Michigan Football: Kickoff Times for Every October Game Now Announced

We are only in June, yet the start time for all of Michigan's October games have already been announced.

We knew for a while that the Minnesota and Penn State games would kick off at 3:30 and 5:00, respectively, but the third and final game in October was also recently announced.

The Indiana game in Ann Arbor on Oct. 19 will also feature a 3:30 kickoff time.

A 5:00 start time for the game in Happy Valley seems like an appropriate decision, as that will certainly be a huge game with a raucous environment.

However, 3:30 kicks for both the Minnesota and Indiana games seem a little odd. Needless to say, neither of those are likely to be big games, as Michigan should be a heavy favorite in each. In fact, both are ideal for a noon kickoff.

Instead, Michigan will not be playing a noon game for a second straight October. Heck, it actually didn't play a noon game in September last year either, but that's bound to change this year.

The home contest with Akron on September 14 has "noon start" written all over it; the Connecticut and Central Michigan games could also be noon contests.

Brady Hoke has said countless times since he's been at Michigan that he prefers noon kicks, but it's no secret that those are a dying breed.

So seldom do we see huge noon matchups anymore, as the TV ratings and a lack of early attendance are the main reasons why.

As recently as 2011, eight of Michigan's twelve regular season games featured noon kickoffs. That number dropped all the way to four last season.

It looks like it'll be right around four once again here in 2013.

It's a shame that these start times have dropped so much in popularity; when some of the old timers reminisce about old school Michigan football, those early noon kicks always seem to be a key ingredient.