Cropped photo of Michigan Stadium by Wikipedia author Lectrician2 under Creative Commons license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

Fresno State Athletics announced a primetime platform Monday for the upcoming Fresno State-Michigan football game.

The Big Ten and NBC will broadcast the Bulldogs season opener against the reigning national champion on Aug. 31.

Fresno State will be making history — it is the first time the program has had a game televised on NBC.

Fresno State has been showcased on a major broadcast network before, playing games on FOX in 2022 and 2023.

This will also be Michigan and Fresno State’s first meeting. Michigan is coming off a 15-0 2023 season and is the reigning national champion. The Bulldogs will travel to Ann Arbor to play in the “big house.” Michigan Stadium is the largest stadium in the nation — its official capacity is 107,601, but it has hosted crowds of over 115,000.

The 2024 opener will be the first time in the college football playoff (CFP) era that the Bulldogs will face the defending national champion. The last time the Bulldogs faced the defending national champion was in 2005 with USC.

Fresno State last faced the defending national champion in the season opener in 1927, losing 44-7. Stanford was the 1926 co-national champion, along with Alabama.