The CFB heavyweight clash is hitting the calendar and the clock way sooner than expected. On Monday, Fox Sports confirmed it will broadcast the season-opening showdown between defending national champions Ohio State and the revenge-seeking Texas Longhorns. The Week 1 blockbuster is a rematch of January’s College Football Playoff semifinal, and with both programs projected inside the top five, there’s no doubt it could shake the national title picture on day one. But as the news broke, so did a wave of discontent….

Instead of a marquee primetime setting, this one’s kicking off at noon Eastern!

The decision to plant what many believe is the most anticipated game of the season in the mid-day slot had fans spiraling, but it fits squarely in Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff strategy. And when you’ve got a $21 billion media empire pulling strings, the time slot isn’t just a scheduling quirk—it’s a financial play. Fox’s marquee college football pregame show will set the stage, and front and center to explain the magnitude of it all was their own RJ Young, who broke it down in terms only a ratings analyst could dream of. “The two teams that play in that game have won the last two national championships. It’s not really that hard to decipher why it is one of the most popular games on the schedule,” Young said.

But he didn’t stop there. With the game expected to debut two of the most hyped quarterbacks in college football, Young believes the noon slot could actually elevate the viewership stakes. “Then you got Ohio State-Texas for Week One, which means we get the Arch Manning experience and the Jeremiah Smith experience in the same ball game. And that I can tell you is going to be appointment viewing,” he added. “Like that might be 12–15 million people watching across the country as that game is being played because we expect those teams are going to be ranked in the top five at a minimum.” The forecast is bold, but not unfounded.

Young continued to lean in on the QB hype: “I would not be shocked at all to see Texas and Ohio State at number one, number two depending on how you think Arch Manning is going to play or how you think Julian Sayin is going to play. Because that is where our eyes are going to go most. We’re going to watch Arch Manning sling it, and we’re going to watch Julian Sayin sling it and we’re going to draw conclusions about how good or not good both of those quarterbacks are.” It’s not just a football game—it’s a referendum on the future of two dynasties.

The history sets the tone. Just a few months ago, OSU ended Texas’s national championship dreams with a 28–14 win over then-QB1 Quinn Ewers in the CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl. The Buckeyes rode that momentum all the way to a title, beating Notre Dame 34–23 in the national championship. Now, both teams enter a new era. With Ewers and OSU starter Will Howard both in the NFL, all eyes turn to Arch Manning—a household name with zero career starts—and Alabama transfer Julian Sayin, a former five-star prospect expected to lead the Buckeyes. It’s a fresh canvas painted with pressure and promise.

That’s precisely why some fans feel shortchanged by the early kickoff. A game of this magnitude, they argue, deserves the bright lights of primetime. Instead, it’s being handed a brunch-time slot on Labor Day weekend. While Fox’s decision may frustrate the crowd craving under-the-lights drama, the move is strategic.

Texas vs. Ohio State at high noon? ‘Absolutely Not!’

It’s one of the biggest games of the upcoming college football season—Texas vs. Ohio State. Fireworks. Heavyweight programs. Championship implications. But while the game itself is still months away, it’s already lighting up social media… and not in a good way.

FOX’s part of its Big Noon Kickoff coverage, which means one thing: a likely kickoff time just after 12 p.m. ET. Cue the outrage. “Big Noon Kickoff is the worst thing to happen to American sports,” one fan fumed—and judging by the reaction online, plenty agree.

So, why the drama over the early start? Fans argue a matchup of this magnitude belongs in primetime, under the lights with the nation watching. For Ohio State supporters—used to late afternoon or evening kickoffs—it’s a tough pill to swallow. And West Coast fans? A 9 a.m. local start feels downright criminal.

Still, FOX is standing firm. The network continues to prioritize the Big Noon window for marquee matchups, hoping to capitalize on high midday viewership and give its pregame show a major lead-in. Not just the August 30th game, but also the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry clash in week 14 is locked in for Big Noon on FOX. It makes sense, especially when you see that “Big Noon Saturday” is already the most-watched college football window, pulling in an average of 5.8 million viewers. That USC-Colorado game in 2023, peaking at a massive 10.3 million viewers around 3 PM, really showed the strength of FOX’s Big Noon slot. As the Big Ten’s primary TV partner, FOX looks ready to keep owning those Saturday noons.