3 possible kickoff times announced for upcoming Gophers, Illinois battle

Minnesota could have another night game next week.

Nov 4, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema reacts to a holding call during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Big Ten has released its kickoff times and network designations for Week 10. The Gophers do not yet have a time or network, but it looks like their matchup against Illinois is still up from prime-time discussions.

Week 🔟 kick times and network designations 👀

𝘛𝘉𝘋𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬 9 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴. #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/QkXWWyOJnu

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 21, 2024

Ohio State against Penn State will be played during the FOX Big Noon Kickoff window; Oregon against Michigan has taken the CBS 2:30 p.m. CT slot; but the primetime NBC window is unaccounted for. Minnesota's road matchup against Illinois and Wisconsin's rivalry contest against Iowa are the only two games that could be a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff, so it'll be one or the other.

Illinois is one of the surprises in the Big Ten this season. They are all alone in fourth place with a 3-1 conference record and 6-1 record overall. They will face their toughest test of the season this week on the road against No. 1 Oregon.

If the Fighting Illini pull off the upset and Minnesota gets past Maryland, it's almost a guarantee that the Big Ten would want Illinois in the prime-time spot. Wisconsin will face No. 3 Penn State this weekend and Iowa will host Northwestern. The result of this week's games will have an impact on the time slots of next week's games.

No matter when next week's tilt between Minnesota and Illinois kicks off, the Gophers will be looking for their first win over head coach Brett Bielema, who is a combined 9-0 against Minnesota between his time at Wisconsin and Illinois.