ESPN/ABC really going all out for Michigan-Ohio State

Earlier this week, we told you about ESPN expanding this Saturday’s edition of College GameDay to a whopping five hours beginning at 7 a.m. ET in advance of the Michigan-Ohio State game. Now we have ESPN’s coverage plans for the game which will air on ABC at noon ET.

First, the ESPN/ABC main college football announcing team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Samantha Ponder will be at Ohio Stadium, a.k.a. The Horseshoe in Columbus, OH. They’ll be joined by Tom Rinaldi who will work the sidelines along with Ponder.

In essence, the approach to this game will be similar to a national championship game, all except for the multiple networks megacast treatment.

ESPN says there will be more than 50 cameras for the production and these production elements:

• Every Angle Covered: Among the multitude of cameras will be SkyCam and cameras on the goal posts.
• Pylon Cameras: All eight pylons will be equipped with four cameras in each one, allowing for unique camera angles along the goal line, sideline and backline.
• Super Slow Motion: Four super slow-motion cameras will be used which will help provide precise, tight camera shots throughout the game and capture the emotion of the matchup.
• High Above The Horseshoe: Arial coverage will capture the entire scene inside the stadium.
• That’s Love: A 60-second tease will air right before kickoff that is voiced by actor Clarke Peters and has the song “That’s Love” by Oddisee as the backdrop

ESPN says there will be 175 staffers manning the game for the television production.

And in addition to the game being aired on ABC, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes will have their own broadcasts of the game.

And one thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that Kirk Herbstreit will be on the air for what will amount to be nine straight hours, the five-hour College GameDay pregame on ESPN and then game on ABC which could run up to four hours. It will be a marathon for Herbstreit, but nothing he’s not unaccostomed to as he works both Saturday mornings and Saturday evenings during college football season.

It’s going to be a busy Saturday in Columbus for all involved for ESPN/ABC.

[ESPN]