ESPN Takes Wild Western Kentucky-Old Dominion Famous Toastery Bowl Off Main Channel During Overtime

ESPN got a dream college football game on Monday afternoon. On paper, Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion in the Famous Toastery Bowl doesn't seem all that great.

However, we're talking about live football game on a Monday afternoon in the middle of December. For avid sports fans, the pickings are slim.

The game started terribly for the network, as Old Dominion raced to a 28-0 lead in what looked like a sure blowout. Western Kentucky could not possibly have done anything worse in the first 15 minutes of the game.

Check out the drive chart:

Drive chart for the first quarter (and some change) of the Famous Toastery Bowl between Western Kentucky and Old Dominion (Screenshot: ESPN)

I mean, wow. Three turnovers and four touchdowns allowed for Western Kentucky.

Even people who bet on the game probably tuned out at that point.

But if they did, they missed an absolutely wild second half.

Western Kentucky cut the deficit to two touchdowns on their first drive of the second half. But, Old Dominion scored with just over three minutes left in the third quarter to push the lead back three touchdowns (35-21).

Old Dominion Monarchs took a massive first-half lead over Western Kentucky Hilltoppers during the Famous Toastery Bowl on ESPN. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)

At this point, you'd still be hard-pressed to find too many people interested in sticking around on ESPN.

When the fourth quarter started, Western Kentucky trailed by 21 points.

Western Kentucky mounts fourth-quarter comeback against Old Dominion in the Famous Toastery Bowl

WKU scored a touchdown early in the frame, forced an Old Dominion turnover and then scored again. Seven-point lead for Old Dominion.

After a quick three-and-out by Old Dominion, the Hilltoppers had a chance to tie the game. But, Western Kentucky turned the ball over for the FIFTH time in the game.

This one surely iced the game, right?

Wrong. Old Dominion couldn't get a first down, so they sent their field goal team out. And Western Kentucky BLOCKED the kick, keeping their hopes alive.

The Hilltoppers quickly moved the ball down the field and inside the Old Dominion 10-yard line. But, disaster struck again. Old Dominion sacked WKU quarterback Caden Veltkamp for a 10-yard loss on third-and-goal.

Western Kentucky faced fourth-and-goal from the 15-yard line. You can probably guess what happened next.

I mean, c'mon. As the kids say, "this game was drunk."

So, the two teams headed to overtime. Obviously, with news circulating that the game got a lot closer and Western Kentucky had a chance to tie, people tuned to ESPN to see the ending.

ESPN makes incredibly bizarre programming decision

With Old Dominion facing third down on the first possession of overtime, the network moved the game to ESPN 2.

Clearly, they had to switch off a wild overtime college football game to make room for some breaking news, right?

Wrong, again. No, ESPN moved the Famous Toastery Bowl -- a game that they own, by the way -- off of their main channel to air Sunday NFL Countdown ... two hours before the kickoff of Monday Night Football.

College football fans lost their minds...

So, some people might have missed the ending. Here's what happened:

Old Dominion got stopped on three-straight plays at the goal line. They lined up to go for it on fourth down, but committed a false start.

They sent out the field goal team. And...

Shortly after, WKU lined up for a game-winning field goal.

An absolute barn-burner of a football game. And ESPN decided that an NFL pregame show took precedence.

Wild turn of events, on all counts.