CFB TV Guesses for 2016 Week Thirteen (11/22/16 - 11/26/16)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

* First, how many six day holds have been used.  Hopefully, I didn't miss one:

Conference	Max number of holds	Holds used
ACC	4	3 (10/8, 11/5, 11/19)
American	2	1 (11/19)
Big 12	2 by FOX, 2 by ESPN	3 total (11/5, 11;12, 11/19)
Big Ten	4 (I think)	3 or 4 (9/24, 10/8 ??, 11/12, 11/19)
Pac-12	2 by FOX, 2 by ESPN	3 total (10/1, 11/5, 11/19)
SEC	2	2 (10/8, 11/12)

It has been explained to me that the key indicator of a six day hold is when multiple games have not had their start times set.  There have been plenty of games this season that have been reserved for a group of networks, but placed at a specific start time.

To my knowledge, the SEC is at their max, so their schedule should not be affected.  I have question marks next to 10/8 for the Big Ten since Michigan at Rutgers start time, which was already set for a night game, was not finalized until 10/2.  If that counts as a six day hold, then the Big Ten should be done. The Big Ten confirms one remaining six day hold.

For the Big 12, 11/5's hold was between two ESPN games, so that one belongs to them.  I think 11/12 was done by FOX even though Baylor at Oklahoma ended up on ABC and West Virginia at Texas on FS1.  We'll see about 11/19 once game times are announced, but most of the games will end up with ESPN and ESPN doesn't have any 11/26 games, so let's place this one on their side.  If FOX has one more to use, expect it to get used for the three 12/3 games.

As for the Pac-12, I suspect FOX used theirs on 10/1 and 11/19.  ESPN definitely used one on 11/12 as there were no FOX selections being held, so they may look to decide between Utah at Colorado and Notre Dame at USC for 11/26.

So, just about everyone has at least one available for use this week, and you might be waiting for a start time for your game of choice once again.

* NC State at North Carolina will matter with respect to the ACC Coastal.  If UNC wins and Virginia Tech were to lose to Virginia, the Tar Heels would advance to the ACC Championship Game.  Hence, its get the early ABC slot on Black Friday.
* We've already seen one case where ESPN appears to have substituted sublicensed games, with Buffalo at Western Michigan being pulled from American Sports Network back to ESPN in exchange for Temple at Tulane.  Could the same thing happen with Toledo at Western Michigan?  I suppose it is possible.  Maybe the exchanged game is another American Athletic Conference game.
* FS1 is already confirmed to have both Big 12 games on Saturday, which leaves their broadcast network game for the Pac-12.  That telecast, per multiple listing services, is scheduled to start at 8pm ET with a one hour pregame.  The one hour pregame feels geared towards Notre Dame at USC where you would load up on pre-taped features along with a lot of highlights of the week, discussing the CFP, etc. and not Utah at Colorado, but maybe FOX will prove that to be wrong.
* Michigan at Ohio St. was locked into 12pm ET about three weeks ago.
* I went with Tennessee at Vanderbilt in the evening SEC Network slot over the Egg Bowl in the event that Tennessee is still alive to win the SEC East.  Florida would need to lose to LSU and Tennessee to beat Missouri to keep that scenario alive.

Tuesday
7pm ESPNU: Akron at Ohio

Ball St. at Miami (OH) & Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan on ESPN3

Friday
12pm ABC: NC State at North Carolina
12pm ESPN: Houston at Memphis
12pm CBSSN: Toledo at Western Michigan
3:30pm ABC: Nebraska at Iowa
3:30pm FOX: Washington at Washington St.
3:30pm FS1: TCU at Texas
5pm ESPNU: Louisiana Tech at Southern Miss
8:30pm ESPNU: Cincinnati at Tulsa

Buffalo at Bowling Green and Northern Illinois at Kent St. on ESPN3.

Saturday
12pm ABC: Michigan at Ohio St.
12pm ESPN: Virginia at Virginia Tech
12pm ESPN2: Navy at SMU
12pm FS1: Kansas at Kansas St.
12pm ESPNU: Western Kentucky at Marshall
12pm ESPNEWS: Illinois at Northwestern
12pm SEC: Georgia Tech at Georgia
12pm CBSSN: UCF at USF
12pm BTN: Rutgers at Maryland
12:30pm ACC Network: Syracuse at Pittsburgh
2pm Pac-12: Rice at Stanford
3pm ACC RSNs: Boston College at Wake Forest
3:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at USC
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at Alabama
3:30pm ESPN: Wisconsin at Minnesota
3:30pm ESPN2: Michigan St. at Penn St.
3:30pm FS1: West Virginia at Iowa St.
3:30pm ESPNU: East Carolina at Temple
3:30pm BTN: Purdue at Indiana
4pm SEC: Mississippi St. at Ole Miss
4pm ESPNEWS: Duke at Miami (FL)
5:30pm Pac-12: Oregon at Oregon St.
7pm ESPN2: Kentucky at Louisville
7pm ESPNU: Wyoming at New Mexico
7:30pm SEC: Tennessee at Vanderbilt
7:45pm ESPN: Florida at Florida St.
8pm ABC: South Carolina at Clemson
8pm FOX: Utah at Colorado
8pm ESPNEWS: Tulane at Connecticut
10:15pm ESPN2: UCLA at California

10:15pm ESPNU: Utah St. at BYU

Guesses for CFB TV Six Day Picks for 11/19/16 Games

Schedule

* If ESPN wanted to select Oregon at Utah or have Washington St. at Colorado fall to them, they might look to shift the 7pm window to 6:45pm to allow for the later game to start at 10pm.  They would be turning the 3:30pm & 7pm windows into windows slotted for 3 hours and 15 minutes.
* If BTN selects a game ahead of ESPN and leaves Iowa at Illinois to ESPN, it would be a more reasonable candidate for a ESPNEWS telecast.
* I think one American Athletic Conference game airs on ESPNU, hence the potential for an ACC (maybe Florida St. at Syracuse) or Big Ten game on ESPNEWS.
* I don't think a USC win over Washington tonight would affect FOX's second choice.  Assuming both Washington St. & Colorado win later in the evening, both would be at the top of their respective divisions, so it would be hard to turn that one down.
* While both Texas & Kansas lost, I don't think this one falls to ESPNU even if it is an option.

All times Eastern

12pm ABC: Ohio St. at Michigan St.

12pm ESPN: Oklahoma St. at TCU

12pm ESPN2: Wisconsin at Purdue

12pm FS1: Kansas St. at Baylor

12pm ESPNU: UTSA at Texas A&M

12pm ESPNEWS: Northwestern at Minnesota

12pm BTN: Maryland at Nebraska

2pm Pac-12: Oregon at Utah

3:30pm FOX: Washington St. at Colorado

3:30pm ABC: Indiana at Michigan

3:30pm ESPN: Florida St. at Syracuse

3:30pm ESPN2: Texas at Kansas

3:30pm ESPNU: Navy at East Carolina

3:30pm ESPNEWS: Buffalo at Western Michigan
3:30pm BTN: Iowa at Illinois

5:30pm Pac-12: Stanford at California

7pm ESPN: Clemson at Wake Forest

7pm ESPN2: Arkansas at Mississippi St.

7pm ESPNU: Chattanooga at Alabama

7pm CBSSN: Tulsa at UCF

8pm ABC: Oklahoma at West Virginia
8pm ESPNEWS: USF at SMU

10:30pm ESPN: USC at UCLA

10:30pm Pac-12: Arizona at Oregon St.

Thoughts on Week 12 CFB TV Selections & Six Day Holds

Here's the schedule.  Scroll to the bottom and click "Show Non-Televised Games" to see games that were not set for a specific time and/or TV network

* There's typically one week in November that ends up being a week where TV punts on making a lot of television decisions, or at least the decisions at the top of the food chain.  2016's Week Twelve happens to be that week with eighteen games awaiting start times & TV, plus another five who were set with a start time, but not a television outlet.  Those five (Indiana at Michigan, UTSA at Texas A&M, Ohio St. at Maryland, Arkansas at Mississippi St. & Chattanooga at Alabama) all have their TV network options in the ESPN family.

* Yes, I was surprised Florida at LSU, formerly known as LSU at Florida, wasn't selected by CBS and that it would be a daytime game.  My best guesses of what was at play:

1. ESPN originally selected LSU at Florida and, possibly, an agreement was struck to keep the rescheduled game in the ESPN family of networks.
2. There may have been some concessions/considerations between the schools regarding when this game would be played.  LSU at Florida was originally scheduled to be a 12pm ET start.  Placing the game on SEC Network, with the slightly odd start time or 1pm ET / 12pm CT, keeps the daytime start of the game in play.
3. A 1pm ET / 12pm CT start doesn't work on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU without significant changes to the scheduling for other games.  For example, the possibility of a reverse mirror with ABC using ESPN2 can't happen without shifting those two TV windows if Florida at LSU airs on ESPN2.

* At the moment, I count 24 openings for 23 games, so either ESPN has dropped an opening or...man I hope I counted right...see the next couple points.

* I wasn't aware that ASN had a window available for Temple at Tulane, much less at the same time as Buffalo at Western Michigan, which is slightly curious because of WMU's current status as undefeated & the top ranked Group of Five team.  Makes you wonder if there's something going on behind the scenes with the Broncos' game and if ESPN wants the game back as it was sublicensed to ASN.  Maybe it depends on tonight's result vs. Kent St.

* I can't yet figure out what the backup plan is for the event that Oklahoma at West Virginia isn't the ABC primetime game as a national game, or falls out of favor.  Maybe Clemson at Wake Forest?  A few people have asked about the possibility of Washington St. at Colorado or maybe USC at UCLA.  I suppose that possibility exists by dropping the late ESPN window if Buffalo at Western Michigan isn't coming back to ESPN.  Dropping the late window and moving the ESPN game to line up with ABC at 8pm could create a primetime reverse mirror, but is this worth it for the third best Pac-12 game?  Also, ABC doesn't need to air another Pac-12 game in primetime.  They've aired their required two games and both happened to be 8pm ET starts.  I also want to be clear that multiple reporters pegged ESPN's window specifically at 7:30pm PT / 10:30pm ET and not as a flexible start time for them.

* I have read that there's a big push for The Big Game (Stanford at California) to be during the day if at all possible.  I'm well aware that the festivities around the game are geared towards a daytime kickoff.  I had not tracked this until it was brought to my attention, but three of Cal's four home games this year have started at 7:30pm local time, which happens to be one of the available start times for two of the telecast windows.  I imagine fans of both schools really don't want a 11am start time either, so I assume they are targeting the 12:30pm PT FOX window (less likely, in my opinion) and the 2:30pm PT Pac-12 Networks slot (more realistic).

CFB TV Selections for 2016 Week Twelve (11/15/16 - 11/19/16)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/15, 11/16 & 11/19 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to (yes, the two midweek dates are closer than twelve days, I know).  Please understand that games can be held until next Sunday if a broadcaster wants to wait on the results of the Week Eleven games.  Most conferences have the possibility of having all or part of their games held for a six day hold of the start time.

The list of available TV windows are based on media websites, TV listings and press releases.  They can change based on the needs of the broadcaster or the conference.

Here's what I guessed based on the available openings (they'll prove to be incorrect) and here is the current schedule for the week as several FBS games do have their time & television/webcast assignments already accounted for.  

