Commentating Teams Announced for ESPN’s Expansive 41-Game Bowl Schedule, Including Exclusive Coverage of the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six
ESPN’s industry-leading coverage of the 2021 college football postseason will feature a 41-game bowl schedule, culminating with the exclusive presentation of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T (8 p.m. ET) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. on Monday, Jan. 10.
The CFP begins on Friday, Dec. 31 with the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic featuring No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati (3:30 p.m. ET) from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, followed by the CFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl between No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia (7:30 p.m.) from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Both CFP semifinals and the National Championship will air on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, with alternate telecasts available across ESPN networks. ESPN Radio will also broadcast all three games.
ESPN’s overall bowl slate commences Friday, Dec. 17, and completes the extensive 1,000+ game schedule carried across ESPN networks this year. Additional production details for both the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six will be announced in the coming days.
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit Call Capital One Orange Bowl; Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge Announce Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
In the broadcasting booth, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will call the Orange Bowl, while Sean McDonough and Todd Blackledge team up for the Cotton Bowl. Fowler, Herbstreit and Blackledge have called a CFP Semifinal all eight years of the system, with Fowler and Herbstreit working together in each of those years. McDonough is calling his fourth consecutive CFP Semifinal with Blackledge.
Veteran CFP Reporters Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge Join Semifinal Crews; Molly McGrath and Marty Smith Make CFP Semifinal TV Debuts
ESPN will utilize reporters Holly Rowe and Marty Smith at the Orange Bowl, Rowe’s eighth CFP Semifinal on either TV or radio and Smith’s first CFP Semifinal. At the Cotton Bowl, Molly McGrath and Laura Rutledge will report, McGrath’s first TV appearance in the CFP Semifinals and Rutledge’s fourth.
New Year’s Six Sees New Faces on Commentating Teams
ESPN’s presentation of the New Year’s Six will begin with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between No. 10 Michigan State and No. 12 Pittsburgh. Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III and Quint Kessenich will be on the call for the matchup on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. The PlayStation Fiesta Bowl kicks off New Year’s Six action on New Year’s Day, featuring No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 9 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. on ESPN, with Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky and Kris Budden on the call. At 5 p.m., the Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One Venture X begins with Fowler, Herbstreit, Rowe and Tiffany Blackmon providing commentary. At 8:45 p.m., No. 7 Baylor takes on No. 8 Ole Miss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, with Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Katie George calling the action from the Big Easy.
ESPN Radio Covers the CFP Semifinals
Sean Kelley, Barrett Jones and Ian Fitzsimmons will announce the Cotton Bowl from Arlington, teaming up for another CFP Semifinal. In Miami, Jones, Griffin III and Kessenich will call the Capital One Orange Bowl for ESPN Radio. Anchoring the pre/half/post coverage from the Bristol studios will be Kevin Winter and Kirk Morrison. ESPN Radio will broadcast all New Year’s Six games, with all assignments included below.
ESPN Events Begins the Bowling
ESPN Events announced the matchups for its 18 owned and operated college football bowl games for the 2021-22 Bowl Season. The Bahamas Bowl (noon, ESPN) and Tailgreeter Cure Bowl (6 p.m., ESPN2) kick off the schedule on Friday, Dec. 17. Sixteen of the ESPN Events bowl games will air on ESPN while the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl will air on ESPN2, and the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 18 will air on ABC at noon. The schedule also includes the addition of the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl in Boston on Wednesday, Dec. 29 (11 a.m., ESPN) and the new Frisco Football Classic, which will be played Thursday, Dec. 23 (3:30 p.m., ESPN) in Frisco, Texas. Full details.
Additional Postseason Highlights:
- Seeing Red in Pasadena: The Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One Venture X on Saturday, Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. will feature No. 11 Utah vs. No. 6 Ohio State, the alma maters of Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe, both of whom will be on the call of the famed ‘granddaddy of them all.’
- Inaugural Kimmel Bowl Kicks Off: The first ever Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel is set for ABC on Saturday, Dec. 18. Tessitore will be joined by ESPN college football studio analyst and newly-minted Bachelor host Jesse Palmer and Rutledge on the TV call.
- Marty & McGee Back to Myrtle: Marty Smith and Ryan McGee will join forces once again as sideline reporters on the Myrtle Beach Bowl Presented by TaxAct, set for Monday, Dec. 20 at 2:30 p.m.
- Bahamas Bowl Gets New Crew: Kevin Negandhi, Booger McFarland and Katie George will team up to announce the Bahamas Bowl, kicking off the 2021-22 Bowl Season schedule.
- Boston Bound: Fellow New England natives Dave O’Brien – a longtime Red Sox voice – and Tim Hasselbeck will call the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl at the famed Boston ballpark, joined by Kelsey Riggs
- Dugout Debut: Making his first game analyst appearance on ESPN, Sam Acho will provide commentary for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 29 (2:15 p.m.) from Yankee Stadium
- Back to the ATL: Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III, Jay Walker, Quint Kessenich and Tiffany Greene will call the Cricket Celebration Bowl in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 18 at noon on ABC. The same five-some kicked off the season there in Week 0 calling the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
- Queen City Commentator: The Duke’s Mayo Bowl will have a familiar voice on play-by-play, as Charlotte resident Anish Shroff calls the Battle of the Carolinas (North Carolina vs. South Carolina) on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 11:30 a.m.
- Home of the Raiders: Beth Mowins, who calls Raiders preseason NFL games, and Kirk Morrison, a former player for the Silver & Black, will feel right at home Thursday, Dec. 30 on the call of the first SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl at the Raiders’ new home, Allegiant Stadium.
- Return to the 904: Sideline reporter Alyssa Lang will have a homecoming in Jacksonville, Fla., where she worked for two years before her start at ESPN and SEC Network, to call the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Friday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m.)
- Multiplatform: ESPN Radio will broadcast 20 games; ESPN Deportes to televise 17 games
2021-22 College Football Bowl Schedule on ESPN Networks
Date |
Time (ET) |
Bowl |
Network |
Fri, Dec 17 |
Noon |
Bahamas Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
|
6 p.m. |
Tailgreeter Cure Bowl * |
ESPN2 |
Sat, Dec 18 |
11 a.m. |
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
|
Noon |
Cricket Celebration Bowl * |
ABC |
|
2:15 p.m. |
PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
|
3:30 p.m. |
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl |
ABC/ESPN Deportes |
|
5:45 p.m. |
LendingTree Bowl |
ESPN |
|
7:30 p.m. |
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel |
ABC/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes |
|
9:15 p.m. |
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
Mon, Dec 20 |
2:30 p.m. |
Myrtle Beach Bowl Presented by TaxAct * |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
Tue, Dec 21 |
3:30 p.m. |
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes |
|
7:30 p.m. |
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
Wed, Dec 22 |
8 p.m. |
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
Thu, Dec 23 |
3:30 p.m. |
Frisco Football Classic * |
ESPN |
|
7 p.m. |
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
Fri, Dec 24 |
8 p.m. |
EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Dec 25 |
2:30 p.m. |
TaxAct Camellia Bowl * |
ESPN |
Mon, Dec 27 |
11 a.m. |
Quick Lane Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
|
2:30 p.m. |
Military Bowl Presented by Peraton |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
Tue, Dec 28 |
Noon |
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
|
3:15 p.m. |
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl * |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
|
6:45 p.m. |
AutoZone Liberty Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
|
10:15 p.m. |
Guaranteed Rate Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
Wed, Dec 29 |
11 a.m. |
Wasabi Fenway Bowl * |
ESPN |
|
2:15 p.m. |
New Era Pinstripe Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
|
5:45 p.m. |
Cheez-It Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
|
9:15 p.m. |
Valero Alamo Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
Thu, Dec 30 |
11:30 a.m. |
Duke’s Mayo Bowl |
ESPN |
|
3 p.m. |
TransPerfect Music City Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio |
|
7 p.m. |
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes |
|