MegaCast Provides Seven Ways to Watch ACC Top 25 Showdown Between Hokies-Seminoles

Five-Day, 60 Game Kickoff Week Schedule Features Best Teams and Signature Matchups: 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Wisconsin, and No. 5 Ohio State Make Season Debuts Only Top 10 Matchup Airs on ABC: No. 6 Washington vs. No. 9 Auburn Special Sunday Night Presentation on ABC: No. 8 Miami vs. No. 25 LSU

ESPN+ Begins Inaugural College Football Season Streaming More than 20 Games in Week 1 and 200 Showdowns Over the Next Three Months

ESPN’s networks will be the home of the best teams and best games throughout college football’s Kickoff Week, highlighted by No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Wisconsin, and No. 5 Ohio State’s opening games, No. 6 Washington vs. No. 9 Auburn in the sport’s only top 10 matchup, No. 8 Miami vs. No. 25 LSU in prime-time Sunday night, and the season’s first conference matchup featuring ranked teams: No. 20 Virginia Tech is at No. 19 Florida State on Labor Day night receiving ESPN’s MegaCast production.

ESPN’s MegaCast Production Makes Labor Day Debut; Marty Smith and Ryan McGee Watch and Commentate from More than 1,000 Feet above Doak Campbell Stadium

ESPN’s Labor Day night, ACC Top 25 telecast featuring the Hokies-Seminoles is now bolstered by the network’s signature MegaCast production, which provides fans the traditional telecast on ESPN and six additional viewing options across ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3 via the ESPN App. The network’s lead commentating team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor will call the game on ESPN, the trio’s second game together in three nights and Herbstreit and Taylor’s third in five nights.

The first-ever Labor Day MegaCast is elevated by the premiere of Goodyear BlimpCast, as Marty Smith and Ryan McGee will be stationed inside the Goodyear Blimp for the entire game, providing live commentary from more than 1,000 feet above Doak Campbell Stadium. Fans watching on ESPN3 via the ESPN App will experience a three-box presentation with the majority of the screen showing the typical TV vantage point, and a smaller portion of the screen fixated on Smith and McGee. The third box will show the aerial view from the blimp that fans have grown accustomed to over the years. This is the first time a game telecast will be available exclusively from the blimp angle.

Mack Brown, Gene Chizik, Hugh Freeze, Todd Graham, and Jim Mora Man First Coaches Only Coaches Film Room

A MegaCast staple, Coaches Film Room, returns on ESPNEWS, with a new twist: Coaches only. National championship winning coaches Mack Brown and Gene Chizik, and former head coaches Hugh Freeze, Todd Graham and Jim Mora will team together, without the aide of another analyst to man the clicker and telestrator. The five football minds will be located in ESPN’s Bristol, Ct., studio watching the ACC matchup in real time, with an emphasis on breaking down the Xs and Os.

Additional MegaCast Viewing Options:

Command Center (ESPNU): A split-screen with simultaneous multiple camera views, which could include the main ESPN camera angle, the SkyCam view and isolated camera feeds of both head coaches. Enhanced statistics and real time drive charts supplement the game action.

A split-screen with simultaneous multiple camera views, which could include the main ESPN camera angle, the SkyCam view and isolated camera feeds of both head coaches. Enhanced statistics and real time drive charts supplement the game action. DataCenter (ESPN3 via ESPN App): On-screen graphic content ranging from analytics, real time drive charts, win probability updates, curated social media reaction and more.

On-screen graphic content ranging from analytics, real time drive charts, win probability updates, curated social media reaction and more. SkyCam (ESPN3 via ESPN App): A continuous feed of the camera that maneuvers above the field of play and often provides a behind-the-offense look at game action.

A continuous feed of the camera that maneuvers above the field of play and often provides a behind-the-offense look at game action. All-22 (ESPN3 via ESPN App):Watch the game the same way players and coaches study the game. This vantage point comes from high atop the stadium, providing a consistent view of all 22 players on the field at the same time.

Labor Day will mark the second consecutive year ESPN has activated the MegaCast for Kickoff Weekend, having made its early season debut on the season’s first Thursday last season for Ohio State at Indiana.

ESPN’s studio team of Adnan Virk, Joey Galloway, and Jesse Palmer will be live from Tallahassee, Fla., for College Football Countdown Presented by Hulu (7 p.m.) leading into the game.

Saturday Slate: No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Ohio State and Top 10 Showdown between No. 6 Washington and No. 9 Auburn

ABC’s Saturday Night Football Presented by Wells Fargo, the most-watched college football franchise on any network the last two seasons, will begin the 2018 season with the College Football Playoff National Champions and No. 1 Alabama playing Louisville in the 2018 Camping World Kickoff (Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. ET) from Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The season debut of Saturday Night Football will cap a Kickoff Saturday tripleheader on ABC, with all three games featuring a top 10 team: No. 5 Ohio State hosting Oregon State (noon) will lead into the 2018 Chick-fil-A Kickoff between No. 6 Washington and No. 9 Auburn (3:30 p.m.) from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Huskies and Tigers are the only Top 10 matchup of week 1.

