[needle]

Maybe I'm the only one who finds this interesting, but I file this under Why Are We Playing Again??:

Austin Peay-Central Arkansas kicked off the college football season on Saturday night, averaging 501,000 viewers on ESPN in the 9:00pm ET window, reports SBJ's Austin Karp. Last season, the FCS opener (Youngstown State-Samford) averaged 718,000 viewers on ESPN on a Saturday afternoon in Week 0.

https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/Newsletter-College/2020/09/01.aspx


The article goes on to note that competition for TV viewership included Nascar and the NBA, fwiw.

To drift a bit in my own post, I think we can all agree Power 5 football is more likely now than two weeks ago?

I'd put it at a solid 60%, with the biggest threat over the next two weeks being that players decide in large numbers -- a la UCF, where 10 players have said they're skipping the year -- to not participate. The SEC, ACC and Big 12 are not going to let myocarditis concerns cost them a season.

[needle]

Maybe I'm the only one who finds this interesting, but I file this under Why Are We Playing Again??:

Austin Peay-Central Arkansas kicked off the college football season on Saturday night, averaging 501,000 viewers on ESPN in the 9:00pm ET window, reports SBJ's Austin Karp. Last season, the FCS opener (Youngstown State-Samford) averaged 718,000 viewers on ESPN on a Saturday afternoon in Week 0.

https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/Newsletter-College/2020/09/01.aspx


The article goes on to note that competition for TV viewership included Nascar and the NBA, fwiw.

To drift a bit in my own post, I think we can all agree Power 5 football is more likely now than two weeks ago?

I'd put it at a solid 60%, with the biggest threat over the next two weeks being that players decide in large numbers -- a la UCF, where 10 players have said they're skipping the year -- to not participate. The SEC, ACC and Big 12 are not going to let myocarditis concerns cost them a season.