Way too early Week 3 CFB TV Guesses

Final installment since anything from week four and beyond is set twelve days in advance with the exception of nearly all weeknight games.

Notable items accounted for when setting TV windows

• ESPN2 has the Nationwide Series race from the Chicagoland Speedway.  Currently set for a 3:30pm ET start
• FOX Sports 1 will carry an MLB game at 8pm ET
• FOX has a 1pm ET MLB game

Thursday
9pm ESPN: Houston at BYU (network confirmed)

If FOX Sports 1 airs a game, my guess is that it is a C-USA game.  Maybe Western Kentucky-Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech-North Texas or Pitt-FIU, which I put on CBSSN on Saturday (see below)

Friday
7pm ESPNU: Toledo at Cincinnati (confirmed)
8pm ESPN: Baylor at Buffalo (network confirmed)

Saturday
12pm ESPN: Iowa St. at Iowa
12pm ESPN2: NC State at USF
12pm FS1: Arkansas at Texas Tech
12pm ESPNU: UL-Lafayette at Ole Miss
12pm CBSSN: Boise St. at Connecticut
12pm BTN: Kent St. at Ohio St.
12pm SEC Network: Southern Miss at Alabama
12pm FSN: UTSA at Oklahoma St.
12:30pm ACC Network: East Carolina at Virginia Tech
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Kansas at Duke
3pm Pac-12: Portland St. at Washington St.
3:30pm CBS: Georgia at South Carolina
3:30pm ABC: Tennessee at Oklahoma
3:30pm ESPN: Penn St. at Rutgers
3:30pm ESPNU: Louisville at Virginia
3:30pm CBSSN: Pittsburgh at FIU
3:30pm BTN: Miami (OH) at Michigan
3:30pm SEC Network: Rice at Texas A&M
4pm FS1: Minnesota at TCU
6pm ESPN2: Kentucky at Florida
7pm FOX: Illinois at Washington
7pm ESPN: USC at Boston College
7pm ESPNU: UCF at Missouri
7pm CBSSN: Wake Forest at Utah St.
7pm SEC Network: UL-Monroe at LSU
7pm SEC/FSN: Massachusetts at Vanderbilt
7:30pm NBC: Purdue vs. Notre Dame (confirmed)
8pm ABC: UCLA vs. Texas
8pm BTN: West Virginia at Maryland
9:15pm ESPN2: Arizona St. at Colorado
10pm Pac-12: Wyoming at Oregon
10pm Pac-12: Nevada at Arizona
10:30pm ESPNU: Army at Stanford
10:30pm CBSSN: Nebraska at Fresno St.

If Pitt-FIU were moved to Thursday (no inside knowledge of that happening, just a guess based on opponents of both teams before & after the game), Western Kentucky-Middle Tennessee or Louisiana Tech-North Texas would be worthy replacements for CBSSN.

The Big 12 choices are unique this week.  After doing some digging this offseason, I think UCLA-Texas will get counted as a Big 12 TV contract game for ESPN because it is being played in Texas.  I also considered the best available game, so it earned the 8pm ABC slot.  Coupled with Tennessee-Oklahoma, I've essentially given ABC the top two Big 12 choices.  FOX is somewhat boxed in with its MLB window at 1pm and historically how ABC and FOX have tried very hard not to air concurrent Big 12 games on the broadcast networks, so I don't think FOX would air Tennessee-Oklahoma in prime time.  Maybe FOX would consider taking Tennessee-Oklahoma and starting it at an odd time (5pm ET maybe?) or airing it on FS1, which would require changing up the ABC 3:30pm window I have listed.  But that's also why I slotted Illinois-Washington for 7pm on FOX.

I am hoping that with a 7pm start for Illinois-Washington, ESPN2 could air Arizona St.-Colorado at 9:15pm ET.  8:15pm or 8:30pm ET local time seems a little late to start that game.  I know there is some concern about the exclusivity of the broadcast network windows with the Pac-12 Network, but I hope some leeway could be given to the cable windows as well when possible.  If they can relax some exclusivity around the Pac-12 Network windows, you could move Wyoming-Oregon to 6:30pm ET.

I did not set aside any games for ESPNEWS, but there are options from the ACC, MAC and Sun Belt.