Big Ten Daily (Sept. 25): Nebraska AD Troy Dannen's 'Friday Night Lights' Request
Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen is taking a stand against Friday night football games. Well, at least those played in Lincoln.
In a recent appearance on the Huskers Radio Network, Dannen revealed that he submitted a letter to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, requesting that Nebraska no longer host Friday night football games, with the exception of the Black Friday game vs. Iowa.
“I sent a letter yesterday to the commissioner with the blessing of the president and the chancellor formally requesting not to host Friday games ... outside of the game with Iowa,” Dannen said.
“Because of the size of the stadium and your locale, I don’t think we want to be canceling classes, canceling in-person classes. I’m sure the students didn’t mind, but at the end of the day, the more we can avoid that, I think the better off everybody will be.”
For the better part of a decade, the Big Ten has utilized the Friday night time slot for conference games regularly. In Week 4, Nebraska hosted Illinois in a top-25 showdown. It received plenty of attention, drawing in 4.21 million viewers, according to FOX.
In most states, Friday nights are reserved for high school football. Some of the Big Ten's power hitters have already made requests to not host games on Friday nights. Dannen wants to add Nebraska's name to the list.
“If it happens again, it happens again,” Dannen said. “I don’t like seeing other athletic directors in the league saying, ‘My golly, we will not do that,’ and [lay] their foot down. I’m not sure any institutions should have the unilateral ability to do that.
“But if we do, I raised my hand with the commissioner and said Nebraska should be in that same position with 90,000 fans and the proximity we have to campus.”
Dannen doesn't sound hell-bent on refusing to host Friday night games at Memorial Stadium. But why not let your voice be heard? It doesn't hurt to put in a request to the man running the conference.
Ryan 'Not so Happy' Day
Ohio State is 3-0, averages 52.5 points per game, has the Big Ten's best defense statistically and is ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press poll. But there are no reasons to be excited just yet in Columbus, according to coach Ryan Day.
The Buckeyes have throttled all three opponents they've faced, although that's not saying much. Ohio State has beaten up on Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall, outscoring the three teams by a combined total of 157-20.
With that type of dominance, you might think Day would be happy with what he's seen. That's not the case, though.
“I don’t feel good about anything. Nobody should feel good about anything," Day said on Tuesday. "You start to feel good about something and complacency can sneak up on you fast. So nobody feels good about anything."
Ohio State will have its first true test of the season on Saturday, traveling to East Lansing to play Michigan State. It's part of an intriguing and challenging five-game stretch that also includes games against Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Penn State.
Something tells me that, no matter how well the Buckeyes play on Saturday, Day still won't feel good about anything.
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DUSTIN SCHUTTE