College Football: Week 14 announcer pairings
By Tim Kaiser
Find out which announcer pairings will be working the biggest games of the year as conferences decide their champions across the country.
It is conference championship week in college football, so we have a slate of games of quality, if not quantity. The added bonus, beyond seeing what should be some of the best football of the year, is that the average quality of announcer will be at its highest point with fewer games to cover.
The Big Ten has the most intriguing College Football Playoff questions still swirling before Selection Sunday. The conference’s two highest ranked teams were both shut out of the conference championship game. College GameDay will be in Indianapolis Saturday morning — their second consecutive week showcasing the Big Ten. Fox’s lead announcer Gus Johnson will be on the call with Joel Klatt and sideline reporter Shannon Spake providing support.
ESPN will go head-to-head with the game their pregame show featured earlier in the day. The ACC Championship Game will broadcast on ABC starting at 8 p.m. ET. Kirk Herbstreit and Sam Ponder will have a slightly longer flight than they otherwise would have had to catch up with their play-by-play announcer, Chris Fowler, in Orlando. The game was moved from Charlotte because of North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2.
Verne Lundquist, one of the most revered announcers in the country, will work his final SEC Championship game on Saturday afternoon. Top-ranked Alabama and Florida meet in Atlanta for the second straight year. The Crimson Tide, who are already a lock for the playoff, look to win their third straight SEC title and fourth in five years.
The conference championship weekend actually gets started on Friday night. Western Michigan goes for an undefeated season in the MAC Championship game on ESPN. The Pac-12 will decide a champion on Fox.
This year’s Bedlam game has the added stakes of deciding the Big 12 race. The game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET, Saturday on Fox with announcer Tim Brando doing play-by-play.
Friday
MAC Championship: No. 17 Western Michigan vs. Ohio 7 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Adam Amin
- Color Commentator: Mack Brown
- Sideline Reporter: Molly McGrath
Pac-12 Championship: No. 8 Colorado vs. No. 4 Washington- 9 p.m. ET
- Network: FOX
- Play-by-Play: Joe Davis
- Color Commentator: Brady Quinn
- Sideline Reporter: Jenny Taft
Saturday
AAC Championship: Temple at No. 19 Navy-12 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Joe Tessitore
- Color Commentator: Todd Blackledge
- Sideline Reporter: Holly Rowe
Conference USA Championship: Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky- 12 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Dave Pasch
- Color Commentator: Tom Luginbill
- Sideline Reporter: Quint Kessenich
No. 10 Oklahoma State at No. 9 Oklahoma- 12:30 p.m. ET
- Network: FOX
- Play-by-Play: Tim Brando
- Color Commentator: Spencer Tillman
- Sideline Reporter: Bruce Feldman
SEC Championship: No. 13 Auburn vs. No. 1 Alabama– 4 p.m. ET
- Network: CBS
- Play-by-Play: Verne Lundquist
- Color Commentator: Gary Danielson
- Sideline Reporter: Allie LaForce
Mountain West Championship: San Diego State at Wyoming- 7:45 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Steve Levy
- Color Commentator: Brian Griese
- Sideline Reporter: Todd McShay
ACC Championship: No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 23 Virginia Tech – 8 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Chris Fowler
- Color Commentator: Kirk Herbstreit
- Sideline Reporter: Samantha Ponder
Big Ten Championship: No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 Penn State- 8 p.m. ET
- Network: FOX
- Play-by-Play: Gus Johnson
- Color Commentator: Joel Klatt
- Sideline Reporter: Shannon Spake
Announcer pairings courtesy of Daniel Ormsby of Eye on Sky and Air Sports.