BTN Communications, June 6, 2017

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BTN today announced its schedule for the first three weeks of the 2017 college football season, featuring 16 non-conference matchups that include the defending Big Ten Champion Penn State Nittany Lions as well as Michigan and Wisconsin teams that finished last season ranked in the Associated Press top 10.

BTN kicks off the season on Thursday, August 31, at 7 p.m. ET when P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers host Buffalo at TCF Bank Field. Four games follow on Saturday, Sept. 2, including a matchup between Iowa and Wyoming that will pit Butkus Award finalist Josey Jewell and the Hawkeyes defense against the Cowboys? highly-touted quarterback Josh Allen. The Nebraska Cornhuskers close out the day and begin their season under the lights in Memorial Stadium against Arkansas State.

Week two is home to five more games on BTN, led by perennial Big Ten West contender Wisconsin hosting Florida Atlantic and new head coach Lane Kiffin. Michigan State will also look to get its season off to a strong start with a win over a Western Michigan squad that finished No. 15 in last season?s AP Top 25.

Week three features a packed Saturday with six games, as reigning Big Ten Champion Penn State makes its debut on BTN in primetime against Georgia State. The Michigan Wolverines, which ended their 2016-17 campaign with an Orange Bowl appearance, will open the day at noon ET in Ann Arbor against Air Force.

BTN?s full schedule for the first three weeks is below, and the remainder of the season?s television schedule will be announced six to 12 days prior to the broadcast date.

All games can also be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices on BTN2Go, BTN?s digital extension.

BTN 2017 Football Schedule to date (subject to change):

Week 1
Date Time (ET) Matchup
Thursday, Aug. 31 7:00 p.m. Buffalo at Minnesota
Saturday, Sept. 2 Noon Wyoming at Iowa
Noon Ball State at Illinois
3:30 p.m. Nevada at Northwestern
8:00 p.m. Arkansas State at Nebraska
Week 2
Date Time (ET) Matchup
Saturday, Sept. 9 Noon Florida Atlantic at Wisconsin
Noon Towson at Maryland
3:30 p.m. Western Michigan at Michigan State
3:30 p.m. Eastern Michigan at Rutgers
8 p.m. Western Kentucky at Illinois
Week 3
Date Time (ET) Matchup
Saturday, Sept. 16 Noon Air Force at Michigan
3:30 p.m. Middle Tennessee State at Minnesota
3:30 p.m. Florida International at Indiana
3:30 p.m. Morgan State at Rutgers
7:30 p.m. Georgia State at Penn State
7:30 p.m. Bowling Green at Northwestern