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Pac-12 early broadcast schedule announced

The Pac-12 and its broadcast partners announced the results of its draft of early-season football games for 2012 this afternoon.

Here are the 12 games that will be on ABC, ESPN or ESPN 2. Note: Lots more will be added later in the season.

Some notes:

  • The Pac-12 slate kicks off with the 2011 Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champion Oregon hosting Arkansas State on Sept. 1. Chip Kelly and Gus Malzahn face off for the first time since they met in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game when Malzahn was the offensive coordinator for Auburn.

  • Also on Sept. 1, ESPNU will telecast a pair of new head coaches as Matt Campbell and the Toledo Rockets travel to Tucson, Ariz., to face Rich Rodriguez and the Arizona Wildcats.

  • Notable rivalry coverage: The "Holy War" (BYU at Utah), the Territorial Cup (Arizona State at Arizona) and the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football (Notre Dame at USC).

  • Arizona State appears in back-to-back Thursday games at Colorado and hosting Oregon.

  • Preseason top-5 teams USC and Oregon both play Thursday night games on the road.

  • Note this is only Pac-12 home games. For example, California's trip to Ohio State on Sept. 15 will be on ABC at noon ET.

  • Further, Washington's game at LSU on Sept. 8 was not included in this announcement as it is also a road game. The SEC and its TV partners will announce the start time and television arrangements at a later date. Same with Arizona State's visit to Missouri on Sept. 15.

The Fox schedule looks like this (all times ET):

Sept. 1

Colorado vs. Colorado State, 4 p.m., FX

Hawaii at USC, 7:30 p.m., FOX

Sept. 8

Wisconsin at Oregon State, 4 p.m. FX

Nebraska at UCLA, 7:30, FOX

Sept. 15

Portland State at Washington, 4 p.m., FX

USC at Stanford, 7:30 p.m., FOX

Nov. 23

Washington vs. Washington State, 3:30 p.m., Fox/FX

Utah at Colorado, TBA

Nov. 30

Pac-12 championship game, FOX

As for the new Pac-12 Network, which will begin broadcasting on Aug. 15, it will open its initial college football season by airing 15 games in the first three weeks of the 2012 season and, with the addition of the California at USC game in week 4, will televise at least one game from each Pac-12 team during the first four weeks. In total, 35 games will be on the Pac-12 Network.

Here's the slate for the Pac-12 Network and its regional networks.

Aug. 30 (all times ET)

Northern Colorado at Utah, 7:15 p.m.

Northern Arizona at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m.

Sept. 1

Nevada at California, 3 p.m.

Nicholls State at Oregon State, 3 p.m.

San Diego State at Washington, 10:30 p.m.

Sept. 8

Southern Utah at California, 3 p.m.

Eastern Washington at Washington State, 3 p.m.

Sacramento State at Colorado, 3 p.m.

Fresno State at Oregon, 6:30 p.m.

Oklahoma State at Arizona, 10:30 p.m.

Duke at Stanford, 10:30 p.m.

Sept. 15

Tennessee Tech at Oregon, 3 p.m.

South Carolina State at Arizona, 10:30 p.m.

Houston at UCLA, 10:30 p.m.

(12- or six-day selection for each of the remaining Pac-12 home games)

Sept. 22

California at USC, TBA

From the Pac-12's press release:

The University of Utah will host the first football game on the Pac-12 Networks when Northern Colorado visits Rice-Eccles Stadium Thursday, August 30. Kickoff is set for 5:15 p.m. MT. The Pac-12 Networks targeted the Utes home opener as their historic first football game and requested a special start time to make it happen.

“Putting our first schedule together required a lot of flexibility and cooperation from all of our schools,” Stevenson said. “Utah was especially helpful by moving the start time of their home opener to give us a great doubleheader to launch our networks.”

Arizona State will be the second game of an opening night doubleheader when they kick-off the Todd Graham era at home against Northern Arizona at 7:30 p.m. PT. The first week will also feature the unveiling of Cal’s newly renovated Memorial Stadium Sept. 1 at 12:00 p.m. PT when the Bears host Nevada, as well as home openers for Oregon State and Washington.

The Pac-12 Networks will have six more games during week two, highlighted by two-time defending Conference champion Oregon hosting Fresno State, Oklahoma State’s visit to Tucson to face Rich Rodriguez’s Arizona Wildcats and the Pullman debut of head coach Mike Leach when Washington State hosts Eastern Washington.

In week 3, the Pac-12 Networks will have a triple header on Saturday, September 15 with Oregon hosting Tennessee Tech, UCLA and new head coach Jim Mora at home against Houston and South Carolina State visiting Arizona.

The Pac-12 Networks have picked Cal at USC Saturday, Sept. 22 as its initial game selection in week four. The remainder of the week four television schedule will be determined 6-to-12 days prior to the games.

Arizona, California, Oregon and Stanford each have two appearances during the first three weeks, while ASU, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington and Washington State have one. USC makes its debut on the networks the following week.