. Teams change annually in this sport, and I have no faith that this Indiana team will match the success they had in the previous two seasons.

(05-08-2026 06:19 AM)thrill_house Wrote:  

(05-07-2026 01:21 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I think the peak is still more important. A valuable second best game might make that week more attractive to a broadcaster. If I'm FOX and I select Oct. 17 as one of my top three, I then would get two shots at a mega game and a great backup. We all saw PSU go in the tank last year. Would FOX take a gamble on USC-PSU and see 2025 PSU happen?

2025 PSU had 2 TV matchups (at OSU, vs. Oregon) that outdrew Indiana's 2 biggest regular-season games, one of which featured PSU. My floor is significantly higher if I select USC-PSU over an Indiana game.

(05-07-2026 01:21 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I know you don't want to hear it but while Indiana won the title Ohio State is the ratings king of the Big Ten. When in doubt you take OSU first. Ohio State vs. the defending national champ? If FOX passes on them, CBS or NBC might actually get into a fistfight over it.

I have zero issue taking Ohio State games vs. bluebloods. If you want to grab Oregon-OSU, OSU-USC, and Michigan-OSU, with your Top-3 picks, go right ahead. You're getting 3 games that should be Top-5 games in the conference this year.

It's Indiana that I don't want to sign up for. We're not drafting the 2025 Big Ten Championship game here; we're drafting the 2026 regular season games. Teams change annually in this sport, and I have no faith that this Indiana team will match the success they had in the previous two seasons.

It will be interesting to see how Indiana ratings will look this year.

I tend to agree with you: Indiana wasn’t being watched last year because of their brand in and of itself, but rather they had a great team. That didn’t transform them into an evergreen brand overnight like Ohio State or Michigan.

What we have seen over the past few years is that college football ratings have gone from looking like MLB (where a handful of brands get all of the national ratings while lesser brands suffer even when they’re great teams) to more like the NFL (where there is a mix of evergreen brands but fans will watch the great teams outside of those brands for those particular seasons). That’s a good thing, by the way, and why the NFL is strong year-to-year.

Ohio State is like the Dallas Cowboys - they will always get great time slots and ratings due to their brand in and of itself. Until proven otherwise, Indiana is like the Buffalo Bills - the Bills are one of the top draws in football right *now* because they have Josh Allen, but their national viewership will evaporate as soon as they’re not a playoff contender with that star QB anymore.

(05-08-2026 06:19 AM)thrill_house Wrote:  

(05-07-2026 01:21 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I think the peak is still more important. A valuable second best game might make that week more attractive to a broadcaster. If I'm FOX and I select Oct. 17 as one of my top three, I then would get two shots at a mega game and a great backup. We all saw PSU go in the tank last year. Would FOX take a gamble on USC-PSU and see 2025 PSU happen?

2025 PSU had 2 TV matchups (at OSU, vs. Oregon) that outdrew Indiana's 2 biggest regular-season games, one of which featured PSU. My floor is significantly higher if I select USC-PSU over an Indiana game.

(05-07-2026 01:21 PM)schmolik Wrote:  I know you don't want to hear it but while Indiana won the title Ohio State is the ratings king of the Big Ten. When in doubt you take OSU first. Ohio State vs. the defending national champ? If FOX passes on them, CBS or NBC might actually get into a fistfight over it.

I have zero issue taking Ohio State games vs. bluebloods. If you want to grab Oregon-OSU, OSU-USC, and Michigan-OSU, with your Top-3 picks, go right ahead. You're getting 3 games that should be Top-5 games in the conference this year.

It's Indiana that I don't want to sign up for. We're not drafting the 2025 Big Ten Championship game here; we're drafting the 2026 regular season games. Teams change annually in this sport, and I have no faith that this Indiana team will match the success they had in the previous two seasons.

Indiana in the regular season was a school that everybody was expecting to turn into the Indians of 2024, a pretty good team that wilted under the bright lights. Except that they didn’t, they beat all comers, and then they just killed Everton on the way to the B1G and National Titles. Their last 4 games:

OSU in B1G CCG: 18.3m, #6 rated game of entire season
CFP quarters Rose Bowl vs bama: 23.9m, #2 game all season
CFP semis vs Oregon: 18m, #7
CFP FIinal vs Miami: 30.qm, #1 game all year, 2nd highest title game ratings in history

Indiana will be viewed about like a typical PSU top ten team by the networks when making their drafts imo.

FOX officially reveals Friday Night football:

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/pressp...season-yet

As expected, no Ohio State or Michigan.
Penn State plays a road game at Northwestern, Northwestern's first game at new Ryan Field.
Indiana hosts Northwestern the week before.
Oregon plays one game.

It's not a great schedule seeing Northwestern plays two games and PURDUE hosts a game!

Three games are Big 12 including Missouri-Kansas and Black Friday.

(05-08-2026 12:02 PM)schmolik Wrote:  FOX officially reveals Friday Night football:

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/pressp...season-yet

As expected, no Ohio State or Michigan.
Penn State plays a road game at Northwestern, Northwestern's first game at new Ryan Field.
Indiana hosts Northwestern the week before.
Oregon plays one game.

It's not a great schedule seeing Northwestern plays two games and PURDUE hosts a game!

Three games are Big 12 including Missouri-Kansas and Black Friday.

I think it's a great move. It will be much better if they get everyone involved in the future, that Friday night slot has great potential.

There are probably 3 matchups (Fresno-USC, Mizzou-KU, Illinois-UCLA) that fans should be upset about.

- One of Fresno's 2 road games (the other being at SJSU) that they could actually travel to with ease gets bumped to a Friday night slot
- Missouri's first trip to Lawrence (their closest neighbor) in 21 years gets bumped to a Friday night
- Illinois' first trip to Pasadena since the 2008 Rose Bowl gets bumped to a Friday night

Surprised that the best FOX could do for Black Friday is WVU-Utah. Then again, it's probably going head-to-head with Texas-A&M, which might be for a CFP spot.