Indiana-Purdue Moved To Friday As Big Ten Reveals Some Football Dates, Game Times

Indiana football will play a pair of Friday night games, including the Old Oaken Bucket Game, as the Big Ten revealed TV networks and game times for several contests.

Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (13) runs the ball while Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Dillon Thieneman (31) defends in the first half at Memorial Stadium. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Friday night lights will be something Indiana football fans will have to get accustomed to for the 2025 season.

Indiana will play a pair of Friday night games in 2025, including the high profile Old Oaken Bucket Game against rival Purdue.

The Bucket Game, to be played at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium in 2025, will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 and be broadcast on NBC. That’s on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

The Bucket Game has only been played on a Friday once before in 1995. The 2024 edition at Memorial Stadium was also played at night, but on a Saturday.

Indiana will also play Indiana State on Friday, Sept. 12 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. That game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and will kick off at either 6:30 or 7 p.m.

The Big Ten typically waits until as late as it can to set kickoff times and network designations, and that is still true in several cases, but Indiana has several kickoff times and networks set already.

Indiana’s season opener against Old Dominion remains on Saturday, Aug. 30. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FS1.

Indiana’s second contest of the season against Kennesaw State will be at noon on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Memorial Stadium.

Indiana’s game at Iowa on Sept. 27 will be in the afternoon at noon, 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. Those game times have also been confirmed for Indiana’s Homecoming game against Michigan State on Oct. 18.

The remaining games on Indiana’s schedule have yet to have kickoff times determined.

Friday games can be a double-edged sword for football teams. While they get more exposure by having less competition on television, they also compete with other Friday entertainment options, including high school football in the case of the Sept. 12 game, and attendance sometimes suffers.

Here’s the full list of kickoff times and network designations released by the Big Ten on Thursday. Only games with confirmed or possible game times are listed.

Week 1
Thursday, Aug. 28
Ohio at Rutgers | BTN | 6 p.m. ET
Buffalo at Minnesota | FS1 | 8 p.m. ET
Nebraska vs. Cincinnati in Kansas City | ESPN | 9 p.m. ET
Miami (OH) at Wisconsin | BTN | 9 p.m. ET
Friday, Aug. 29
Western Michigan at Michigan State | FS1 | 7 p.m. ET
Western Illinois at Illinois | Peacock | 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Aug. 30
Texas at Ohio State | FOX | Noon ET
Ball State at Purdue | BTN | Noon ET
FAU at Maryland | BTN | Noon ET
Northwestern at Tulane | ESPNU | Noon ET
Old Dominion at Indiana | FS1 | 2:30 p.m. ET
Nevada at Penn State | CBS | 3:30 p.m. ET
Montana State at Oregon | BTN | 4 p.m. ET
Albany at Iowa | FS1 | 6 p.m. ET
New Mexico at Michigan | NBC | 7:30 p.m. ET
Missouri State at USC | BTN | 7:30 p.m. ET
Colorado State at Washington  | BTN | 11p.m. ET
Utah at UCLA | FOX | 11p.m. ET

Week 2
Friday, Sept. 5
NIU at Maryland | BTN | 7:30 p.m. ET
Western Illinois at Northwestern | BTN | 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 4
Kennesaw State at Indiana | FS1 | Noon ET
FIU at Penn State | BTN | Noon ET
Northwestern State at Minnesota | BTN | Noon ET
Iowa at Iowa State | FOX | Noon ET
Illinois at Duke | ABC or ESPN | Noon ET
Oklahoma State at Oregon | CBS | 3:30 p.m. ET
Grambling State at Ohio State | BTN | 3:30 p.m. ET
Miami (OH) at Rutgers | Peacock | 3:30 p.m. ET
MTSU at Wisconsin | FS1 | 4 p.m. ET
Southern Illinois at Purdue | BTN | 7:30 p.m. ET
Boston College at Michigan State | NBC | 7:30 p.m. ET
Akron at Nebraska | BTN | 7:30 p.m. ET
Michigan at Oklahoma | ABC | 7:30 p.m. ET
Georgia Southern at USC | FS1 | 7:30 p.m. ET
UCLA at UNLV | CBS Sports Network | 8 p.m. ET
UC Davis at Washington | BTN | 11 p.m. ET

Week 3
Friday, Sept. 12
Indiana State at Indiana | BTN | 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 13
Oregon at Northwestern | FOX | Noon ET
Wisconsin at Alabama | ABC or ESPN | Noon ET
Houston Christian at Nebraska | FS1 | Noon ET
CMU at Michigan | BTN | Noon ET
Towson at Maryland | Peacock | Noon ET
Villanova at Penn State | FS1 | 3:30 p.m. ET
Norfolk State at Rutgers | BTN | 3:30 p.m. ET
Youngstown State at Michigan State | BTN | 3:30 p.m. ET
USC at Purdue | CBS | 3:30 p.m. ET
Ohio at Ohio State | Peacock | 7 p.m. ET
Western Michigan at Illinois | FS1 | 7 p.m. ET
UMass at Iowa | BTN | 7:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota at Cal | ESPN | 10:30 p.m. ET

Week 4
Friday, Sept. 19
Iowa at Rutgers | FOX | 8 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 20
Michigan at Nebraska | CBS | 3:30 p.m. ET
Purdue at Notre Dame | NBC | 3:30 p.m. ET
Washington at Washington State | CBS | 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 27
Oregon at Penn State | NBC | 7:30 p.m. ET
Indiana at Iowa | Network TBD | Noon ET or 3:30 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET

Week 5
Saturday, Oct. 4
Louisiana Monroe at Northwestern | Network TBD | Noon ET or 3:30 p.m. ET
Michigan State at Nebraska | Network TBD | Noon ET or 3:30 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET

Week 6
Friday, Oct. 10
Rutgers at Washington | FS1 | 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, Oct. 11
Northwestern at Penn State | Network TBD | Noon ET or 3:30 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET (HC)
Purdue at Minnesota | Network TBD | 7 p.m. ET

Week 7
Friday, Oct. 17
Nebraska at Minnesota | FOX | 8 p.m. ET
Saturday, Oct. 18
Oregon at Rutgers | Network TBD | 6:30 p.m. ET or 7 p.m. ET
Michigan State at Indiana | Network TBD | Noon ET or 3:30 p.m./4 p.m. ET
USC at Notre Dame | NBC | 7:30 p.m. ET

Week 8
Saturday, Oct. 25
Rutgers at Purdue | Network TBD | Noon ET (HC)

Week 10
Friday, Nov. 7
Northwestern at USC | FOX | 9 p.m. ET

Week 11
Friday, Nov. 14
Minnesota at Oregon | FOX | 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, Nov. 15
Iowa at USC | Network TBD | 3 p.m. ET or 3:30 p.m. ET

Week 13
Friday, Nov. 28
Iowa at Nebraska | CBS | Noon ET
Indiana at Purdue | NBC | 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Nov. 29
Ohio State at Michigan | FOX | Noon ET

Conference championship
Saturday, Dec. 6
Big Ten Football Championship Game at Indianapolis | FOX | 8 p.m. ET

Related stories on Indiana football

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: Everything Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said at Huber's on Wednesday. CLICK HERE.

• CFP CHANGES SEEDING ... ONE YEAR LATE FOR HOOSIERS: The College Football Playoff changed its seeding procedure for the 2025 CFP. Had it been used in 2024, Indiana would have benefitted. CLICK HERE.

• INDIANA FOOTBALL RECRUITING: How well is Indiana doing? Depends on how you look at it. CLICK HERE.