Week 1 of the college football season is finally here so let’s take a look at the complete list of announcer pairings for your viewing pleasure.
If last weekend was an aperitif, we are diving head long into a super-sized helping of college football this week. The college football fan will be treated to five days filled to the brim with a seemingly never-ending marathon to open the season in earnest. Because the schedule is spread out over the extended holiday weekend, the networks can maximize their top announcer pairings.
If you are a fan of the No. 1 broadcast teams for each respective network, this weekend is for you. However, they are going to try and run them enough to make you sick of them. No one is going to get more airtime this weekend than Kirk Herbstreit.
Herbstreit will be calling three games in five days, and College Gameday has two broadcasts. He will be on ESPN’s biggest games of the weekend. The former Ohio State quarterback will start with his alma mater at Indiana on Thursday night. He will then travel to Atlanta to broadcast the game of the week between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Florida State on Saturday night and the Monday night game between No. 25 Tennessee and Georgia Tech.
Fox Sports opens its broadcast season after sitting out last weekend. It will be running its top announcing team for two games. The announcing pairing of Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt will be in the booth on Friday as No. 8 Washington takes on Rutgers and on the opposite coast on Sunday for Texas A&M at UCLA.
Mike Tirico called three Notre Dame games last season for NBC. This season he has taken over the role full-time from Dan Hicks. Doug Flutie will be his partner in the booth when the Irish open with Temple on Saturday afternoon.
Announcer pairings courtesy of Daniel Ormsby of Eye on Sky and Air Sports.
Thursday
Tulsa at No. 10 Oklahoma State, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Network: FS1
- Play-by-Play: Joe Davis
- Color Commentator: Brady Quinn
- Sideline Reporter: Bruce Feldman
No. 2 Ohio State at Indiana, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Dave Flemming
- Color Commentator: Kirk Herbstreit
- Sideline Reporter: Laura Rutledge
Friday
No. 8 Washington at Rutgers, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Network: FS1
- Play-by-Play: Gus Johnson
- Color Commentator: Joel Klatt
- Sideline Reporter: Jenny Taft
Utah State at No. 9 Wisconsin, 9:00 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Adam Amin
- Color Commentator: Dusty Dvoracek
- Sideline Reporter: Molly McGrath
Saturday
No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 17 Florida, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Joe Tessitore
- Color Commentator: Todd Blackledge
- Sideline Reporter: Holly Rowe
Temple at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Network: NBC
- Play-by-Play: Mike Tirico
- Color Commentator: Doug Flutie
- Sideline Reporter: Kathryn Tappen
No. 16 Louisville vs. Purdue, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Network: FOX
- Play-by-Play: Tim Brando
- Color Commentator: Spencer Tillman
- Sideline Reporter: Holly Sanders
No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 1 Alabama, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Network: ABC
- Play-by-Play: Chris Fowler
- Color Commentator: Kirk Herbstreit
- Sideline Reporter: Tom Rinaldi, Maria Taylor
BYU vs. No. 13 LSU, 9:30 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Bob Wishchusen
- Color Commentator: Brock Huard
- Sideline Reporter: Allison Williams
Sunday
No. 22 West Virginia vs. No. 21 Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Steve Levy
- Color Commentator: Brian Griese
- Sideline Reporter: Todd McShay
Texas A&M at UCLA, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Network: FOX
- Play-by-Play: Gus Johnson
- Color Commentator: Joel Klatt
- Sideline Reporter: Jenny Taft
Monday
No. 25 Tennesse vs. Georgia Tech, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Rece Davis
- Color Commentator: Kirk Herbstreit
- Sideline Reporter: Maria Taylor
Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017
The networks are putting their best foot forward in the booth for opening weekend. Enjoy the best of the best this week because it goes back to normal next weekend. You might be saddled with someone much less informed and pleasing to the ear.