10. Tom Hart/Jordan Rodgers/Cole Cubelic (SECN): 2.48
Most common grade: C (39.6 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 87.3 percent
This team came in the highest of any league network team and wound up slightly further up the rankings than last year (11th of 20, 2.43). They got good numbers of A (16.7 percent) and B (31.0 percent) votes. As with many of the league network teams, they didn’t get a ton of overall votes (766).
Interestingly enough for a team that finished in the top 10, there were some strongly negative comments about each of these three from different people. Each of them seems to bother some viewers. But they also saw plenty of individual praise, including that Hart “may be the most underrated play-by-play man in the business,” Rodgers is a “bright spot of the crew,” and Cubelic “being able to chip in analysis and sideline report is great.” And the overall team and its long-established chemistry drew praise, from “rock solid” to “the best team in football.”
9. Gus Johnson/Joel Klatt (Fox): 2.56
Most common grade: A (31.8 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 75.6 percent
Those two numbers really tell the story of this ranking. This is the first team to get more A votes than any other grade, but they’re extremely polarizing, with their notable numbers of Ds (11.7 percent) and Fs (12.8 percent) holding them back. This is a drop for them from last year, where they finished eight of 20 with a 2.71 (and still received more As than anything else, but 37.5 percent that time). They’re also by far the lowest of the network “A” teams and below one other team from their network.
A lot of the individual comments here were negative towards Johnson, which isn’t surprising considering how people have reacted to him over the years. But there were some notes on liking him less over time, such as “his schtick is tired,” “has really regressed,” and “Tired of Gus overreactions.” But others found Klatt to be dragging Johnson down, saying he “can’t get out of his own bias shadow.” Most of the split comments saw praise for Klatt (” best analyst in college or NFL”) and criticism of Johnson (“More Joel, less Gus,” “Klatt is good. Gus just isn’t good anymore,”), but there was some praise for the duo, including “Gus is the best in the game. Joel Klatt is the most reasonable analyst.”
8. Joe Tessitore/Jesse Palmer (ABC/ESPN): 2.78
Most common grade: B (34.7 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 84.1 percent
Those who like this duo like them a lot, with them also receiving 33.9 percent A votes. But while they’re not as polarizing as, say, Johnson and Klatt, their 84.1 percent number of passing votes is lower than several of the teams below them. And their 15.5 percent of C votes was one of the lowest totals there. So there aren’t many people who don’t have a strong opinion on them. But those opinions are relatively consistent with last year, where they were sixth of 20 teams, but with a 2.76 grade.
A lot of the criticism here was for Tessitore’s exuberance, such as “Too much voice puking and yelling,” “Not everything is drama,” “WWE announcers just screaming all the time,” “way over the top,” and repeated requests for him to “calm down.” But others disliked Palmer, with lines like “Tessitore is usually a delight to listen to. Palmer is 50-50” and “Palmer should stick to gossip.” From those who do like this pairing (one of three top ESPN on ABC ones, but the lowest-ranked in our poll), though, there was some high praise, including “Second best team in the game right now behind the SECN crew,” “I’ve really enjoyed Jesse’s insights this year. He has a real knack for evaluating the line of scrimmage,” and “Tessitore just seems to always get the crazy games and knocks it out of the park.”
7. Dave Pasch/Dusty Dvoracek (ESPN): 2.92
Most common grade: B (51.1 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 94.6 percent
This team was also next to Tessitore and Palmer last year, but below them instead of above them. They saw a big year-over-year bump, going from 2.74 to 2.92, but it was still largely fueled by Bs (50.7 percent last year). The other big part of their ranking is how few people gave them a failing grade; they’re the third-highest there, and quite close to the two above them.
Interestingly enough, while the grade for this duo improved, some commenters said Pasch declined year-over-year for them and questioned his preparation. But the main refrain on him was “solid” and “professional,” and some of those who did have split remarks for the broadcast were higher on him, such as “I’m not huge on Dvoracek, but Pasch absolutely knows how to steer a broadcast. Great play-by-play guy.” Dvoracek got some of his own praise, though, and the overall team drew some compliments, including “Nice blend of intelligent insight, genuine energy, and colorful/critical commentary.”
6. Bob Wischusen/Louis Riddick (ESPN): 2.95
Most common grade: B (41.8 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 93.2 percent
This is a new pairing and one that saw a big rise in the voting for both of its figures. Wischusen got a 2.54 (10th of 20 teams) alongside Robert Griffin III last year, while Riddick received a 2.29 (14th) alongside Mark Jones. A key part of what put them so high was their A votes: while they received a slightly lower percentage of passing grades than Pasch and Dvoracek, they got more As (31.6 percent to 24.5 percent).
