- Gators-Tigers Battle in the Week’s Highest Ranked Matchup; Showdown Saturday Night in Death Valley
- Nittany Lions Face Toughest Road Test to Date on ABC’s Saturday Night Football
- 2 Clemson Hosting FSU, No. 3 Georgia Home vs. South Carolina Highlights a Saturday with Top Team in Each Game Window
ESPN will televise two marquee primetime matchups on Saturday when No. 7 Florida travels to No. 5 LSU which airs alongside ABC’s Saturday Night Football between No.10 Penn State and No. 17 Iowa. The signature action highlights a full slate – including No. 3 Georgia at noon ET and No. 2 Clemson at 3:30 p.m., both in home conference matchups. Overall, ESPN networks feature half of the top 10 teams and a top 20 team in every time slot, beginning Friday night.
Saturday Night in Baton Rouge
ESPN’s telecast of the Gators and Tigers (8 p.m.) will feature the lead commentating team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor, and Tom Rinaldi as the quartet call the game from Tiger Stadium. Both teams come into the game undefeated and will face off as top 10 teams for just the second time in 10 years. College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will originate from LSU earlier in the morning (9 a.m. – noon), setting the scene for the sport’s biggest game of the day.
ABC’s Saturday Night Football Features BIG Showdown
ABC’s Saturday Night Football Presented by Wells Fargo (7:30 p.m.) will feature the Nittany Lions at the Hawkeyes, as Penn State looks to remain unbeaten on the season after cracking the top 10 for the first time this season. The Hawkeyes, who only have one loss on the season, are looking for their first win against Penn State since 2010. The last time these two matched up on Saturday Night Football, Penn State scored a touchdown on the final play, giving the Nittany Lions a 21-19 victory. Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe will be in Kinnick Stadium for the call of the game.
No. 3 Georgia and No. 16 Michigan Begin the Day
ESPN begins the day with South Carolina at No. 3 Georgia (noon), as the Bulldogs return home and continue conference play. No. 16 Michigan is at Illinois on ABC in the ESPN CFB150 Showcase Game, as the Wolverines-Fighting Illini meet for the 96th time. Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky and Allison Williams will be in Columbia, S.C., while Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom Luginbill are in Champaign, Ill.
No. 2 Clemson Comes off Bye Week, Hosts Florida State
The second-ranked Clemson Tigers will host FSU in the late afternoon, as the Tigers come off their bye week. The Seminoles have won back-to-back games and will look to break Clemson’s 20-game win streak. Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Todd McShay and Molly McGrath call the game.
ESPN’s First Take will televise from Clemson’s Bowman Field on Friday, October 11, with Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman and host Molly Qerim Rose on hand. The show’s first two hours will air on ESPN (10 a.m. – noon) and an additional half hour will air exclusively on ACC Network (12-12:30 p.m.). The show is free and open to the public, featuring giveaways and a full lineup of special guests. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.
Undefeated Boise State Concludes Saturday’s Action
In Saturday’s final game window, undefeated No. 14 Boise State hosts Hawai’i (4-1) on ESPN2 (10:15 p.m.). Roy Philpott, Kelly Stouffer, and Lauren Sisler will be in Albertsons Stadium for the call.
Additional highlights:
- 20 Virginia is at Miami on Friday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
- 23 Memphis is at Temple at noon on ESPN2
- 25 Cincinnati is at Houston at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
ESPN College Football 150 Weekly Theme: Recruiting
Since college football’s earliest days, recruiting has been one of the most critical and controversial aspects of the sport. There’s no denying the role the process has in determining the power structure of the sport. The American Game delves into its history on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
Recruiting has also led to some great stories of walk-ons. The Greatest on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. on ESPN will look into the best players to not receive a scholarship.
| Date | Time | Matchup/Commentators | Network |
| Wed, Oct 9 | 8 p.m. | Appalachian State at Louisiana Clay Matvick, Ryan Leaf |
ESPN2 |
| Thu, Oct 10 | 6 p.m. | Bethune-Cookman at North Carolina Central Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker |
ESPNU |
| 8 p.m. | Syracuse at NC State Adam Amin, Matt Hasselbeck/Pat McAfee, Molly McGrath |
ESPN | |
| 9:15 p.m. | Louisiana-Monroe at Texas State Mark Neely, Roddy Jones |
ESPNU | |
| Fri, Oct 11 | 7 p.m. | Lafayette at Princeton Dave LaMont, John Congemi |
ESPNU |
| 8 p.m. | No. 20 Virginia at Miami Dave Flemming, Louis Riddick, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN | |
| Sat, Oct 12 | Noon | No. 16 Michigan at Illinois Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, Tom Luginbill |
ABC |
| South Carolina at No. 3 Georgia Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, Allison Williams |
ESPN | ||
| No. 23 Memphis at Temple Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks, Kris Budden |
ESPN2 | ||
| Miami (Ohio) at Western Michigan Mike Couzens, Kirk Morrison |
ESPNU | ||
| Mississippi State at Tennessee Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Alyssa Lang |
SEC Network | ||
| 12:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech at Duke | ACC Network Extra | |
| 2 p.m. | Ball State at Eastern Michigan Robert Lee, Forrest Conoly |
ESPN+ | |
| Florida A&M at South Carolina State ^ Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker |
ESPN3 | ||
| 3 p.m. | New Mexico State at Central Michigan Sean Kenney, Marcus Ray |
ESPN3 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Florida State at No. 2 Clemson Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Todd McShay/Molly McGrath |
ABC | |
| No. 25 Cincinnati at Houston Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht, Rocky Boiman |
ESPN2 | ||
| Kent State at Akron Michael Reghi, Dustin Fox |
ESPN3 | ||
| Northern Illinois at Ohio Doug Sherman, John Gregory |
ESPN+ | ||
| 3:45 p.m. | UConn at Tulane Kevin Brown, Andre Ware |
ESPNU | |
| 4 p.m. | Iowa State at West Virginia Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, Olivia Dekker |
ESPN | |
| UNLV at Vanderbilt Dave Neal, DJ Shockley, Dawn Davenport |
SEC Network | ||
| Rhode Island at Virginia Tech Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Kelsey Riggs |
ACC Network | ||
| Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic | ESPN+ | ||
| 5 p.m. | Georgia State at Coastal Carolina | ESPN+ | |
| 6 p.m. | UAB at UTSA | ESPN+ | |
| 7 p.m. | Ole Miss at Missouri Jason Benetti, Rod Gilmore, Quint Kessenich |
ESPN2 | |
| UMass at Louisiana Tech | ESPN3 | ||
| Prairie View A&M at Southern | ESPN3 | ||
| Charlotte at Florida International | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 10 Penn State at No. 17 Iowa Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe |
ABC | |
| Arkansas at Kentucky Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic |
SEC Network | ||
| Louisville at No. 19 Wake Forest Dave O’Brien, Tim Hasselbeck, Katie George |
ACCN | ||
| Navy at Tulsa Mike Corey, Rene Ingoglia |
ESPNU | ||
| 8 p.m. | No. 7 Florida at No. 5 LSU Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor/Tom RinaldiRadio: Sean Kelley, Barrett Jones, Ian Fitzsimmons |
ESPN/ESPN Radio | |
| 10:15 p.m. | Hawai’i at No. 14 Boise State Roy Philpott, Kelly Stouffer, Lauren Sisler |
ESPN2 |
Note: Not all digital games are exclusive
^: Tape-delay: will air at 10:30 p.m. on ESPNU
-30-
Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner