Fox’s Big Noon Saturday not ready for prime time in 2 of first 3 games

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The defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers will open the Fox “Big Noon Saturday” college football schedule in 2026.

Their opponent, though, may not send ratings soaring like last year. That’s when the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes opened at home against the Texas Longhorns in a battle of the top-ranked teams in the country.

Indiana will host Group of Six’s North Texas Mean Green at noon Sept. 5, the network announced this week.

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In fact, only one of the first three “Big Noon Saturday” games is at all intriguing. On Sept. 12, the Oklahoma Sooners will visit the Michigan Wolverines. The two legendary programs met last season in Norman, with the Sooners coming out on top 24-13.

In Week 3, the Buckeyes host another Group of Six program in the Kent State Golden Flashes. Kent State is coming off a 5-7 campaign that followed seasons of 0-12 and 1-11.

Fox revealed just the first three “Big Noon Saturday” games. It will determine the rest of the schedule as the season progresses and top matchups emerge.

Meanwhile, some Big Ten teams have expressed dissatisfaction with playing too many games at noon, citing attendance and exposure concerns.

But Fox dedicated its top broadcast team of Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft to “Big Noon Saturday” in an effort to make it a destination for top games. A star-studded pregame show, “Big Noon Kickoff,” features Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn and Dave Portnoy.

Admittedly, North Texas emerged as a College Football Playoff contender in 2025. The Mean Green came within one game of the CFP, falling to the Tulane Green Wave in the American Conference title game.

But head coach Eric Morris left for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and took three top players with him in quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young. It will be a season of transition for new head coach Neal Brown.

The Fox college football schedule begins on Saturday, Aug. 29, when the Memphis Tigers visit the UNLV Rebels at 10 p.m. ET.

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