Six Day Holds

• Texas at Kansas - ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU at either 12pm ET or 3:30pm ET
• Kansas St. at Baylor, Oklahoma St. at TCU & Oklahoma at West Virginia - 12pm FS1 (one will air here), 12pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, 3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, 7pm ESPN or 8pm ABC are the options for the two ABC/ESPN games.
• Maryland at Nebraska, Northwestern at Minnesota & Wisconsin at Purdue - 12pm or 3:30pm on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPNEWS or BTN.
• Iowa at Illinois - BTN at either 12pm ET or 3:30pm ET
• Florida St. at Syracuse & Clemson at Wake Forest - 12pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPNEWS, 3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, 4pm ESPNEWS, 7pm ESPN or 8pm ABC/ESPNEWS
• Navy at East Carolina, USF at SMU, Tulsa at UCF - CBSSN 7pm (one will air here), 12pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/NEWS, 3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, 4pm ESPNEWS, 7pm ESPN and 8pm ABC/ESPNEWS for the other three, plus possibility of ESPN3 at time of home team's choosing.
• Oregon at Utah, USC at UCLA, Washington St. at Colorado, Stanford at California, Oregon St. at Arizona - 3:30pm on FOX, 10:30pm ESPN, then 2pm, 5:30pm & 10:30pm Pac-12 Networks in that order.

Tuesday
7pm ESPN2:
7pm ESPNU:

Wednesday
7pm ESPN2:
8pm ESPNU:

Saturday
12pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2: Ohio St. at Michigan St.
12pm ESPN2/ESPNU: UTSA at Texas A&M
12pm SEC Alternate: UL-Lafayette at Georgia
12:30pm ACC Network: Virginia at Georgia Tech
12:30pm ACC Network: Miami (FL) at NC State
1pm SEC: Florida at LSU
1pm ACC Network Extra: Connecticut at Boston College
2pm ESPN3: UT Martin at Jacksonville St.
3pm ACC RSNs: Duke at Pittsburgh
3:30pm CBS: Missouri at Tennessee
3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2: Indiana at Michigan

3:30pm FS1: Texas Tech at Iowa St.

3:30pm ASN: Temple at Tulane
3:30pm ACC Network Extra: The Citadel at North Carolina
4pm SEC Alternate: Western Carolina at South Carolina
4:30pm SEC: Austin Peay at Kentucky
4pm ESPN3: Utah St. at Nevada
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Arkansas at Mississippi St.
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Chattanooga at Alabama
7:30pm FOX: Arizona St. at Washington
7:30pm SEC Alternate: Alabama A&M at Auburn
8pm SEC: Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
10:15pm ESPN2: New Mexico at Colorado St.

CFB TV Guesses for 2016 Week Twelve (11/15/16 - 11/19/16)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

* ESPNEWS has a opening in ESPN MediaZone for a 7pm game on 11/17.  Have heard rumblings that a telecast has been put together for Liberty at Coastal Carolina.
* FOX Sports will select two games each from the Big 12 and the Pac-12.  The broadcast network will have a doubleheader.  Assume the 12pm FS1 is one of the two Big 12 windows.
* ESPN will use its remaining in-season selections on the Big 12 on 11/19.  It will not have any selections for 11/26 or 12/3.
* Each SEC Network telecast window is scheduled to feature two games concurrently with one set of games on the alternate channel.
* I removed the late ESPNU window after Massachusetts at BYU was scheduled to air on BYUtv.  If it does get used, throw one of the Mountain West games there as I have one on ESPN3.
* CBS lucked into Florida at LSU (previously known as LSU at Florida) being moved to this date.  The week is pretty sparse otherwise.
* Besides Florida at LSU moving to this date, via the cancellation of the two schools previously scheduled opponents, Navy at East Carolina was moved to this date due to the damage Hurricane Matthew caused in eastern North Carolina.  Doesn't really affect anything in terms of TV.  Add two games, drop two games, you net to zero.
* Chattanooga is top ten in the most recent FCS Championship Committee poll, so that kinda makes Alabama's game worth an ESPNU slot, or at least have some sort of storyline.  Similarly, The Citadel and North Carolina, as of today, are both ranked in the top 25 of their respective championship rankings.
* Yes, FOX and ABC can have concurrent Big 12 games at night.  It occasionally happens.  The Big 12's TV partners allowed for non-exclusive broadcast windows.  What I don't believe is that FOX would put Washington St. at Colorado in primetime on the broadcast network, even if both are ranked, but maybe I'm wrong.  Frankly, if the order isn't what I expect, I won't be surprised if it ends up on FS1 or ESPN.
* I'm planning for a 2nd ACC Network split window.  Last season there were two, on 11/7 and 11/21.
* To get to the American's required count of 28 games on ABC, ESPN. ESPN2 and ESPNU (which I believe includes the conference championship game), I slotted one game from the Big Ten on ESPNEWS to free up ESPNU.  It would put the number of scheduled AAC games on those four channels at 24.  Two more should be set for those channels based on available slots on Black Friday (up to 26), with two more slotted on Saturday 11/28 to get to 28.

