Pac-12 early football television schedule announced
SAN FRANCISCO – Pac-12 Conference television partners ESPN, FOX Sports, and Pac-12 Networks will provide complete coverage of the entire Pac-12 home football schedule during the 2018 season. Pac-12 Networks will air 34 Pac-12 home games, while ESPN and FOX Sports will combine to televise 44 games from Pac-12 home and neutral sites. In addition, FOX will televise the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
UTAH kicks off the season for the Pac-12 Conference on Thursday, August 30, with a home game against Weber State (P12N). STANFORD and Heisman-hopeful running back Bryce Love take on San Diego State (FS1) on Friday, August 31. The opening weekend features six other Pac-12 teams at home on Saturday, September 1, as well as neutral-site showdown between a pair of potential top-10 teams in the WASHINGTON Huskies and the SEC’s Auburn Tigers (ABC) in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, Ga. Dual-threat quarterback Khalil Tate and the ARIZONA Wildcats face BYU (ESPN) in what is the Pac-12’s first of four non-conference tilts against the Cougars in 2018. In a showdown with the Buckeye State, UCLA entertains Cincinnati (ESPN) and OREGON hosts Bowling Green (P12N). Three home-openers round out the first weekend of play with ARIZONA STATE hosting UTSA (FS1), USC facing UNLV (P12N), and CALIFORNIA taking on North Carolina (FOX).
Week two features the Pac-12 Conference opener when USC visits STANFORD (FOX) in a rematch of last season’s Pac-12 Football Championship Game. ARIZONA STATE hosts Michigan State (ESPN) in one of three matchups with the Big Ten during the regular season. Each of the four northwest schools conclude the second week of action at home – Portland State at OREGON (P12N), Southern Utah at OREGON STATE (P12N), North Dakota at WASHINGTON (P12N), and San Jose State at WASHINGTON STATE (P12N).
A full docket of nine home games lies ahead for the Pac-12 in week three, including a league contest with WASHINGTON at UTAH (ESPN) that matches a pair of returning 1,000-yard rushers in Washington’s Myles Gaskin and Utah’s Zack Moss.
In all, Pac-12 Network will televise 13 games during the first three weeks of the season. With the exception of a pair of games on Saturday, September 15 - New Hampshire at COLORADO (P12 Mountain/Pac-12 Now app) and Idaho State at CALIFORNIA (P12 Bay Area/Pac-12 Now app) - all games will be carried on Pac-12 Network and the Pac-12 Network regional carrier in the home team’s market.
ESPN will televise on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ABC, while FOX Sports will air its games on FOX or FS1. Both network partners will simulcast selected games on ESPN Deportes and FOX Deportes. FOX will culminate the 2018 Pac-12 season when it televises the Pac-12 Football Championship Game on Friday, November 30.
While television selections for the first three weeks of the 2018 season have been made, as well as all Thursday and Friday games throughout the season, all remaining television game selections and start times, starting with week four (Saturday, September 22) and running through the final week of the regular season (Saturday, November 24) will be made 12- or six-days in advance.