Football season is about to kick off for all 18 teams in the expanded Big Ten Conference, but off-field stories ranging from cheating scandals to TV blackouts are dominating the headlines.
And no, Deion Sanders and Colorado reportedly claiming without evidence that Oregon accessed its private data last year doesn’t count.
Twice a week throughout the season, The Oregonian/OregonLive will check in with the Ducks’ Big Ten compatriots and highlight some of the stories we’re reading and watching from around the conference.
Big Ten Network blacked out on Comcast/Xfinity for Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA games
The biggest story around the Big Ten this week was unfortunately a familiar one for fans of the former Pac-12 schools: a TV provider and conference-affiliated network are in a carriage dispute.
Comcast/Xfinity and Fox — part owners of the Big Ten Network — are still in negotiations for the cable company to carry live games for the conference’s four new members: Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA. Unless an agreement is reached by the weekend, Comcast customers won’t be able to watch Oregon or Washington’s season-opening football games on BTN this Saturday.
According to a source at Comcast, games for the Ducks, Huskies, Trojans and Bruins in all sports — not just football — will be blacked out on BTN for all Comcast customers outside of the 14 existing Big Ten markets. That includes the four new West Coast markets but also other major markets Comcast serves which don’t have a Big Ten team: Houston, Denver, Albuquerque and elsewhere throughout the country.
In the meantime, fans can stream Week 1 Big Ten college football for free with Fubo (free trial) or with DirecTV Stream (free trial), among several other streaming options.
Michigan receives notice of allegations from NCAA
The reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines received the final version of a notice of allegations from the NCAA this week amid the sign-stealing scandal rocking the program.
Michigan has 90 days to respond to the notice, after which the school could either be assigned a hearing with the NCAA committee on infractions or reach a negotiated resolution.
The scandal centers around former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions, about whom a Netflix documentary called “Sign Stealer” was released Tuesday. Former head coach Jim Harbaugh and current head coach Sherrone Moore violated NCAA rules, according to a previous draft of the NOA.
Wisconsin defensive end likely to miss season
Rough news out of Madison this week: Senior defensive end James Thompson Jr. is likely to miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery for a torn pectoral muscle.
“It doesn’t look like James is gonna make it. I don’t know that we’ll have him for the year,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell told reporters this week. “We’ve gotta wait and see. I don’t know if it’s a four- to five-month thing. He had surgery, I think last week.”
Thompson is among the leaders on defense for the Badgers, registering 29 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and 3 sacks last season.
Northwestern circling a new athletic director
The Northwestern Wildcats appear to have a new leader in the athletic department.
According to reporting by ESPN, Northwestern is set to hire current Villanova AD Mark Jackson as its next athletic director. Although a deal hasn’t been signed just yet, it is expected in the near future.
Jackson spent nine years at Villanova, during which the men’s basketball team won two national titles. His previous experience includes stints at USC and in the NFL.
Pat McAfee brings the hype to Morgantown
West Virginia alum and ESPN personality Pat McAfee is causing a stir in his former college town.
With a live episode of the “Pat McAfee Show” set for Friday in Morgantown, and increased traffic expected for both that event and Saturday’s highly anticipated game against a Big Ten power in No. 8 Penn State, local schools have cancelled classes for Friday. The Penn State-West Virginia matchup is set for Fox’s “Big Noon Saturday” and is sold out of tickets.
McAfee claimed on his show earlier this week that WVU students are so excited for Friday’s live show that the university had to ban them from camping overnight, and won’t allow them to show up until the morning of.
— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference for The Oregonian and co-hosts the Ducks Confidential podcast. He can be reached at [email protected] or @RyanTClarke.
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