Big Ten Network to Televise Three College Football Games October 27

Five conference teams to appear on network next Saturday

October 15, 2007, CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network will carry three college football games involving Big Ten teams on Saturday, October 27. The games kick off at noon ET: Purdue (5-2) vs. Northwestern (4-3); Wisconsin (5-2) vs. Indiana (5-2); and Illinois (5-2) vs. Ball State (4-3).

All five of those Big Ten teams could be bowl-eligible or could need a victory that day to be become bowl-eligible. The Wisconsin Badgers, Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini received votes in this week's top 25.

The Northwestern-Purdue game could become a shootout as the conference's top two passing quarterbacks square off in West Lafayette. Northwestern's C.J. Bacher has thrown for 990 yards in his last two games and has won or shared Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors each of the last two weeks. Purdue's Curtis Painter leads the league with 19 touchdown passes and has passed for 1,923 yards, second only to Bacher.

Wisconsin is led offensively by sophomore running back P.J. Hill, who has scored at least one touchdown in 16 of his 20 games as a Badger, and junior tight end Travis Beckum, with a team-high 46 receptions. The Badgers will need to find a way to stop Indiana's vaunted pass rush. The Hoosiers have 32 sacks.

Illinois will take a break from the grind of the Big Ten to face Ball State. The Illini have been one of the best stories in the Big Ten. After winning just four games over the last two years, head coach Ron Zook has guided Illinois to a 5-2 start and the brink of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2001.

Through distribution partnerships with DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight Communications, Wide Open West, RCN, AT&T U-Verse and more than 150 other cable operators, the Big Ten Network became the first new network in cable or satellite television history to reach 30 million homes in its first 30 days. In fact, no other new cable or satellite network has surpassed 30 million homes in its first year, and only five others have achieved that milestone within their first two years.

About the Big Ten Network:
The Big Ten Network, dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions, launched August 30, 2007. The network provides unprecedented access to an extensive schedule of conference sports events and shows; original programs in academics, the arts and sciences; campus activities; and associated personalities. Sports programming includes live coverage of more major men's and women's events than ever before, along with news, highlights and analysis, all complemented by hours of university-produced campus programming. The network is available to all cable companies, with most programs offered in stunning high-definition television (HDTV). The Big Ten Network is a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks.

For more information regarding the Big Ten Network, visit www.BigTenNetwork.com.

Source: Big Ten Network

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