Emmy Award Winning Analyst Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor Work Three Prime-Time Games over Labor Day Weekend; Chris Fowler Joins Duo for Two Games while also Calling US Open

Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe on ABC’s Sunday Night Prime-Time Special

With practices underway across the country, summer days getting shorter, and Labor Day weekend within sight, it all points to one thing: college football is on the horizon. And with the first full week of the season nearly upon us, ESPN’s kickoff week game assignments have been set for commentators, boasting the sport’s best and deepest roster of broadcasters.

ESPN’s Lead Commentator Group Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Maria Taylor Calls Multiple Prime-Time Games During Kickoff Weekend

Lead analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who was recognized as sports most outstanding analyst in the offseason, and reporter Maria Taylor will begin the 2018 season campaign by working three games in five days, while lead play-by-play commentator Chris Fowler will call two games with his weekly prime-time commentator tandem in the midst of his comprehensive US Open schedule.

Fowler, Herbstreit and Taylor will be in Orlando for the 2018 Camping World Kickoff as the defending College Football Playoff National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Louisville Cardinals in the season premiere of ABC’s Saturday Night Football (8 p.m.). The trio will then head northwest to Tallahassee, Fla., for ESPN’s annual Labor Day prime-time game (Sept. 3), featuring an ACC showdown between Virginia Tech and Florida State (8 p.m.).

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. Laura Rutledge, who will normally work the network’s Thursday games, will be in College Station, Texas, for the season debut of SEC Nation.

In the midst of their game schedule, 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).

Sean McDonough Returns to College Football on ABC’s Special Sunday Night Prime-Time Showcase, Joining Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe

Veteran ESPN commentator Sean McDonough will make his return to the network’s college football coverage in Texas-sized fashion, when he joins Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe in Arlington, Texas, for Miami vs. LSU from AT&T Stadium for ABC’s exclusive Sunday night prime-time game (Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m.).

McDonough, who has been with ESPN since 2000, was a top play-by-play voice on Saturday afternoon ABC college football before moving to Monday Night Football in 2016. Heading into this season, Blackledge and Rowe have been broadcasting games together for 11 of the last 12 seasons, including calling a CFP Semifinal each of the previous four years.

Veteran Commentating Groups in Columbus, Atlanta, Athens and Pasadena for Season’s First Saturday

Four of ESPN’s commentating groups are beginning their third season together, including Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, and Tom Luginbill who will be in Columbus, Ohio, as Oregon State faces Ohio State on ABC (noon). Following the Beavers-Buckeyes, Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay will make their season debut in Atlanta for the 2018 Chick-fil-A Kickoff between Washington and Auburn (3:30 p.m.). The doubleheader will lead into the aforementioned Saturday Night Football – Alabama vs. Louisville.

Over on ESPN, Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht and Rocky Boiman will be ‘Between-the-Hedges’ as the SEC Champion and CFP finalist Georgia Bulldogs host Austin Peay (3:30 p.m.). Immediately following, Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, and Allison Williams will be in Pasadena, Calif., for Chip Kelly’s UCLA head coaching debut, as the Bruins host Cincinnati (7 p.m.).

SEC Saturday Night Crew Begins Season with Two Games in Three Days on SEC Network

SEC Saturday Night crew of Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, and Cole Cubelic begin their second season together by calling two games in three days on SEC Network, as the trio calls Jimbo Fisher’s debut as Texas A&M head coach on Aug. 30 when the Aggies host Northwestern State (8:30 p.m.). Then, two days later, the trio will be in Gainesville, Fla., as Florida hosts Charleston Southern (7:30 p.m.).

Orlovsky Goes Home Again to Start New Career

New ESPN commentator Dan Orlovsky will be in familiar territory when the Connecticut native makes his debut as an ESPN game analyst. The former UConn quarterback will call the Huskies opener against UCF in East Hartford, Conn. (Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPNU), in the same stadium where he set a number of school records including touchdown passes and passing yards, during his four-year stint. The 12-year NFL veteran joins Clay Matvick and Paul Carcaterra for the season. The trio will then go to Philadelphia for Villanova at Temple on Saturday (noon, ESPNEWS).

Multiple Commentator Groups Make Debuts

As announced earlier this summer, ESPN will debut a number of new commentating groups this season, with each of them making their first appearances together during kickoff week.

Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer and Olivia Dekker: Western Kentucky at Wisconsin on ESPN (Aug. 31 at 9 p.m.)

Adam Amin, Rod Gilmore, and Quint Kessenich: BYU at Arizona on ESPN (10:45 p.m.)

Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, and Molly McGrath: 2018 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff: Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech from Houston on ESPN (noon)

Kevin Brown, Andre Ware: Central Michigan at Kentucky on ESPNU (3:30 p.m.)

Dave Neal, DJ Shockley, and Dawn Davenport: Eastern Illinois at Arkansas on SEC Network (4 p.m.)

Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker Lead Commentators on Network’s HBCU Games, Call MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Tiffany Greene and Jay Walker will be the lead commentators on ESPN’s HBCU coverage this season, which begins with the 2018 MEAC/SWAC Challenge from Atlanta on Sunday, Sept. 2: Prairie View A&M vs. North Carolina Central (Noon, ESPN2). Olivia Dekker will join Greene and Walker for the game.

All games are Saturday, Sept. 1, unless noted



Additional Week 0 and Week 1 coverage will be announced in the coming days

ESPN Commentators for Five-Day Kickoff Week Schedule

Date Time (ET) Game Network Thu, Aug. 30 7 p.m. 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+ 8 p.m. Northwestern at Purdue

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

Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic SEC Network Friday, 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 Wisconsin

Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer, Olivia Dekker ESPN Sat, Sept. 1 Noon Oregon State at 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 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 2 p.m. Howard at Ohio ESPN+ 3:30 p.m. 2018 Chick-fil-A Kickoff: Washington vs. Auburn from Atlanta

TV: Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Todd McShay

Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons ABC and ESPN Radio Austin Peay at Georgia

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

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

Dave Weekley, Hutson Mason 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 Tennessee-Martin at Missouri

Mark Neely, Barrett Jones, Alex Corddry 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 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 ESPN3 7 p.m. Cincinnati at UCLA

Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams ESPN Louisiana Tech at South Alabama ESPN+ Mercer at Memphis ESPN3 Central Arkansas at Tulsa ESPN3 VMI at Toledo

Michael Reghi, Barrett Brooks ESPN3 Nicholls at Kansas ESPN3 Grambling at Louisiana ESPN3 Southeast Missouri State at Arkansas State 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 Mississippi State

Mike Couzens, Kirk Morrison ESPNU 8 p.m. 2018 Camping World Kickoff from Orlando: Louisville vs. 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. Miami vs. 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. Virginia Tech at Florida State

Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor ESPN

Commentators may change and/or be added

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