ABC’s Sunday Night Primetime Special Features No. 8 Miami vs. No. 25 LSU From AT&T Stadium

ABC’s will feature a special Sunday Night matchup for the third consecutive Kickoff Weekend, with this year’s game featuring No. 8 Miami vs. No. 25 LSU from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Sean McDonough will be on the call, making his return to ESPN’s college football coverage, teaming with Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe.

Kirk Herbstreit, and Maria Taylor Begin Their Season on Thursday Night Prime-time Special

Before the aforementioned Saturday and Monday prime-time affairs, Herbstreit and Taylor will begin the season in West Lafayette, Ind., when Northwestern travels to Purdue (8 p.m.) for ESPN’s first Thursday night football game of the season (Aug. 30). The duo will join Dave Flemming, ESPN’s regular Thursday night commentator on the call. Both Herbstreit and Taylor will be South Bend, Ind., for the season premiere of College GameDay Built by The Home Depot on Saturday, Sept. 1 (9 a.m. – noon), before joining Fowler in Orlando and then Tallahassee.

ESPN+ Streams More than 20 Games in First Week, More than 200 Exclusive Games Throughout the Season

ESPN+, multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN, will stream more than 20 football games during the season’s first week, beginning a season where the subscription service carries more than 200 exclusive games.

Other Week 1 Highlights:

New Season, New School: Numerous head coaches will make their debuts with new schools on ESPN’s networks in week 1, including Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher (SEC Network) and UCF’s Josh Heupel (ESPNU) on Thursday, Aug. 30, UCLA’s Chip Kelly (ESPN), Mississippi State’s Joe Moorhead (ESPNU), Florida’s Dan Mullen (SEC Network) and Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin (ESPN) on Sept. 1, and Florida State’s Willie Taggert (ESPN’s MegaCast) on Labor Day night (Sept. 3). Ohio State’s Ryan Day will make his interim head coach debut, also on Sept. 1 (ABC), while UConn’s Randy Edsall makes his return as coach of the Huskies on Aug. 30 (ESPNU).

Numerous head coaches will make their debuts with new schools on ESPN’s networks in week 1, including Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher (SEC Network) and UCF’s Josh Heupel (ESPNU) on Thursday, Aug. 30, UCLA’s Chip Kelly (ESPN), Mississippi State’s Joe Moorhead (ESPNU), Florida’s Dan Mullen (SEC Network) and Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin (ESPN) on Sept. 1, and Florida State’s Willie Taggert (ESPN’s MegaCast) on Labor Day night (Sept. 3). Ohio State’s Ryan Day will make his interim head coach debut, also on Sept. 1 (ABC), while UConn’s Randy Edsall makes his return as coach of the Huskies on Aug. 30 (ESPNU). Back Where it Started: College GameDay Built by The Home Depot is kicking off its 2018 season campaign by paying homage to where it all began: The University of Notre Dame. (Saturday, Sept. 1, 9 a.m. – noon)

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot is kicking off its 2018 season campaign by paying homage to where it all began: The University of Notre Dame. (Saturday, Sept. 1, 9 a.m. – noon) One Week, Two Shows : SEC Nation, SEC Network’s traveling pregame show airs two shows in three days, with the season premiere on Thursday, Aug. 30, in College Station, Texas, (7 p.m.) ahead of Texas A&M hosting Northwestern State on the same network (8:30 p.m.). On Saturday, Sept. 1, the show will be on location Charlotte, N.C. (10 a.m.), before Belk College Kickoff.

: SEC Nation, SEC Network’s traveling pregame show airs two shows in three days, with the season premiere on Thursday, Aug. 30, in College Station, Texas, (7 p.m.) ahead of Texas A&M hosting Northwestern State on the same network (8:30 p.m.). On Saturday, Sept. 1, the show will be on location Charlotte, N.C. (10 a.m.), before Belk College Kickoff. Live Herbie’s Life : ESPN’s social media team will document Kirk Herbstreit’s three games in five days Kickoff Week on multiple social media feeds, including on Twitter and Instagram.

: ESPN’s social media team will document Kirk Herbstreit’s three games in five days Kickoff Week on multiple social media feeds, including on Twitter and Instagram. Big Ten Access: ESPN will have special access with both Northwestern and Purdue prior to the two teams facing off on Thursday evening, with segments airing across multiple platforms and shows.

ESPN will have special access with both Northwestern and Purdue prior to the two teams facing off on Thursday evening, with segments airing across multiple platforms and shows. Highlights and Reaction: SportsCenter has extensive coverage throughout Kickoff Week, including following the special prime-time affairs on Sunday and Labor Day evening.

