Originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20, Northwestern’s mid-season, non-conference matchup with Eastern Michigan at Detroit’s Ford Field has been moved up to 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19.

The reason? Not TV, according to an Eastern Michigan spokesman, but high school football.

According to the spokesman, the Wildcats-Eagles game was pushed ahead because of the Detroit Catholic High School League’s playoffs.

Representatives for Ford Field and the Catholic League could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon, but a schedule released on the Catholic League’s Web site said the league’s Prep Bowl is scheduled for Oct. 20.

A TV carrier for the game has yet to be determined, the spokesman said, with Eastern Michigan’s games typically being broadcast locally by Comcast. ESPN will carry the Louisville-Connecticut game that evening.

The newly created Big Ten Network is a possibility, though nobody at the network could be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

The game will be the fourth straight year Eastern Michigan takes on an opponent in Ford Field for the Collegiate Clash.

Last season the Eagles lost 49-21 to Navy. The previous two games were against Mid-American Conference opponents.

NU beat Eastern Michigan 14-6 last season in Evanston. The Cats’ last visit to Ford Field was a 28-24 loss to Bowling Green in the 2003 Motor City Bowl.

Eastern Michigan is coached by former NU assistant Jeff Genyk.

– Patrick Dorsey