If you think the 5 p.m. start time for South Florida's football game on Saturday at Bowling Green is a little strange, you're probably not alone.
It's the first regular-season game in USF's history to kick off at Happy Hour, although the Cure Bowl the Bulls played in last year also had a 5 p.m. start. And the Boise State game that opened last season started at 5:30. That game drew 2 million viewers, which is checkmate for anyone who might have preferred a different time that didn't coincide with rush hour traffic.
The difference there was that the game was on a Thursday, August 28, with no other football competition. There were be plenty of competition for eyeballs on Saturday, and USF's game will lap over games that start at 4:30 or some high-profile contests that start at 7:30.
USF's game is one of only three 5 p.m. starts this weekend.
So what gives?
It's by design to create what the networks call a dedicated "early night" window. By introducing a 5 p.m. slot, the networks found a game in that windown has less competition for viewers and potentially generates more revenue.
It's also a offshoot of the pattern for more Thursday and Friday night college games. USF has four of those this season because the American Conference will do just about anything for more exposure.
And the American isn't being singled out. The Big Ten was happy to accept a $7 billion 7-year media rights deal with Fox, CBS, and NBC in 2022, but it came with a caveat. Fox wanted marquee games to fill its noon kickoff slot, and many fans don't like that.
They complain that starting a game that early takes some of the electricity out of the air that comes with a prime-time kickoff. Penn State fans grump that their traditional "white out" game doesn't have the same impact at nooon as it would at night.
Back on Saturday's game on ESPN+, the network hopes to attract viewers who have wrapped up their day's events and are ready to settle in for some football. The odd start time can be annoying for fans actually attending the game, but that's collateral damage.
Do they start their tailgates early? Assuming the game runs more than 3 hours, will that mess with dinner plans? The game will start in the sunlight and it will be dark before it ends.
And although Bulls coach Brian Hartline, like most men in his profession, will try to keep game-day preparation as normal as possible, the 5 p.m. start requires some adjustments to that ritual.
"We leave Tampa based on what projected arrival would be to be at the hotel, like it would be ]at home. We try to keep the routine, routine as close as we can. The beds change a little bit, the walls change a little bit. But hopefully operationally and schedules holds pretty true week in, week out," he said.
"Obviously on Saturday, your game time dictates your Saturday routine. But five o' clock is probably not too bad. Kind of close to a seven o' clock you've had two or three times. We want to make sure we keep our routine and make sure it's as normal feeling to them as possible."
We might as well get used to it.
Broadcast partners like ESPN and Fox want late-afternoon and twilight slots to fill space between the traditional afternoon games and and the marquee primetime.
It could be worse. At least the Bulls aren't Clemson. The Tigers ACC game this season at Cal started at 10:30 p.m. EDT because, you know, nothing says Atlantic Coast Conference football like the Cal Golden Bears.
Anyway, these staggered times are here to stay. With USF opening its new stadium next year, you can bet the inaugual game against Louisville will be slotted for maximum exposure.
Plan accordingly.
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