With the College Football National Championship Game taking place tonight, it’s time for us to piece our virtual roundtable back together. It’s been a transformative year in the college football media landscape (and let’s be honest, ESPN controls 95% of it). With all the big moves before the season, record breaking viewership, and the first year of the playoff there are plenty of storylines as we approach tonight’s showdown between Oregon and Ohio State. Tonight also represents the second act of ESPN’s Megacast where viewers will have 12 options to watch the game. We cover all these topics and more.
Joining me in this week’s roundtable are AA’s Ben Koo and Jonathan Biles, Ed Sherman of the Sherman Report, Matt Zemek of The Student Section, and Blatant Homerism‘s Allen Kenney.
1) Was the move from Brent Musburger to Chris Fowler in the lead ESPN booth a success?
Ben Koo: I wouldn’t say it was a success. Fowler was spotty at times but made progress in filling the shoes of Musburger and before that Jackson. That said, Musburger’s exile to the SEC Network was too barren of a wasteland for fans not to question the strategy. Half of his games were truly abysmal matchups and unbecoming of Musburger’s stature and skill. ESPN needs to rethink the strategy as it’s just too bitter of a pill to swallow for fans.
Matt Zemek: When fans are widely upset, it can’t be seen as a success. The basic point to reiterate, though, is that this is not a negative commentary on Fowler, a man who A) deserved the promotion; B) might have thought about going elsewhere had he not been secured as the lead play-by-play man; and C) was vindicated by the selection of Ohio State for the playoff, given his well-known remarks about ESPN wanting the Big Ten to be a strong conference.
No, this is not about Fowler being deficient; this is about Brent Musburger still having his fastball… more of a fastball, clearly, than Verne Lundquist at CBS. Here’s a way to satisfy both the pro-Fowler and pro-Musburger factions: They both should have called the playoff semifinals. Brad Nessler’s good, but better than Musburger? Nessler was not strong in his call of the Sugar Bowl. Give Fowler the Rose Bowl showpiece? That’s okay. Excluding Musburger from the playoff? That’s pure foolishness — not because of the Musburger name, but because Musburger’s still got game.
Allen Kenney: You’ll get no complaints from me on Fowler. He’s always solid. I actually think the move benefited Musburger even more, in so far as he was willing to really cut loose on the junior league circuit.
Ed Sherman: The transition from Brent Musburger to Chris Fowler was inevitable. Fowler wanted to do PBP and Musburger isn’t getting any younger. However, it is going to take a while for Fowler to establish himself as a presence in big games, much like Musburger and definitely Keith Jackson did before him. There is a transition period as viewers have to adjust to hearing a different voice.
Jonathan Biles: Yes and no. Yes, Fowler is very good at play-by-play and will be ESPN’s lead man on Saturday nights for years to come, but very few have the gravitas and presence of Musburger. Putting Big Game Brent on the Iron Bowl made it seem like a spectacle. Comparing the two sportscasters’ ages, it didn’t make sense to lose Fowler just to keep Musburger on the primetime game for a few more years. But if Brent is calling a game of meaning — not Alabama vs. Western Carolina — I’m watching.
Matt Yoder: I’ll say no, simply from the fact that there were so many people during the season who wanted to see Brent Musburger keep that spot. In the long-term, it probably will be a success just because Fowler is probably a Top 10 personality in the entire sports media landscape. But this year? Brent should still be ESPN’s top college football play by play man on merit and on the big-game feel he still brings to the broadcast. There’s going to be a lot of people missing hearing “You’re looking live….” tonight and not feeling those hairs stand up on the back of your neck just a little bit.
2) ESPN has a small city’s worth of college football studio analysts at their disposal. Who would you like to see more of in the studio and who would you like to see less of?
Kenney: The Worldwide Leader should do all it can to get Joey Galloway more involved. He’s insightful, to the point and never panders. Kevin Carter is another one who needs more face time. In terms of less time, I find Mike Belotti dreadfully boring. I don’t know if there’s a single program on ESPNU that he’s not involved with, and it’s an auto-pass when I see him on there.
Biles: They have enough analysts to fill a medium-sized cruise ship, with some serving as the captains and some as the lounge entertainers. If the SEC Network counts as ESPN, I think Greg McElroy has been excellent this season. I wouldn’t mind seeing less of people who endorse sports shouting and overall hot-takery — Danny Kanell, Mark May, et al. — but I’m still a sucker for some crazy midnight Lou Holtz.
