College Football: Week 5 announcer pairings
By Tim Kaiser
You love them, or you love to hate them. Find out which announcer pairings are calling the marquee college football games in Week 5.
There might be one game at the front of everyone’s mind, but Week 5 has some great games up and down the schedule. Fans will get the opportunity to see three games played within the Top 10 and another Top 25 matchup in 24 hours. The announcer crews have the tall task of rising to the level of these compelling contests.
Things get started with a bang under the Friday night lights with No. 7 Stanford heading to No. 10 Washington. Not only will the Pac-12 get some well-deserved primetime air to themselves, we will get to see if Washington really is a team on the rise if they are able to knock off the reigning kings of the Pac-12 North. Throw in Joe Tessitore, flanked by Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe, and you have a recipe for an instant classic.
Once you have recovered from Friday night and have warmed up with some noonish college football, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 4 Michigan kickoff on ABC. Steve Levy is on the call fresh off the World Cup of Hockey. Dave Flemming is his alternate, but seeing as how Canada finished things quickly in the Final, Levy should be available.
No. 11 Tennessee will be featured in the SEC Game of the Week on CBS for the second straight week. Coming off their monumental, come-from-behind win over the rival Florida Gators, the Vols go on the road to play No. 25 Georgia.
And of course the game everyone is waiting for, No. 3 Louisville at No. 5 Clemson, is holding down GameDay and the primetime ABC slot. Kirk Herbstreit and Samantha Ponder get the luxury of not having to jump on a plane after Corso slaps on the headgear, unlike last week.
Friday
No. 7 Stanford at No. 10 Washington 9 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Joe Tessitore
- Color Commentator: Todd Blackledge
- Sideline Reporter: Holly Rowe
Saturday
No. 22 Texas at Oklahoma State- 12 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Mike Patrick
- Color Commentator: Ed Cunningham
- Sideline Reporter: Jerry Punch
No. 13 Baylor at Iowa State- 12 p.m. ET
- Network: FS1
- Play-by-Play: Tim Brando
- Color Commentator: Spencer Tillman
- Sideline Reporter: Bruce Feldman
No. 8 Wisconsin at No. 4 Michigan- 3:30 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Steve Levy
- Color Commentator: Brian Griese
- Sideline Reporter: Todd McShay
North Carolina at No. 12 Florida State- 3:30 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Mark Jones
- Color Commentator: Rod Gilmore
- Sideline Reporter: Quint Kessenich
No. 11 Tennessee at No. 25 Georgia – 3:30 p.m. ET
- Network: CBS
- Play-by-Play: Verne Lundquist
- Color Commentator: Gary Danielson
- Sideline Reporter: Allie LaForce
Oklahoma at No. 21 TCU- 5 p.m. ET
- Network: FOX
- Play-by-Play: Gus Johnson
- Color Commentator: Joel Klatt
- Sideline Reporter: Shannon Spake
Missouri at LSU- 7:30 p.m. ET
- Network: SEC Network
- Play-by-Play: Brent Musberger
- Color Commentator: Jesse Palmer
- Sideline Reporter: Kaylee Hartung
No. 3 Louisville at No. 5 Clemson- 8 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Chris Fowler
- Color Commentator: Kirk Herbstreit
- Sideline Reporter: Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi
No. 17 Michigan State at Indiana- 8 p.m. ET
- Network: Big Ten Network
- Play-by-Play: Eric Collins
- Color Commentator: Glen Mason
Announcer pairings courtesy of Daniel Ormsby of Eye on Sky and Air Sports.