College Football 2012 ESPN TV Schedule: 5 Games That Should Be on in Primetime

With 120 Division I college football teams and hundreds of college football games throughout the year, it is simply impossible to have every college football game on primetime. Some big games just end up having to take a backseat to other big games.

ESPN has just released its TV schedule for the 2012 college football season, and while they have you covered with a lot of huge showdowns, there are still many games that are left out in the cold and will be buried under several other games throughout the day.

Here are some of the games that ESPN should have found a way to fit into the primetime schedule for the 2012 season.

Penn State at Virginia

Sure, neither one of these teams is sexy offensively, but Virginia is quickly becoming a force in the ACC under head coach Mike London. The Cavaliers return 11 starters from a year ago and have one of the deepest backfields in the country led by running back Perry Jones. This is a program that will continue to improve and should start getting some credit.

Then you have Penn State, which last time I checked was still a top program, regardless of what it may have went through last year. Seeing first-year head coach Bill O'Brien coach his first road game would be pretty interesting under the bright lights. 

Wake Forest at Florida State

Sure, Wake Forest finished last season with a losing record, but it was a team that played well when they wanted to, including upsetting Florida State by a score of 35-30. The Demon Deacons are a decent defensive unit that returns seven starters, while Florida State is fantastic defensively that returns eight starters.

Both teams are capable of getting after it on defense and struggle mightily at times on the offensive side of the ball. Again, this may not be a game that will excite many people, but it could result in a tight match-up that comes down to the wire.

Michigan State at Wisconsin

I know that both of these teams are going to look very different once the regular season starts. Wisconsin lost much of its offensive production including quarterback Russell Wilson. Michigan State lost its top-four receivers from a year ago and that doesn't include losing its starting quarterback as well. But both teams return a ton of talent and gave us two match-ups that will go down in college football history.

Just watch this and this and tell me that you wouldn't like to see these two teams square off under the lights once again.

Ohio State at Penn State

Two of the more prestigious programs in college football going at it and both have new head coaches running the program. Sure, Penn State may not have one of its more talented teams that it's used to having and Ohio State is banned from the postseason this year, but both coaches are out to prove themselves in this conference. If you think either one of these teams are going to lay down in this contest, you have another thing coming.

Last year's contest was a defensive battle that included no scoring at all in the second half. You can expect both teams to once again get after it and try to win a huge contest late in the season.

Michigan at Ohio State

Do I really have to explain why this game should be primetime?

Save the talk about Ohio State playing a meaningless season or Michigan not being good enough to compete for a national championship just yet. This is arguably the greatest rivalry in all of college football and should always be played under the bright lights. 

Besides, the Buckeyes want nothing more than to spoil the Wolverines season and prevent them from having any chance of a BCS bowl or Big Ten title.

If you think this rivalry has lost some of its edge, you are out of your mind. Both of these teams could enter this match-up 0-11 and it would perfectly fine as long as that one win comes against the last opponent on the schedule. This is the rivalry game to always have circled on your calendar and should not be played at noon.