The opening weekend game with Utah playing at Michigan will be televised on ABC at 3:30 pm Eastern time, according to the Michigan athletic website.
This is huge for Utah and the conference—besides the San Diego State/Notre Dame game, this is the only network broadcast for the league. I thought this game would be placed on the Big Ten Network, but this could be a huge boost for Utah to gain national presence.
Another implication for this game being on ABC is that Utah has been mentioned by Rivals.com and others as a potential BCS sleeper. A win over Michigan on opening weekend on national television could boost Utah into the national radar early on.
The last time that Utah was on ABC was when Utah played UNLV back in 2005.
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3 months ago
Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy. As the sports writer you claim to be, fans want to see factual information. This is not the only national telecast (besides Notre Dame/SDSU) for the Mountain West Conference in 2008. The Colorado State at Colorado game on Sunday, August 31 is on Fox Sports Net nationally and the league has seven games (as does the Pac 10 and Big 12) on VERSUS. VERSUS is availabl in over 74 million households. Have you established your own national TV perimeters to mean ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS and NBC. Almost all of the ABC games are regional since the Big 12 also has games airing on ABC at the same time as the Big Ten.
The 2005 game you refer to above (UNLV/Utah) was regional. In fact, it was West Coast only.
3 months ago
I meant network TV for national games.
from about 1 month ago
Yer both a little clueless... As referenced above, this will be a REGIONAL game... I live in Los Angeles and will be stuck at the sportsbar (since the USC game will be broadcasting locally) alongside all of the obnoxious USC fans while they throttle Virginia. BTW, why the hell do people go to a sportsbar for a game they can watch at home? I'm not an alcoholic or in college any more, so I'll guess I'll never understand. The only chance Utah has at true national coverage is during a bowl game. Michigan has to settle for the Notre Dame game and Ohio State (which kicks off at 9:30 local time on the West Coast, pre-empting all the crappy cartoons).
from about 1 month ago
Network game is correct.
about 1 month ago
Dont-
If you have ESPN2 there is no need to go to a sportsbar to watch the Michigan game. ABC and ESPN2 are doing "reverse mirror" coverage of the UM/Utah and SC/Virginia games:
Network officials said its “reverse mirror” coverage will be in effect again this season for as many as 13 Saturday afternoon regional telecasts. For example, on Aug. 30, ABC will televise Utah vs. Michigan and USC vs. Virginia at 3:30 p.m. ET while ESPN2 will “reverse mirror” ABC’s coverage, telecasting Utah vs. Michigan in markets receiving USC vs. Virginia on ABC and USC vs. Virginia to parts of the country receiving Utah vs. Michigan on ABC.
from about 1 month ago
GO, you are my hero. Thank you for the heads up on the reverse mirror coverage. As a Michigan fan, I've been freaking out all week trying to find a sports bar to watch the game (which finding a decent sports bar in this pathetic sports town is not easy).
Thanks again for the info! GO BLUE!!!!
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