ESPN Game and Commentators for Five-Day Kickoff Week Schedule

Date Time (ET) Game Network Thu, Aug. 30 7 p.m. No. 21 UCF at Connecticut

Clay Matvick, Dan Orlovsky, Paul Carcaterra ESPNU Central Connecticut State at Ball State

Jim Barbar, Mark Herrmann ESPN+ Kennesaw State at Georgia State ESPN+ Chowan at Campbell ESPN+ 7:30 p.m. Shorter at Samford ESPN+ 8 p.m. Northwestern at Purdue

Dave Flemming, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor ESPN Southeastern Louisiana at Louisiana-Monroe ESPN+ Savannah State at UAB ESPN+ 8:30 p.m. Northwestern State at Texas A&M

Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic SEC Network Fri, Aug. 31 6:30 p.m. Monmouth at Eastern Michigan

Dan Gutowsky, Marcus Ray ESPN+ 7 p.m. Army at Duke

Roy Philpott, Tom Ramsey ESPNU 9 p.m. Western Kentucky at No. 4 Wisconsin

Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer, Olivia Dekker ESPN Sat, Sept. 1 Noon Oregon State at No. 5 Ohio State

Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, Tom Luginbill ABC 2018 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff: Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech from Houston

Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, Molly McGrath ESPN James Madison at NC State

Mike Corey, Rene Ingoglia ESPNU Coastal Carolina at South Carolina

Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Kris Budden SEC Network Villanova at Temple

Clay Matvick, Dan Orlovsky ESPNEWS 12:20 p.m. Furman at No. 2 Clemson ACC Network Extra 12:30 p.m. Alcorn State at Georgia Tech ACC Network Extra 1 p.m. Massachusetts at Boston College ACC Network Extra Shippenburg at Clarion ESPN+ 2 p.m. Howard at Ohio

Dave Weekley, Hutson Mason ESPN+ Butler at Youngstown State ESPN+ 3:30 p.m. 2018 Chick-fil-A Kickoff: No. 6 Washington vs. No. 9 Auburn from Atlanta

TV: Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Todd McShay

Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons ABC and ESPN Radio Austin Peay at No. 3 Georgia

Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht, Rocky Boiman ESPN Central Michigan at Kentucky

Kevin Brown, Andre Ware ESPNU Marshall at Miami (Ohio)

Jim Barber, Bobby Carpenter ESPN+ Cal Poly at North Dakota State ESPN+ Albany at Pittsburgh

Joel Meyers, Dustin Fox ACC Network Extra 4 p.m. Eastern Illinois at Arkansas

Dave Neal, DJ Shockley, Dawn Davenport SEC Network UT Martin at Missouri

Mark Neely, Barrett Jones SEC Network Alternate 6 p.m. Delaware State at Buffalo

Robert Lee, Jerod Cherry ESPN3 South Carolina State at Georgia Southern ESPN+ Richmond at Virginia

Shawn Kenney, John Gregory ACC Network Extra No. 22 Boise State at Troy

Dave LaMont, Ray Bentley ESPNEWS North Carolina A&T at East Carolina

Josh Appel, Stan Lewter ESPN3 Elon at South Florida

Drew Fellios, Forrest Conoly ESPN3 Newberry at Western Carolina ESPN+ The Citadel at Woffard ESPN+ Limestone at Gardner-Webb ESPN+ Fordham at Charlotte ESPN+ 7 p.m. Cincinnati at UCLA

Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams ESPN Louisiana Tech at South Alabama ESPN+ Mercer at Memphis

Mike Watts, Tyoka Jackson ESPN3 Central Arkansas at Tulsa

Trey Bender, Watson Brown ESPN3 VMI at Toledo

Michael Reghi, Barrett Brooks ESPN3 Grambling at Louisiana ESPN3 Southeast Missouri State at Arkansas State ESPN+ Nicholls at Kansas ESPN+ Jackson State at Southern Mississippi ESPN+ 7:30 p.m. Charleston Southern at Florida Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic SEC Network Middle Tennessee at Vanderbilt

Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks, Roddy Jones SEC Network Alternate Stephen F. Austin at No. 18 Mississippi State

Mike Couzens, Kirk Morrison ESPNU Mars Hill at East Tennessee State ESPN+ St. Xavier at Illinois State ESPN+ 8 p.m. 2018 Camping World Kickoff from Orlando: Louisville vs. No. 1 Alabama

TV: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor

Radio: Marc Kestecher, John Congemi, Paul Carcaterra ABC and ESPN Radio 10:45 p.m. BYU at Arizona Adam Amin, Rod Gilmore, Quint Kessenich ESPN Sun, Sept. 2 Noon 2018 MEAC/SWAC Challenge from Atlanta: Prairie View A&M vs. North Carolina Central Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker, Olivia Dekker ESPN2 7:30 p.m. No. 8 Miami vs. No. 25 LSU from Arlington, Texas TV: Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe

Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons ABC and ESPN Radio Mon, Sept. 3 8 p.m. No. 20 Virginia Tech at No. 19 Florida State

Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor ESPN, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN3 via ESPN App

Commentators may change and/or be added; Additional games may be carried and not all ESPN3 and ESPN+ games are exclusive

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner