Aug 30, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and athletic director Ross Bjork attend the unveiling of a statue for former Buckeyes running back Archie Griffin outside Ohio Stadium. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ohio State Buckeyes' AD Drops Bombshell That'll Piss Fans Off

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Nathan Beighle | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 8:17 PM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes may get another noon game. This time, it will be against the Penn State Nittany Lions, at least that's what their athletic director believes will happen.

That's a bummer for fans, as most would appreciate having a massive opponent come to Ohio Stadium and play at night. The atmosphere is just different, and it is an incredible place to play under the lights, as was seen in the College Football Playoff last season.

For their first game of the season, the top-two Buckeyes will take on the top-ranked Texas Longhorns. Fans expected that battle, which could go down as the best game of the season, would be a night game, and they were drastically disappointed when Texas wouldn't agree to make it an evening battle. That will, per FOX, be played at noon, and the Buckeyes' Athletic Director Ross Bjork believes they will have another noon game on their calendar against an elite opponent.

Here's how he phrased his comments to Dan Hope, citing that he feels the investment in the Big Noon Kickoff is too big of a deal to allow these games to slip away.

“FOX, they love the Buckeyes. And Big Noon is a big deal. They’ve invested in that time slot. So we’ll presume it’s a 12 noon kickoff," Bjork said per Hope.

Ross Bjork told @WOSUAllSides today that he expects Ohio State vs. Penn State to be a noon game.

“I think we know the Buckeyes drive Big Noon Kickoff. That’ll be a high-powered game. So I think we probably know what’s going to happen around game time for that one,” Bjork said.…
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 6, 2025

The Buckeyes have a long history of playing on FOX and also playing at noon, so for fans, this really shouldn't come as a surprise. That's not to say that having Penn State at home and it being a noon game isn't still discouraging.

How good will the Ohio State Buckeyes be?

On top of that, Ohio State should have one of the best teams in the country this season. With Jeremiah Smith leading the offense and primed to explode following an impressive freshman season and Caleb Downs having the reins of the defense, both sides are equipped to dominate. While the quarterback competition is a well-documented battle, the Buckeyes should be able to thrive with whichever quality passer is under center.

With the Longhorns on August 30, the Buckeyes have just a few more weeks to prepare for what could go down as the best game of the season. That battle, which is on FOX at noon, will be one to mark on your calendar.

Buckeyes football is almost back, and for most fans, it won't matter much if the game is at noon or in the middle of the night.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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