Asmussen | Franklin fails to embrace benefits of Friday night college games
The Penn State football team will show up at Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
The school is part of the Big Ten. The league said "go play in Champaign on Sept. 21."
It is not up for debate.
But Nittany Lions coach James Franklin isn't happy about it.
He shared his thoughts during the summer. The fifth-year coach wants high school football on Friday, college football on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. Just like it used to be. Does he also want our TV choices limited to three channels?
It's old-school thinking for the coach. And it doesn't work.
First, you have to get everyone to play along. That means no NFL or college football on Thursday. Good luck with that.
The NFL makes a nice chunk of change by splitting its TV deals into multiple parts. The Thursday package is an asset and will go away, oh, never.
College football on Thursday has become a constant, too.
This week, Lovie Smith and the Illini will watch his alma mater Tulsa play at Temple.
Not must-see for most of us, but definitely a big game for the Illinois coach.
Smith is not about to complain about his Friday night game. Wisely, he is embracing it.
"It's important for us to have a national audience," Smith said. "It's just not playing Penn State. It's playing Penn State and we're the only game on at the time. These are big games for us with where we are with our program."
It will be only Friday game this season for the Illini.
"It's once a year," Smith said. "We don't have them every year. I can only speak for the University of Illinois. We're excited about this Friday night game we have here at Memorial Stadium."
The wrong message
Last week, Franklin again brought up his Friday night beef and what it means to Penn State's routine.
It messed with the schedule for the players, forcing them to practice Monday, which is normally a day off.
Get .. over ... it.
Never mind that Illinois faces the same issue. The Illini adjusted by skipping their customary day off and moving it to the back end of the week. Problem solved.
To be fair, the Nittany Lions will have a late night Friday/Saturday morning. They will fly home after the game — it figures to end close to midnight — and will arrive in State College about 5 Saturday morning. The Waffle Shop opens at 6.
Illinois also has an open Saturday next week, while Penn State hosts Ohio State.
It will be a difficult turnaround for the Nittany Lions. But perhaps, the coach and his staff can use it as a rallying point.
Some version of "let's make them pay for giving us this schedule." In a nice way.
Franklin is giving his team an excuse if something goes horribly wrong. And a loss to Illinois, coming off a 2-10 season, would qualify.
Even it out
The Big Ten has allowed schools to say "we're only playing on Saturdays."
If I was in charge, I would try a different approach. Treat all 14 schools as equals. And tell them that during the conference season, they are subject to a Thursday or Friday game. Not every year. Or every other year. But on occasion.
And the superpowers can't be exempt. They can't say no to a Friday home game in 2023 if it is their turn. What is good for Rutgers and Indiana is also good for Ohio State and Michigan.
There is a huge upside for the Big Ten in playing on nontraditional days: the potential TV audience.
It is possible that the next Saquon Barkley or Juice Williams will be watching Friday night. And decide they like the looks of the Big Ten.
There was a time during my youth when we got to watch two college games each week. That was it. I dreamed of the day when all games were available.
It comes at a price to some — spending a beautiful Friday night in east central Illinois. Well worth it.
Bob Asmussen can be reached at 217-351-5233 or by email at asmussen@news-gazette.com.
http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/football/2018-09-20/asmussen-franklin-fails-embrace-benefits-friday-night
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