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In less than two weeks, Colorado and USC football will do battle in what figures to be the biggest Pac-12 Conference game in recent history. Deion Sanders versus Lincoln Riley. A showcase for last year's Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and one of this year's contenders, Shedeur Sanders. The electricity surrounding Folsom Field on Saturday, Sept. 30 will be strong enough to engage even non-college-football fans.
A major ratings draw such as this one must be televised at a primetime slot befitting of its splendor and stakes. So of course the only sensible kickoff time is noon.
That's 12 p.m. ET, 9 a.m. for the Trojans fans who are staying put in California and 10 a.m. Colorado time, per The Athletic's Stewart Mandel. With USC ranked No. 5 and Colorado immediately turning into a must-see program, a late-night start was off the table. Still, another time in between these two extremes would be better. There are other ranked matchups being contested that day like Notre Dame at Duke and LSU at Ole Miss, but this showdown should take precedence.
Even if Sanders suffers his first loss as Buffaloes head coach this weekend against No. 10 Oregon, there will be plenty of buzz the following Saturday in Boulder. The Trojans are in playoff or bust mode this year, so Colorado football can potentially play spoiler, at the very least. What is most astounding about the decision to schedule this as FOX's Big Noon game is that it ultimately fell on USC's shoulders.
Any matchup beginning before 11 a.m. local time must be agreed on by the opponents, per Jon Wilner of KSL.com. The Trojans are on board, despite the fact that many of their students might just be waking up at the expected kickoff time.
Hopefully, Colorado and USC football adjust their body clocks for the huge game because fans will wake up early for high-quality action and entertainment, but they will be quite cranky if the players are as groggy as them.