Ohio State game (Oct. 11th): 11:00am CT, FOX
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altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Where The Beef House is concerned there is no try, only do.
Seriously, to any visiting Buckeye fans, hit The Beef House coming out and going home. You'll thank us.
From what I understand, we got screwed by having 2 big games on the West Coast this week. Michigan @ USC and IU @ Oregon. Obviously you cant start either of those at 9am local time.
The Sprouting Divot
Invisible and Bulletproof
- Miracle Mile
Fun fact: the Champaign location is the only Wienerschnitzel east of the Mississippi.
Relatedly, I volunteer to drive very fast over great distances and to opportunistically taunt dimwitted local law enforcement if anyone wants to film a sort of spiritual successor to Smokey and the Bandit (the movie about the elephant doesn't really count, so #3 definitely doesn't...).
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
We beat a team ranked higher than us and moved up 1 spot I don’t think beating Purdue is gonna launch us up 6.
Someone said something about College Gameday coming for OSU. I think Indiana Oregon could take it that week, but if not Red River would have to be the move provided the loss of the QB at OU can be weathered.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I've been there three times during the past two years, and twice in the past two months, and I differ. Love it, and not simply the meat. The overall value, too. Please let me know, however, if a better steakhouse exists in the region and I'll be glad to give that a try. I don't make it back there often.
The Beef House is average
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
There might not be one! But this is kind of my point - the strongest "pro" for The Beef House is that it sits neatly between Illinois and Purdue, which is all well and good but has little to do with the food.
I'm very familiar with the Beef House and that general part of Illiana and the dining options therein. I have to agree. It's not what it used to be and mostly coasts off name / reputation these days.
The Beef House is average
That said, it's still one of the better options for a proper steak dinner between Champaign and Indianapolis.
If you're looking for a different option, try the Possum Trot Supper Club in Danville. Like the Beef House, it's right off 74 and has an old school steak house vibe replete with wood paneling and white tablecloths. If you time it right, they'll have live piano being played.
For something a little more casual, The Little Nugget is off the same exit. Rougher honkey tonk vibe with a grill your own steak option and a good prime rib special on Saturdays.
Is it lunchtime yet?
Another big noon kickoff with the guys from Fox??
that would surprise me even though we are the featured 11am cst kickoff
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
It's always nice to have the publicity of the Big Noon Kickoff scene (assuming they return...), but I'll go ahead and say this TV setup is turning out to be a bit of a lingering issue for the Big Ten. I'm not 100% sure how to fix it, but our current primetime channel (NBC) usually lags in ratings when all else is held equal to our other two big networks (FOX and CBS). It just comes across as bizarrely insecure that the Big Ten is not putting its biggest network up against ABC ever in the prime time spot.
Like, having an 11:00 am spot that we theoretically "own" is not the worst idea! However, there needs to be more flexibility for FOX to trade with NBC for at least a couple of games per year. We are putting SO many high-profile Big Ten games in that 11:00 am spot and allowing ABC to absolutely clean up every single week with its primetime game. I'm sure MS will be lit ... but it would be even more lit for a primetime game, and it sucks that the current setup for the ENTIRE conference is that you only get a primetime game if it's (A) one of the relatively few weekends NBC gets first pick, (B) FOX passes up your game and lets it "fall" to NBC/CBS and NBC gets it or (C) your game is unexciting enough to be at 6:30 pm on BTN or FS1. Just NOT an ideal setup for one of two supposedly "Power Two" conferences, IMO.
And this obviously isn't some personal hiccup ... go online and you'll see no shortage of fans (especially from OSU, PSU and Michigan) excessively annoyed by playing so many huge games at 11:00 am CST.
EDIT: It further sucks that due to simple time zone logistics, we are disproportionately giving our later games to the four West Coast schools. I guess you know that when you add four PST schools to your conference, you aren't going to make them play at 9:00 am local time ... but it is a huge bummer that every week, you can bank on any interesting game out west NOT being on FOX, therefore we are often eliminated from CBS/NBC consideration out of the gate.
Like, having an 11:00 am spot that we theoretically "own" is not the worst idea! However, there needs to be more flexibility for FOX to trade with NBC for at least a couple of games per year. We are putting SO many high-profile Big Ten games in that 11:00 am spot and allowing ABC to absolutely clean up every single week with its primetime game. I'm sure MS will be lit ... but it would be even more lit for a primetime game, and it sucks that the current setup for the ENTIRE conference is that you only get a primetime game if it's (A) one of the relatively few weekends NBC gets first pick, (B) FOX passes up your game and lets it "fall" to NBC/CBS and NBC gets it or (C) your game is unexciting enough to be at 6:30 pm on BTN or FS1. Just NOT an ideal setup for one of two supposedly "Power Two" conferences, IMO.
And this obviously isn't some personal hiccup ... go online and you'll see no shortage of fans (especially from OSU, PSU and Michigan) excessively annoyed by playing so many huge games at 11:00 am CST.
EDIT: It further sucks that due to simple time zone logistics, we are disproportionately giving our later games to the four West Coast schools. I guess you know that when you add four PST schools to your conference, you aren't going to make them play at 9:00 am local time ... but it is a huge bummer that every week, you can bank on any interesting game out west NOT being on FOX, therefore we are often eliminated from CBS/NBC consideration out of the gate.
