The Game Under the Lights

News came out today that this year’s edition of the greatest rivalry in sport, The Game, between Ohio State and that team up north will once again be a noon kickoff. It usually is, but that doesn’t mean it always needs to be.

The Game is almost always a high-noon showdown. Only once in my decades as a Buckeye fan was this game not a noon start time. And it was an instant classic. The Game of the Century is its most common name.

The 2006 matchup in Columbus kicked off at 3:30 and was one of the biggest editions of The Game ever played. It was #1 vs. #2, both teams were undefeated and had been headed to an unbeaten showdown for the entire season.

It had some of the biggest names and personalities in the history of both schools. The Wolverines were being led by their best coach of the last 75 years. Their all-time leading rusher Mike Hart had a day.

The Buckeyes were behind the man who avenged the era that Ohio State fans refer to almost only when talking about dark times. Jim Tressel and his biggest Wolverine killer, Troy Smith made history. The Heisman trophy and a shot at a national championship were on the line.

That offense was arguably the best of the Jim Tressel Era. They played maybe the best offensive game of those ten seasons. Troy Smith would throw for four touchdowns and over 300 yards. It would cement his legacy by winning Ohio State their 7th Heisman Trophy

The second half of that classic was played under the night lights of Ohio Stadium. So why hasn’t The Game seen the night lights since 2006 in either Columbus or Ann Arbor? Both teams have had night-time classics.

The teams should announce back-to-back night games against each other like they do when they battle big out-of-conference foes. It would add a new chapter in the already legendary history of the greatest rivalry in all of sport.

I understand the arguments for tradition as no sport is more built on its history than college football. But being the best rivalry also requires bringing what works for others and making it your own and that includes night games.

As good as it would be for The Game, don’t expect it any time soon. With this rivalry being on Fox for the foreseeable future and their trademark being having their games of the week at noon, a night edition of The Game won’t come soon. Not in November at least.

The first time we will see The Game at night won’t be in Ann Arbor or Columbus. It will be in Indianapolis on the first Saturday in December. While Fox loves their Big Noon Kickoff and is all in on it, their final primetime game of the year is always a late start in Naptown and for the Big Ten Championship.

With divisions now gone, the first fight at night between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines will be when they finish atop the new Big Ten standings. It will be a rematch of a week before it. A battle in a Lucas Oil Stadium that is soldout. It will set ratings records like The Game does every year. It will be what finally breaks it through into being a primetime match in the best rivalry in all of sports.