Six Big Ten College Football Games for Prime Time Telecasts in 2014

ESPN has selected six Big Ten Conference college football games for Saturday prime-time telecasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 during the 2014 season. The schedule includes three teams ranked in an early ESPN.com preseason top 25 poll for 2014, including two in the top seven: No. 4 Michigan State, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 21 Michigan. Additional games will be announced in the coming months. Highlights:

· Four of the six telecasts will involve defending division champions No. 4 Michigan State and No. 7 Ohio State. Both teams were participants in last year's conference title game, won by Michigan State 34-24.

· The schedule will include two September night games, both featuring an ACC vs. Big Ten matchup of power programs:

· Virginia Tech will visit No. 7 Ohio State on September 6 for the Buckeyes' home opener and first-ever meeting between the schools.

· Miami (Fla.) will travel to Nebraska on October 4, marking the first game between the teams since a 37-14 Miami victory in the 2002 BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl. It will also be the first time the schools will play an on-campus game since 1976 (Miami at Nebraska).

· Defending conference champion No. 4 Michigan State, which finished the 2013 season with a 13-1 record and 24-20 victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl, will host Nebraska on October 4 on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

· ESPN or ESPN2 will televise Penn State at Michigan on October 11. It will be the third night game from Michigan Stadium since its opening in 1927 and the first against a Big Ten opponent. ESPN also televised the previous two games, both Michigan victories over Notre Dame (2013 and 2011). ESPN generated large audiences for the first two telecasts averaging 8,653,000 viewers (a 5.3 HH US rating) in 2013 and 7,541,000 viewers (a 4.5 HH US rating) in 2011.

· No. 7 Ohio State will be featured in consecutive night games on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2: at Penn State on October 25 and against Illinois on November 1.

ESPN's industry-leading game and studio coverage of the 2014 college football season will begin with the first televised game (Sam Houston State at Eastern Washington in the new FCS Kickoff on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN ) and conclude with the new College Football Playoff Championship Game from Arlington, Texas (Monday, Jan. 12 on ESPN).

2014 Big Ten Schedule (as of April 15)

Date Time (ET) Game Network
Sat, Sep 6 8 p.m. Virginia Tech at No. 7 Ohio State ESPN
Sat, Sep 20 8 p.m. Miami (Fla.) at Nebraska ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Oct 4 8 p.m. Nebraska at No. 4 Michigan State ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Oct 11 7 p.m. Penn State at No. 21 Michigan * ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Oct 25 8 p.m. No. 7 Ohio State at Penn State ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Nov 1 8 p.m. Illinois at No. 7 Ohio State ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

* Previously announced