Catching up on Iowa’s TV times

I ran out of hours last Friday, so I missed the UI release that said Iowa's home opener vs. Illinois State will kickoff at 11 a.m. and be televised on the Big Ten Network.

This will be the first-ever football meeting between the Hawkeyes and Illinois State. Last season, the Redbirds won 13 games and advanced to the championship game of the FCS Playoffs, losing to North Dakota State in the final minute.

You already know that Iowa QB C.J. Beathard's uncle, Kurt, is Illinois State's offensive coordinator. At least I hope you do. I wrote about it and everything.

You also know the Redbirds will be quarterbacked by Tre Roberson, a former Indiana Hoosier who generated nearly 300 yards of offense against the Hawkeyes in a 2011 start as a true freshman.

Here's the Kurt Beathard quote that I thought said it all for both schools going into that meeting: 'We know how important it is on both sides of the ball. They can't afford to lose and we'd love to win.”

Yep.

Iowa now has six kickoffs spoken for. A couple of things: Why isn't the kickoff for the North Texas game figured out? No biggie, just thought it was odd. Of course, you know that's a homecoming for North Texas coach Dan McCarney, an Iowa City native, former Hawkeye player, assistant coach and Iowa State head coach. And are we getting closer and closer to knowing all of the kickoff times before a season starts? Maybe, but I don't think that can be nailed down. If you're a TV network, you want some flex. The 10-day window for 11 or 2:30 leaves room to showcase teams that rise. (Let's put Minnesota vs. Nebraska in that category this year. Can Minnesota keep it going? What's Nebraska going to be under Mike Riley, except far out and environmentally conscious?)

Iowa at Iowa State will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. The game will be televised on Fox, the national Fox and not that FoxSports1 (or however you spell it).

Other kick times:

- Iowa will play host to two primetime games at Kinnick Stadium, including a nonconference contest against Pittsburgh (Sept. 19) and a Big Ten Conference game against Minnesota (Nov. 14). Both contests start at 7 p.m. and will be televised on BTN.

- Iowa's homecoming game against Illinois on Oct. 10 will start at 11 a.m. (CT). The game, which will be the first between the two teams in Iowa City since 2007, will be televised on BTN, ABC, or an ESPN network (ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU). Iowa holds an all-time Homecoming record of 56-42-5, including a 5-5-2 mark versus Illinois. Iowa defeated Indiana, 45-29, in its 2014 Homecoming game.

- Iowa will be the opponent for the Northwestern homecoming game on Oct. 17. That contest in Evanston, Ill., also will have an 11 a.m. (CT) start time and will be televised on BTN, ABC, or an ESPN network.

I like how the Big Ten and BTN have used the rolling out of TV times as little ins to stay in the news during the offseason. Football and when football is on TV always are kind of big deals, but become really big deals, at least to me, during the horse latitudes.

Iowa's 2015 kickoff times

Sep. 5

Illinois State RedBirds (Kinnick Stadium) - 11 a.m. (Big Ten Network)

Sep. 12

at Iowa State Cyclones (Jack Trice Stadium, Ames) - 3:30 (Fox)

Sep. 19

Pittsburgh Panthers (Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City) - 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

Sep. 26

North Texas Mean Green (Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City) - TBA

Oct. 3

at Wisconsin Badgers (Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wis.) - TBA

Oct. 10

Illinois Fighting Illini (Kinnick Stadium) - 11 a.m. (BTN, ABC, or ESPN network)

Oct. 17

at Northwestern Wildcats (Ryan Field, Evanston, Ill.) - 11 a.m. (BTN, ABC, or ESPN network)

Oct. 24

--- Open Date ---

Oct. 31

Maryland Terrapins (Kinnick Stadium) - TBA

Nov. 7

at Indiana Hoosiers (Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.) - TBA

Nov. 14

Minnesota Golden Gophers (Kinnick Stadium) - 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

Nov. 21

Purdue Boilermakers (Kinnick Stadium) - TBA

Nov. 27 (Friday)

at Nebraska Cornhuskers (Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb.) - TBA

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com