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College Football: 10 biggest storylines heading into 2017

By Andrew Hammond

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers (L) and linebacker Ben Boulware
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers (L) and linebacker Ben Boulware /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 29: A Fox Sports camera is used to broadcast the Utah Utes, Washington Huskies, NCAA football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on October 29, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 29: A Fox Sports camera is used to broadcast the Utah Utes, Washington Huskies, NCAA football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on October 29, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) /

4. The FOX vs. ESPN TV wars

For years, ESPN/ABC has ruled the college football roost but for the first time since 1990, that

change for the first time in a very long time as FOX continues to make gains on the “Worldwide Leader”. In 2017, FOX will showcase the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 games on FOX and FS1.

This Summer, FOX planted their flag atop the college football’s TV mountain with going to a much heavier Big Ten slate of games starting this season. The biggest of these is the Ohio State-Michigan game which will be shown on FOX in 2017, making it the first time that “The Game” isn’t shown on an ESPN/ABC broadcast since 1986.

The move by FOX to grab a “staple” of ESPN’s rivalry games is nothing new, in 2016 it was FOX who broadcasted the Oklahoma-Texas game from Dallas.

While ESPN still has the rights to all of the New Year’s Six bowls, it’s clear that FOX is starting to take college football more seriously. So serious that for the first time in a very long time, someone is challenging ESPN/ABC in all of the major college football game windows so Saturday’s this fall are going to require more TVs for the first time in a long time.

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