This season, FOX has tried to make their claim for the noon kickoff slot. With CBS usually putting their marquee matchup at 3:30 and ABC/ESPN putting theirs at primetime, FOX has been putting theirs at noon.
Top-25 games such as Wisconsin-Michigan, Texas-Oklahoma and Wisconsin-Ohio State have all taken place at noon. This weekend, the Maryland-Ohio State battle will be the focus of “Big Noon Kickoff” and have Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call.
Two years ago, Johnson and Klatt called Maryland’s visit to the Horseshoe. Things did not go well for the Terrapins, as Ohio State won 62-14.
Will the Terps be able to perform up to the standard of being FOX’s game of the week? Probably not. The Terps are 40+ point underdogs, and ESPN’s FPI gives them just a 0.8% chance of winning the game.
History is also not on the Terps’ side, as they are 0-5 all-time against the Buckeyes. The only time Ohio State did not score 50+ against Maryland came in 2015 when the Terrapins were able to slow them down to only 49 points. The average margin of victory between the two has been 31.4, and if you remove last year’s 52-51 overtime thriller, it jumps to 39 points.