Tuesday
7pm ESPN2: Ohio at Central Michigan
7pm ESPNU: Kent St. at Bowling Green

Wednesday
7pm ESPN2: Ball St. at Toledo
8pm ESPNU: Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan

Saturday
12pm ABC: Indiana at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Arkansas at Mississippi St.
12pm ESPN2: Texas Tech at Iowa St.
12pm FS1: Texas at Kansas
12pm ESPNU:  Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
12pm ESPNEWS: Navy at East Carolina
12pm SEC: UL-Lafayette at Georgia
12pm SEC: Western Carolina at South Carolina
12pm BTN: Wisconsin at Purdue
12:30pm ACC Network: Virginia at Georgia Tech 
12:30pm ACC Network: Duke at Pittsburgh
2pm Pac-12: Arizona at Oregon St.
3pm ACC RSNs: Miami (FL) at NC State 
3:30pm CBS: Florida at LSU
3:30pm FOX: Washington St. at Colorado
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2: Clemson at Wake Forest
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2: Ohio St. at Michigan St.
3:30pm ESPN: Maryland at Nebraska
3:30pm FS1: Oregon at Utah
3:30pm ESPNU: Tulsa at UCF
3:30pm BTN: Iowa at Illinois
4pm ESPNEWS: Minnesota at Northwestern 
4pm SEC: Alabama A&M at Auburn
4pm SEC: Missouri at Tennessee
5:30pm Pac-12: Stanford at California
7pm ESPN: Florida St. at Syracuse
7pm ESPN2: Kansas St. at Baylor
7pm ESPNU: Chattanooga at Alabama
7pm CBSSN: Temple at Tulane
7:30pm FOX: Oklahoma St. at TCU
7:30pm SEC: Austin Peay at Kentucky
7:30pm SEC: UTSA at Texas A&M
8pm ABC: Oklahoma at West Virginia
8pm ESPNEWS: USF at SMU
10:15pm ESPN2: New Mexico at Colorado St.
10:30pm ESPN: Arizona St. at Washington
10:30pm Pac-12: USC at UCLA

ESPN3
Connecticut at Boston College

The Citadel at North Carolina 
Utah St. at Nevada
UL-Monroe at Appalachian St.
Presbyterian at South Alabama
Georgia Southern at Georgia St.

Guesses for CFB TV Six Day Picks for 11/12/16 Games

A few thoughts because I'm posting this while the mid-afternoon games are ongoing.

