Friday night college football. The “fixins” in the sandwich between Thursday Night NFL football and the Saturday CFB gauntlet.
Famous for after-dark thrillers and wacky moments, Friday night college football has carved a special niche in the hearts of college football fans. But for the Mountain West and PAC-12, are Fridays the key to this new era?
T.G.I.F
This season, Friday night matchups have been more than just background fodder when you are at happy hour.
When Northwestern vs. Indiana hit the big
screen on Friday at the end of September, the Big Ten matchup brought in 3.6 million viewers, FOX announced.
The game had a peak audience of 4.5 million viewers, which is a 66% increase from FOX’s typical Friday night football stats.
Of course, Cignetti and Co. in a Big Ten dual will draw a crowd, but the overarching idea remains: Without the NFL, people are looking for football on television on Fridays.
Where The PAC and MW Fit In
In a world where college football television hosts can’t even name who is in the PAC-12 (don’t get me started), the Group of Six conferences need to find every advantage they can get.
The PAC-12 already found a way to zig-zag with their newfound “flex games” at the end of the year, looking to give them the best odds to punch a CFP bid.
You know what else helps with pleasing the playoff committee? Visibility.
Last week’s Washington State vs. Utah State Friday night game, a matchup between two struggling PAC teams, drew 410,000 viewers. A day later, Boise State vs. Fresno State, a rivalry game between two PAC powers, drew 700,000 viewers.
A much more intriguing matchup was not able to double a disregarded game’s numbers, showing the impact and the difference of a Friday vs. Saturday time slot.
Imagine if the Broncos and Bulldogs had the Friday night slot instead? That game would have likely crossed the one million mark.
The conference has already introduced one form of “flex game”, it may be time to talk with the networks and flex some more matchups. Not for resume boosting, but for viewership consideration.
What This Would Look Like…
Of course, coming up with game times is more than just two teams deciding on a date. It is up to TV networks and surrounding parties to make such a decision.
But in an ideal world with unlimited scheduling power, here is what the rest of the year would look like if the PAC and MW were making the most of their Friday opportunities.
Friday, Oct. 16
New Mexico @ Hawaii
Friday, Oct. 23
San Diego State @ Colorado State
Friday, Oct. 30
Oregon State @ Fresno State
Friday, Nov. 6
New Mexico @ Nevada
Friday, Nov. 13
Oregon State @ Boise State
Friday, Nov. 20
New Mexico @ Wyoming
Friday, Nov. 27
PAC FLEX GAMES
(Games In Bold: Actually Scheduled For Friday)
This gives people a stand-alone chance to see potential playoff teams in New Mexico, Oregon State and Boise State, without any Saturday morning kickoff shows getting the chance to bash them.
For now, we can only dream.