To me, I never understood why Big Noon Kickoff was marketed the way it was where it in essence HAS to be tied to the 12pm EST kickoff. If you wanted to make College Gameday "FOX", you could've done it without it being tied so tight to the game itself. Historically you would've never seen this many big games in the morning window.
For many years, SEC fans complained about their game of the week being at 3:30 on CBS instead of primetime. Now we have an even worse situation, with our big games on at Noon EST.
100% agree, I think Fox and the people on the Big 10 side really were only thinking about the present, the views, and the money up front.
I’d be curious 5-10 years down the line if a change doesn’t happen at the next media negotiation how this affects the conference long term. Big Noon has done great from a ratings perspective but the product never feels quite as an electric as the big time night matchups (PSU vs Oregon) this past weekend for example. Right now it doesn’t seem like the biggest deal but say U of I is hosting recruits for this game and the USC game seems like a disadvantage down the road.
I hate the SEC and think we have made so many strides to compete and honestly surpass them the past couple years. But it’s going to be a little harder to recruit against them if we let them dominate the primetime window while we consistently bring recruits in to watch our HUGE noon matchups. I just don’t love it from a brand perspective.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Also, it has pretty much turned into the following on MOST weekends (obviously not all, as FOX has to trade off with CBS and NBC for first pick some weeks)
(1) FOX will pick the most attractive Big Ten or Big XII game that it can, and it will put it at 11:00 am (and most likely put the Big Noon Kickoff show there)
(2) ABC/ESPN will pick the most attractive SEC or ACC game that it can, and it will put it at 6:30 pm (and most likely put College Gameday there)
So while neither show is truly "national" in the way CGD used to be (let's remember that there were REGULARLY bigtime Big Ten games on ESPN and ABC until relatively recently), it seems ESPN and CGD are in a much more advantageous position. Not only do they simply just have the better spot, but they also aren't sharing with two other networks.
I'm sure the Big Ten's thoughts were something along the lines of, "Let's dominate the 12 pm EST spot, steal the 3:30 pm CBS spot from the SEC and then our NBC game can dilute the viewership for ESPN's primetime ABC spot" ... but that hasn't really happened. FOX tends to get a couple behemoth games per year, but ABC often is beating FOX more weeks than not.
(1) FOX will pick the most attractive Big Ten or Big XII game that it can, and it will put it at 11:00 am (and most likely put the Big Noon Kickoff show there)
(2) ABC/ESPN will pick the most attractive SEC or ACC game that it can, and it will put it at 6:30 pm (and most likely put College Gameday there)
So while neither show is truly "national" in the way CGD used to be (let's remember that there were REGULARLY bigtime Big Ten games on ESPN and ABC until relatively recently), it seems ESPN and CGD are in a much more advantageous position. Not only do they simply just have the better spot, but they also aren't sharing with two other networks.
I'm sure the Big Ten's thoughts were something along the lines of, "Let's dominate the 12 pm EST spot, steal the 3:30 pm CBS spot from the SEC and then our NBC game can dilute the viewership for ESPN's primetime ABC spot" ... but that hasn't really happened. FOX tends to get a couple behemoth games per year, but ABC often is beating FOX more weeks than not.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
I have to guess that Big Noon Kickoff would go to Michigan @ USC right? As much as I want us to be a school that consistently gets visited by pregame shows (though I highly doubt Gameday will ever come), I don't think we need it here twice within three weeks. I bet they would go to USC, even though the game will be on NBC; they ultimately owned the rights to the game. Plus USC will probably never host a Big Noon game with it being too early for a kickoff time. So this is probably the best they can do. And I am fine with that.
On the point of kickoff times, I really don't think that's too much of a problem. Perhaps there probably should be greater flexibility to move around the slots to different times during the day. But on the grand scheme of things this Fox/CBS/NBC arrangement is working out very well for the Big Ten, and the Big Ten is thriving in college football right now. If the huge checks mean more 11:00 kickoffs, I think that's worth the price.
On the point of kickoff times, I really don't think that's too much of a problem. Perhaps there probably should be greater flexibility to move around the slots to different times during the day. But on the grand scheme of things this Fox/CBS/NBC arrangement is working out very well for the Big Ten, and the Big Ten is thriving in college football right now. If the huge checks mean more 11:00 kickoffs, I think that's worth the price.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
I have to admit, I'm a little surprised at how much pushback/agita there has been at 11 CT/noon ET kicks. That's when college football happens, people.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
^ I don't have time to look up if they have done this a lot in the past, but it would be worth noting that the Big Noon Kickoff show would start at 7:00 am in the morning if it were to be at USC. That isn't an absolute deal breaker, as there were obviously plenty of Illini fans in Grange Grove before that! However, I do think it is something they might consider.
Let's just hope that Michigan craps the bed at home vs. Wisconsin this week and we can get the pregame show again! Honestly, if we are going to be playing at 11:00 am anyway, I at least want all that publicity!!
Let's just hope that Michigan craps the bed at home vs. Wisconsin this week and we can get the pregame show again! Honestly, if we are going to be playing at 11:00 am anyway, I at least want all that publicity!!
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