Thanks to a push from ESPN, Ohio State and Virginia Tech will now play on Sept. 6 instead of Sept. 20, 2014, Ohio State announced Thursday.
A press release sent out by Ohio State explained how ESPN pitched the idea of a Sept. 6 game that would be nationally-televised, either in the 3:30 p.m. (EST) or primetime window that night. Ohio State originally had Sept. 6 marked as a bye week, while it was an open weekend for Virginia Tech.
The 2015 Ohio State-Virginia Tech in Blacksburg will be a night game on Labor Day, another move to get the game nationally televised on ESPN. That contest was originally scheduled for Sept. 26, 2015.
Now might be a good time to re-visit this New York Times article on ESPN’s influence in college football scheduling.