For the second year in a row, Michigan football will open the season under the lights.
The Wolverines, which followed up their 2023 national championship with an up-and-down 2024 season, look to return to the College Football Playoff this year and that quest will begin against New Mexico on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Big House with the game to be televised on NBC.
Advertisement
Michigan’s first four games of last year were all on various channels − NBC, Fox, Big Ten Network and CBS − and they only had four games at the traditional noon slot including just one after the month of September.
The Wolverines played in three games at 7:30 local time, however only two were technically night games since one of the contests was at Washington, which kicked off at 4:30 local time. The other five games were in the 3:30 window until the postseason, when U-M picked up a ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Alabama at Noon in Tampa.
U-M and Ohio State for years have played their annual rivalry game on the final Saturday in November at Noon on Fox, but even that has not been announced for the upcoming season, though it’s likely a mere formality.
Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore celebrates a play during first-half action between Michigan and Minnesota at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
Parts of the rest of the schedule are expected to start trickling in over the upcoming weeks, which includes a very decent chance the Week 2 matchup against Oklahoma in Norman could be site of ESPN’s College Gameday, though that would not determine a kickoff time or television network.
Advertisement
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kickoff time, TV channel announced for Michigan football season opener
