ESPN has selected six Big Ten Conference college football games for prime-time telecasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 in 2012. Each game includes at least one team in an early ESPN.com preseason poll for 2012, highlighted by five between ranked programs. Five of the games will begin at 8 p.m. ET with one kicking off at 6 p.m. Additional telecasts will be announced.
- The first two Big Ten prime-time telecasts will involve Michigan State, defending Big Ten Legends Division champion, hosting nonconference opponents:
- A first-ever meeting with Boise State of the Mountain West on Friday, Aug. 31, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
- The 76th showdown against Notre Dame, which holds a 46-28-1 series lead, on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 8 p.m. on ABC.
- Defending Big Ten Champion Wisconsin, which defeated Michigan State in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, will visit Nebraska Saturday, Sept. 29, at 8 p.m. on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. Wisconsin defeated Nebraska 48-17 last year in Nebraska’s first conference game as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
- The matchup between Ohio State and Penn State, two Big Ten programs with new head coaches, will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. Ohio State is led by two-time BCS National Champion Urban Meyer while Penn State is coached by former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, the school’s first new head coach in 46 years.
- An ESPN network will televise Nebraska at Ohio State on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m. Nebraska won last year’s meeting 34-27, giving the Cornhuskers its first win over a Big Ten foe in its second game as a member of the conference.
- Michigan, coming off an 11-2 season and Allstate Sugar Bowl victory, will visit Nebraska for the first time since 1911, a 6-6 tie with the Cornhuskers, on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Fri, Aug 31 | 8 p.m. | No. 21 Boise State at No. 9 Michigan State | ESPN |
| Sat, Sep 15 | 8 p.m. | No. 24 Notre Dame at No. 9 Michigan State | ABC |
| Sat, Sep 29 | 8 p.m. | No. 18 Wisconsin at No. 17 Nebraska | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Sat, Oct 6 | 8 p.m. | No. 17 Nebraska at No. 16 Ohio State | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Sat, Oct 27 | 6 p.m. | No. 16 Ohio State at Penn State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 8 p.m. | No. 14 Michigan at No. 17 Nebraska | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
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