BYU-Troy gets late night ESPN slot; Other Home Games Likely to Follow Suit

BYU could be the most watched college football team in September.

BYU opens with a Monday night game at Navy on ESPN, an afternoon CBS game at Army on CBS, and now will have its 9/36 home opener versus Troy on ESPN. The game will be at 8:15 MDT on ESPN.

Expect mostly late night kicks for BYU during its 4 home games in October. BYU and UTEP are the only two teams playing in the Pacific or Mountain time zones, meaning BYU is the only team for ESPN that can realistically fill the late night time slots.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic pointed this out in a Monday column.

“Sadly, it will be a season with no #Pac-12AfterDark action. BYU is the only FBS school in the Pacific or Mountain West time zones still playing. ESPN did put the Cougars’ Sept. 26 home game against Troy in the 10:15 p.m. ET window, and ESPN holds the rights to five other BYU home games in October and November. Outside of those, though, East Coast football junkies should be getting extra sleep this season.”

In addition to Troy, BYU also has the below 5 home games.

• Oct. 10 - vs UTSA
• Oct. 16 (Friday) - vs. Houston
• Oct. 24 - vs Texas State
• Oct. 31 - vs Western Kentucky
• Nov. 21 - vs North Alabama

North Alabama will likely be a BYUtv game, but the other ones will likely be picked up by ESPN Networks. Late night games may not be the best for East Coast fans aand those who like to go to bed early, but it is a great opportunity for BYU to get ESPN slots. Normally these types of games would get maybe get on ESPNU, but BYU could have the most home ESPN games it has ever had with the lack of western teams playing.

You may have to sacrifice your bed time this year, but BYU will likely get extra exposure as a result.