If you’re looking for the West Virginia-Kansas football game, put down the remote control. This one won’t be found via conventional viewing methods.
Saturday’s game is West Virginia’s first foray into Big 12 Now, the Big 12’s new partnership with the ESPN+ online streaming service. The channel is not part of any standard cable package and available only with a $4.99 a month subscription through ESPN.com.
In the long term, conference officials hope to put the league in a better position than peers like the Pac-12 and ACC who have had trouble getting certain cable providers to pick up their networks. In the short term, though, fans will undoubtedly have some headaches adjusting to the new service.
The Big 12 opener between the Mountaineers (2-1) and Jayhawks (2-1) is a surprisingly appealing matchup. Both teams rebounded from disappointing Week 2 performances for emphatic wins in Week 3. Kansas won its first road game over a Power 5 opponent since 2008, bouncing Boston College 48-24. Meanwhile, West Virginia smashed North Carolina State 44-27 after sitting near the bottom of the country in rushing through its first two games.