MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — There's so much to not like about Friday night games in college football.
Friday night games cut off college teams from the local football ecosystem at its very root: Friday night high school football, preventing college coaches from scouting future players, of course, but also forcing countless fans to choose between supporting the hometown team, or the neighborhood one, with the latter, as it often should, winning out.
There are benefits, to be sure, from a college Friday night game, particularly for schools like Middle Tennessee in Conference USA. Where nearly every game in C-USA this Saturday was on ESPN+, a useful place to find them for the fans, but not so much the casual viewer, thousands more watched the Blue Raiders and the UTSA Roadrunners from home on Friday than would've otherwise.