A segment of Urban Meyer breaking down RPOs was one of the highlights of the show's debutFOX SPORTS
The debut of Fox' "Big Noon Kickoff" Saturday college football show was "certainly tolerable enough to attract casual viewership," but after one episode, "nothing ... suggests it will be a must-watch," according to Richard Deitsch of THE ATHLETIC. The "best thing" about the show was Urban Meyer "explaining run/pass options (RPOs) during a five-minute segment." However, there should be "skepticism for everything Meyer says outside of an X&Os explanation." Having Meyer interview Ohio State coach Ryan Day was "embarrassing." The segment "should have been slapped with a giant infomercial tag" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/3). THE BIG LEAD's Liam McKeone wrote Meyer "started off slowly, but his potential as an analyst was clear during their spread offense segment." He "didn’t do as well in their traditional discussion segment, though." Reggie Bush was "solid if unspectacular." While Matt Leinart "really blended into the background." But out of all the analysts, Brady Quinn "shined brightest." He gave "succinct analysis and seemed the most comfortable under the glaring lights of a TV studio." The show has "a lot of potential." Host Rob Stone "could probably do a bit of a better job keeping everyone in their comfort zones" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 8/31). The ATHLETIC's John Walters writes Meyer was a "charismatic and insightful presence." Leinart has "blossomed into the resident straight-shooter," while Bush was "a little stiff." Stone is a "deft ringmaster" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/3).
CENTER OF ATTENTION: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Joe Lucia noted "so much of the focus" of "Big Noon Kickoff" is on the noon ET game. A "handful of other games were briefly mentioned during panel discussions, with minimal conversation about them," while "none of the games from Thursday or Friday were recapped." A college football fan "tuning in for a general preview show likely came away disappointed," because what they instead got over the roughly 40 minutes of the show was a "whole lot of Ohio State content and cursory discussions" about other Saturday games. "Big Noon Kickoff" is the "Urban Meyer show." It seemed like he "got more speaking time than any of the other panelists" in discussion segments, "perhaps even more" than Stone (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 9/2). McClatchy political columnist Andrew Malcolm tweeted, "I'm REALLY liking Fox's new Big Noon Kickoff team. ... They really know their stuff & explain well. Recommended." But former Forbes editor Will Meade posted, "Big Noon Kickoff on Fox is absolutely terrible. #GameDay has nothing to worry about" (TWITTER.com, 8/31).
