Despite being down 10 at halftime and within a touchdown in the third quarter, the Ohio Bobcats were deemed unworthy of viewership during their eventual 37-9 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes at the "Shoe" on Saturday.
NBC's Peacock broadcasters, Chris Simms and Paul Burmeister, were dismissive of the Bobcats' comeback efforts, towing the company line and urging viewers to head over to NBC to watch the Texas A&M Aggies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
"Chris [Simms] and I would miss you if you left, but we would understand if you want to flip over to NBC," Burmeister said. "Heck of a game going on in South Bend."
"Why are you still listening to us?" Simms asked the viewers. "Go to the real NBC. It's company-on-company crime; we're OK with that. And that's a good one right there; we know this one's over.
"Even my mom changed the channel. My mom, Diana, changed the channel. She just texted me, she's like, 'We stopped watching.'"
Ohio earned the right to be watched, even if they didn't end up making it close in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers the week before and nearly beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Week 1.
There's not much more a MAC team could do, short of actually beating an explosive RU squad, to earn the right to be watched in an in-state rivalry game with the No. 1 team in the country. And the defending national champion, at that.
For those who did tune into the Aggies' 41-40 win at Notre Dame Stadium, a star was born with Marcel Reed, who went for 360 yards and had the game-winning touchdown toss to Nate Boerkircher for 11 yards with 13 seconds remaining.
For those who stuck around to see OU stuck at nine points, good for you on paying witness to the Buckeye State's finest. Peacock isn't free, after all.