Zemek: Since a college football blogger is always trying to flip to a game during halftime of another game, or get writing (or eating) done during halftime of a bowl game, I really didn’t watch a lot of studio commentary during the season. I can say that I refuse to watch the First Takiest studio voices in the ESPN fold: Lou Holtz, Mark May, Danny Kanell, and — if you include SEC Network — Paul Finebaum. That’s the Final Four of idiocy. From the small snippets of studio work I saw during the bowls, Butch Davis actually seemed to provide granular analysis worth listening to.
Koo: I think it’s definitely time for Lou Holtz and Lee Corso to move on. If both are back next year, that would really surprise me. Musburger was given the boot from ABC in a decision clearly influenced by age and yet Corso and Holtz still rule the roost for the most part. ESPN will never let go of Mark May no matter how toxic he is for the ESPN brand. If he truly is “protected” by someone, I’d have Joey Galloway replace Holtz so he’s more accountable with an equal. Right now College Football Final is Rece Davis just throwing big trolling softballs to May, May smashing them with a huge grin on his face, and Lou Holtz running around lost in the outfield trying to field them. I’d also love to see more Greg McElroy and way less Matt Millen. I really don’t understand how Matt Millen continues to be employed anywhere since his playing career.
Yoder: Joey Galloway has impressed me in the studio the past several weeks after working mostly in the broadcast booth during his ESPN tenure. You know who else has really shined? Tim Tebow. He’s been surprisingly good on television and it said a lot that ESPN was willing to put him on the Sugar Bowl postgame episode of SportsCenter for solo analysis. I really like what Mack Brown has brought to the discussion in his first year as well. As far as who I’d like to see less of? The sooner we can end the May & Holtz Era, the better.
Sherman: As much as I hate to say it considering I overdosed on him as a player, but I actually like Tim Tebow in the analyst’s chair. He actually is quite good and he does have an aura that makes him interesting to watch. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tebow lands a regular role on ESPN GameDay sooner than later. As far as seeing less, I always can take less of Lou Holtz.
3) How would you grade ESPN’s coverage of the New Year’s Six Bowl Games including the semifinals and the other bowls on December 31 and January 1? What stood out from the new system this year and how the bowl season changed?
Koo: I give high marks for the first year. They sunk their teeth into it and you could tell it become an equal priority or maybe even a bigger priority than pumping the NFL playoffs. They had ample programming and despite the onslaught of Fallout Boy, they really flexed their muscle in covering the playoff. I’ll give them a B+ overall.
Yoder: REMEMBER MEEEEEEE… REMEMBER MEEEEEEE…. FOR CENTURIEEEEEEEEES.
Sorry, had a brief relapse there.
What really stood out to me was the depth of ESPN’s college football talent. I’d put it head-to-head with any other group in sports. The New Year’s Six really highlighted that with teams like Tessitore/Huard, Pasch/Griese, and McDonough/Spielman doing standout work. Any of those groups could be “A” teams at other networks. More than that, ESPN was successful in giving the New Year’s Six a big event feel from Ole Miss-TCU to Ohio State-Alabama. I’d give it an A-.
Zemek: A highlight came during the Rose Bowl, when ESPN went to a four-box screen to show how quickly Oregon was processing and calling plays with Scott Frost in the booth and Marcus Mariota on the field. The effort seemed substantive, wasn’t overdone, and gave viewers a brief sense of how truly coordinated this sport is for a coaching staff in relationship to players.
In terms of the changed bowl system, it was fantastic to know that New Year’s Day felt like an old-style New Year’s Day again. The problem, as many on this panel will agree, is that Dec. 31 afternoon kickoffs — when games could be played on or near the weekend (Jan. 2) instead — don’t have to be a part of this system. Why can’t college football make year-specific adjustments to the calendar? Some years, a Dec. 31 afternoon kickoff for the New Year’s Six will make sense (when New Year’s Eve is on a Friday, Saturday or Monday). Other years, it won’t (when NYE is on a Wednesday or Thursday; when on a Sunday, Dec. 30 should become one of the two NY6 days). Why can’t the sport see that?
Sherman: Listen, there’s little question that ESPN has a major say on when these bowls are being played. So on the plus side, I thought it was great to have back-to-back huge games on New Year’s Day. The format works, as the ratings showed. It was much better than the days on Jan. 1 when the Orange Bowl was a meaningless game with a good halftime show. However, I am baffled by ESPN and college football scheduling the Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowls on Dec. 31. I may be headed for the senior citizen’s home, but we still go out on New Years’ Eve. And I’m pretty sure the younger demo starts partying on Dec. 30. So why schedule those high-profile bowls on a night when most people aren’t going to watch? There were bowls after Jan. 1. Why not move those games to a later date?
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