• Illinois at Wisconsin was set for a 3:30pm ET start, regardless of the TV network.  I went BTN for the game because of the trend I mentioned in this post regarding Purdue home games and BTN telecasts.
• Florida is losing to Arkansas as of this posting and it leaves open the possibility of a three way tie based on record for the SEC East with Tennessee and Kentucky, depending on future results.  But at this point, Florida would be ahead of both, so that's where I think CBS goes with their pick instead of another game.
• If CBS selects Auburn at Georgia, it would be the first selection of an Auburn game by CBS in 2016.
• I struggled trying to place the games involving Maryland, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Penn St., as places them in reverse mirror situations wasn't easy.
• Baylor is currently down 20+ points to TCU at half.  I considered the Bears' game at Oklahoma for a national ABC slot had they won, but the current result downgrades the game a bit.
• The two Big 12 games could be slotted to air at the same start time, similar to what I have here.  FS1's slot is fixed as Texas Tech at Oklahoma St. will air at 3:30pm, while the game on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 could air at 12pm or 3:30pm ET.

12pm ABC/ESPN2: Ohio St. at Maryland
12pm ABC/ESPN2: Baylor at Oklahoma
12pm CBS: South Carolina at Florida
12pm FS1: West Virginia at Texas
12pm ESPNU: Cincinnati at UCF
12pm ESPNEWS: SMU at East Carolina
12pm SEC: Kentucky at Tennessee
3:30pm ABC: Pittsburgh at Clemson
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at Georgia
3:30pm ESPN: Penn St. at Indiana
3:30pm ESPN2: Northwestern at Purdue
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Wisconsin
7pm ESPN: Ole Miss at Texas A&M
7:30pm SEC: LSU at Arkansas
10:15pm ESPN2: New Mexico at Utah St.
10:15pm ESPNU: Colorado St. at Air Force

Some Thoughts on Big Ten Football Fridays

First, you need to read Teddy Greenstein's report, which has statements from a handful of schools regarding their willingness to play on Fridays.  Wisconsin has also revealed its desire to only host on the Friday before Labor Day, and not every time.  Michigan St. has hosted their Labor Day weekend opener on Friday nights four times since 2011 and Illinois's opener vs. Kent St. in 2015 was originally a Friday night games before being moved to the next day due to poor weather.

As we know, September and October are the desired months, which does make me wonder if Nebraska vs. Iowa, played on the Friday after Thanksgiving the past several years and scheduled for Black Friday again in 2017, is part of the six games in the report though it has not been a night game.  That might alleviate some of the angst over the report.

Ohio St. at Indiana was scheduled as the season opener for both schools on Saturday 9/2 and might be worth a move, as it falls in line with AD Gene Smith comment of being amenable to Friday night road games when class is not in session (actually class is in session, they'll be willing to host only when on break during fall semester).  Michigan St. is actually off that week and won't open their season until the following Saturday.  Two games on Friday 9/1/17 will air on BTN and another on (nope, no BTN) FS1 or ESPN.  Remember that ESPN has a few neutral site games that they air plus US Open tennis on ESPN2 on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, so their space is a bit limited.

Won't bother to guess the network, but I get the feeling this request could be more in line with the needs of FS1, though the games in October could be for BTN as FS1's schedule could be fluid due to the needs of the MLB postseason.  FS1 still has a lot of commitments to the Pac-12 and Big 12, though the requirements for FS1 games from the Big 12 are a lot lower than they are for the Pac-12.  FOX also wants to keep UFC after the current rights deal expires and FS1 airs a lot of UFC programming on Saturday nights through 2018.  FS1 also has MLB on Saturdays through September, which also takes up valuable programming space.

Why isn't November in scope?  Besides high school football playoffs in most states, heading back to FS1, they also have NASCAR Truck Series races three Friday nights in November, plus one Friday in September.  ESPN is also limited due to the start of NBA play plus college basketball.

Another quirk of sorts:  There's less non-conference games to choose from with the conference going to a nine game conference schedule starting in 2016 and generally, less weeks to choose them from.

I'll take a terrible stab at the six games, assuming that Nebraska vs. Iowa isn't part of this.

9/1: Ohio St. at Indiana
9/1: Buffalo at Minnesota (this one, per FBSchedules.com, is already scheduled for Thursday 8/31)
9/8: Western Kentucky at Illinois
9/8: Towson at Maryland
10/6: Penn St. at Northwestern
10/21: Purdue at Rutgers