Saturdays Start on FOX: FOX Sports Releases 2019 College Football Schedule
Top Rivalries, Including Ohio State-Michigan and Oklahoma-Texas, Return to FOX This Season
NEW YORK – This college football season, Saturdays start on FOX. Kicking off at 11:00 AM ET with a brand-new pregame show on the FOX broadcast network, analysts Urban Meyer, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn, led by host Rob Stone, get viewers ready for the network’s biggest game of the day at 12:00 PM ET.
FOX Sports’ 2019 college football lineup includes top games from the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences, highlighted by some of the nation’s most meaningful matchups like Ohio State at Michigan, Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Showdown, the Big Ten Championship Game and more. Play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, analyst Joel Klatt and reporter Jenny Taft return to the booth this season to lead FOX Sports’ game crews.
“We’re excited for college football fans around the country to start their Saturdays with us,” said Brad Zager, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Production & Operations. “Our new pregame show, featuring some of the best to play and coach the game over the last 15 years, will set the tone leading into our top game each week at Noon ET. Fans no longer have to sit around waiting for primetime to watch big matchups – we’re going to kick things off with a bang each and every week.”
After setting the record for FOX Sports’ most-watched regular-season college football game with 13.2 million viewers last November, the sport’s most historic rivalry returns to the FOX broadcast network as Ohio State heads to The Big House on Saturday, Nov. 30, to face Michigan at 12:00 PM ET. Also highlighting the network’s slate, the Red River Showdown returns to FOX for the second straight season, on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 12:00 PM ET. Last year’s contest drew 5.6 million viewers on FOX, the most-watched edition of the annual Oklahoma-Texas rivalry since 2011.
Additional highlights of this season’s schedule include:
- FS1’s strongest lineup of Friday games, highlighted by Utah at USC (Sept. 20), Penn State at Maryland (Sept. 27), Colorado at Oregon (Oct. 11) and Ohio State at Northwestern in a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship (Oct. 18).
- Aug. 29-31: Three straight days of college football kick off the season, highlighted by the beginning of the Ryan Day era at Ohio State, as the Buckeyes open at home against Lane Kiffin’s FAU Owls on Saturday, Aug. 31, at 12:00 PM ET on FOX.
- Sept. 14: Transfer quarterback Jalen Hurts leads Oklahoma into Los Angeles for a battle of high-powered offenses as Chip Kelly’s UCLA Bruins host Lincoln Riley’s Sooners in a primetime showdown on the FOX broadcast network.
- FOX Sports and BTN are the primary home for Big Ten fans as the season gets underway, with 23 Big Ten games airing in the first three weeks across FOX, FS1 and BTN.
- Sept. 21: Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines head to Camp Randall to take on Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers in an early test between cross-division rivals.
- Nov. 29: FOX Sports has a pair of huge in-state rivalry games the day after Thanksgiving, kicking off with Texas Tech at Texas at 12:00 PM ET, followed by Washington State at Washington at 4:00 PM ET. Plus, Nebraska hosts Iowa in the Heroes Game at 2:30 PM ET on BTN.
- Dec. 7: The Big Ten Championship Game returns to the FOX broadcast network at 8:00 PM ET from Lucas Oil Stadium with coverage beginning at 7:00 PM ET.
- Dec. 27: The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, featuring teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences, returns to FS1 at 8:00 PM ET.
- Dec. 30: The Redbox Bowl, featuring teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences, returns to the FOX broadcast network at 4:00 PM ET.
Games are simulcast on the FOX Sports app, which now provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content through iOS and Android devices.
FOX Sports’ confirmed 2019 college football schedule is attached. The remainder of the schedule will be announced as the season progresses.
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing Fox Corporation’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, the business has ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing relationships. FOX Sports includes the sports arm of the FOX Network as well as FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes. FOX Sports’ digital properties include FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports App, which provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content, instant scores, stats and alerts to iOS and Android devices. Additionally, FOX Sports and social broadcasting platform, Caffeine, jointly own Caffeine Studios which creates exclusive eSports, sports and live entertainment content. Also included in FOX Sports’ portfolio are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that established the FOX Sports Radio Network.