Trying to figure out how to watch Ohio State Saturday

A large number of Ohio State fans could miss the season opener for Chris Wells and the Buckeyes. Jeff Mills/Icon SMI

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Personally, my college football viewing experience Saturday won't be all that affected by whether or not I can see the Ohio State-Youngstown State game. I can imagine, however, that it's a slightly more pressing concern for all those Buckeyes fans in Ohio, who, like millions of others around the country this weekend, can't wait to see their team in action for the first time this season.

The OSU-YSU tilt is one of six games Saturday -- including Michigan and Penn State's openers as well -- being shown on the brand-new Big Ten Network, which, as you've probably read by now, is having a tough time finding its way on to the nation's cable providers. The Big Ten and Comcast, the Midwest's biggest provider, have engaged in a particularly nasty spitting war, with the conference accusing the company of insulting its fans by refusing to carry the channel on its basic lineup, and Comcast likening the network's president, Mark Silverman, to a used-car dealer. Earlier this week, Comcast even pulled its sponsorship from a Minnesota Gophers kickoff luncheon being hosted by the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. Apparently that's how high-powered business negotiations take place these days.

None of that is of particular concern to the average Buckeyes fan, however. He just wants to see Chris Wells tote that football this Saturday. So, I decided do a little role-playing experiment. I put myself in the shoes of Mr. Buckeye -- who, for the sake of this hypothetical, doesn't currently subscribe to DirecTV, the one sure way to see the Big Ten Network -- and went about trying to figure out how the heck to see this game.

My first stop was the official Web site of The Big Ten Network, which carries a banner right across the top that says: "Don't Miss Any Games: Call 1-866-WANT-B10." Perfect -- I'll just call the number and sign up for the network.

You can imagine my surprise, however, when my call got answered by nationally renowned sportscaster Thom Brennamen. Eight months ago, Brennamen's familiar voice served as the soundtrack to Ian Johnson's game-winning Statue of Liberty run in the Fiesta Bowl. "They hand it off to Johnson!" still rings in my head sometimes. Yet here was that same voice on a recorded hotline telling me: "This is Thom Brennaman from the Big Ten Network. We're working hard to make sure Big Ten fans don't miss any games, but we may need your help ... I'll need a little information to help get you started. If you are a cable customer, press '1' now."

I'm sorry -- did Thom Brennamen just tell me to "press '1' now?" Am I being Punk'd? Apparently not. After pressing "1," Brennamen, who in his new role will be calling this Saturday's Michigan-Appalachian State game, proceeded to ask for my five-digit zip code. This is the one part where I had to veer from the script a little. I entered my mom's zip code in Cincinnati. She wouldn't know Chris Wells from David Wells, but that's beside the point. Brennamen's voice promptly returned to deliver some bad news.

"Unfortunately, your local cable company does not plan to make the Big Ten Network available to your community," he said. "You have 70 choices on basic cable. The Big Ten Network should be one of them."

If you say so, Thom.

He then offered to connect me for free to my cable company, in this case Time Warner (which, in the interest of full disclosure, is owned by the same parent company as SI.com), in order that I could voice my displeasure. I probably could have found the number myself, but as long as you're offering, Thom --- sure, why not.

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