Northwestern to play two Big Ten Friday night games in 2017

The Big Ten has announced its slate of 2017 Friday Night games, and Northwestern will be making two appearances: Oct. 13 at Maryland and Oct. 27 versus Michigan State.

Here’s the full schedule from the release:

Television information and starting times for these games are still to be determined.

Fitzgerald openly admitted that he did not like the conference’s decision to move to some Friday night games in his press conference Monday. Here’s what he had to say:

“I believe Fridays are for high school football first and foremost. I think playing on a short week is a mistake. I'd prefer to keep Big Ten football on Saturdays. I get it, doesn't mean I like it."

He added that he’s concerned about players missing class time and/or getting hurt if they play on a short week.

Fitzgerald also said he hopes these games would be the week after a bye.

According to the 2017 schedule, that will not be the case, though. The Wildcats host Penn State the Saturday before the Friday night game at Maryland, and they play Iowa before hosting Michigan State on the following Friday.

Northwestern is the only team in the conference to play two Friday night games, and the fact that they both come in the same month seems a bit excessive and certainly something Fitzgerald will not be a fan of.