BTN.com staff, November 30, 2011
BTN?s wall-to-wall coverage of the Big Ten?s inaugural football conference championship (#B1GFCG) begins Friday, as the Michigan State Spartans prepare to take on the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Coverage will kick off at 4 p.m. ET as Mike Hall hosts live coverage of the press conferences for Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema as well as key players from both teams. Rick Pizzo and analysts Derek Rackley and Tim Doyle will host a new episode of The Pulse at 6:30 p.m. ET.
At 7 p.m. ET, BTN will replay the epic Oct. 22 matchup between the two teams when Michigan State upset Wisconsin, 37-31. Kirk Cousins? 44-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Keith Nichol on the game?s final play was the difference in this memorable classic. The win dashed Wisconsin?s national title hopes and propelled Michigan State into the conference championship race.
Then at 9 p.m. ET, Dave Revsine, Hall, Howard Griffith, Gerry DiNardo and Glen Mason will host a full 60-minute preview on a special edition of the Big Ten Football Report from Lucas Oil Stadium. They will be joined on the set by Bielema and Dantonio.
Revsine, Griffith, DiNardo and Mason return at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday to answer fans? questions via Facebook and Twitter on a new episode of the interactive show, BTN Live. BTN Live will broadcast from Fan Fest inside the Indiana Convention Center.
The same quartet will be live at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Championship Pregame Show Saturday at 6:30 PM ET. Pizzo will join the BTN team in Indianapolis to provide viewers with arrival interviews and a behind the scenes glimpse at the championship game. The game will be broadcast live on FOX. Gus Johnson will call the action alongside analyst Charles Davis with Tim Brewster reporting from the sidelines. Immediately following the championship game, Revsine, DiNardo, Griffith and Mason will return for complete postgame coverage, analysis and interviews with coaches and players.
BTN will re-air the championship game at 9pm ET on Sunday night as the final installment of the Big Ten Game of the Week.
Finally, the season finale of Tailgate 48 will center on the weekend?s festivities. That episode will air at 10 PM ET on Thursday, Dec. 7.