Both of these figures drew individual praise, with Riddick cited as “so good,” “a breath of fresh air,” “X’s and O’s in the booth are the best of any CFB analyst,” and a “national treasure” and Wischusen praised as “as good a PxP guy out there,” “one of the most underrated multi-sport broadcasters today,” and “a versatile guy.” But both also had their critics, with several respondents saying they’d give Riddick alone a F and questioning why he’s not in the studio and another saying “Love Riddick, can’t stand Wischusen.” The pairing also saw its critics, but also remarkable praise, including “If there was a grade above A, I would rate them that.”
5. Jason Benetti/Brock Huard (Fox/FS1): 3.13
Most common grade: A (41.6 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 94.2 percent
We’re into the 3+ average grades, and in a big way. This is the second team to receive more A votes than any other grade (following their Fox comrades of Johnson and Klatt), but they’re much less polarizing than that team, as shown by the high percentage of passing grades and the tiny (2.4 percent) percentage of Fs they got. However, this is a slight year-over-year drop in both rankings and grades for this team; they were third last year with a 3.17 and got 46.9 percent As that year.
A lot of the individual praise here was about Benetti, described as “a star,” “one of the top-tier PxPers in the game right now,” “a national treasure,” “the best that nobody talks about,” “a pro’s pro,” and more. Huard has his fans as well, though, earning lines like “really good” and “very underrated.” Those who did have split comments tended to praise Benetti but not Huard (“tiring,” “talking down to the audience”), although there were some who complained about Benetti’s voice. But the most frequently heard sentiment on the team overall was “Should be the number 1 crew for Fox,” and the numerical grades support that idea as well.
4. Brad Nessler/Gary Danielson (CBS): 3.15
Most common grade: A (43.3 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 92.9 percent
This team’s in the same spot in the rankings they were last year, but their numerical grade shot up from 2.99. A big part of that was their most common grade going from a B (32.6 percent of votes last year) to an A. They got slightly more Ds and Fs than Benetti and Huard (4.4 percent and 2.7 percent to 3.4 percent and 2.4 percent) but edged them out thanks to more As.
Nessler and Danielson’s games changed this year from the SEC to the Big Ten, and that had some respondents watching them more or less than they did last year. Nessler saw significant individual praise, including “best voice in college football” and “best of the best.” There were some negative comments about him, but more on Danielson, including “too fixed on technical work” and “nothing but a master of the obvious.” Some said the team had lost a step, whether from age, the conference shift, or both, but there are still lots who love them, with lines like “best of the best,” “these two are college football,” and “Hall of Fame worthy.”
3. Noah Eagle/Todd Blackledge (NBC): 3.21
Most common grade: A (45.4 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 94.6 percent
This team saw a jump from a No. 5 ranking and a 2.89 last year, their first year together. Their most common grade shifting from B (46.1 percent of votes last year) to A was a major factor there. And it’s notable that while the other two NBC/Peacock booths considered here were right near the bottom of these rankings (25 and 23), this one made the top three.
The comments here were interesting for the amount of people who like one of these two but not the other. Many Eagle critics claimed he only has this role due to his father, while other commenters expressed sentiments like he’s “being held back by Todd.” But the votes show a lot of people who do really like this team, and that came out in the comments as well, with lines like “One of the best announcer pairings in sports,” “NBC’s presentation is phenomenal,” and “The best announcer tandem in college football bar none – wish they had more marquee games to work.” (That latter point is an interesting note; while NBC has the evening primetime window for the Big Ten, they’ve only had a few really great games there, especially the Ohio State-Oregon one they got in a trade. And it’s worth mentioning that this team only got 949 votes, notable considering that the top ABC and Fox teams both saw more than 1,000.)
2. Sean McDonough/Greg McElroy (ABC/ESPN): 3.39
Most common grade: A (55.9 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 95.7 percent
This team was also No. 2 last year, but their grade rose this year from 3.30 to 3.39 (which would have been high enough for the top spot in 2023). They also got more As than anything else last year, but 47.7 percent rather than the 55.9 percent they drew this year. And they received more passing grades than any other booth this year.
A lot of the individual praise here was for McDonough, with lines like “the best PXP guy in the sport by far,” “the best in the business,” “captures the big moments like no one else today,” and “a pro, love his flow and insight.” He also saw positive comments for his willingness to criticize officiating when warranted. Some of the praise for McDonough came with criticism for McElroy, particularly with many calling him an “SEC homer.” But at least one commenter liked him more, calling him “the man” to McDonough’s “system QB.” Many commenters praised this booth overall, though, with lines like “the best booth in college football” and “best crew in the sport, easily.”
1. Chris Fowler/Kirk Herbstreit (ABC): 3.39
Most common grade: A (61.8 percent)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 94.0 percent
The winners, and still champions! It was again a very narrow divide between this booth and McDonough/McElroy, though, decided by the third decimal place this year versus the fourth last year. (To further digits, Fowler/Herbstreit got a 3.3910 average this year, while McDonough/McElroy had 3.3866.) A big reason for their win was those As, which rose from 53.8 percent last year to 61.8 percent.
Despite coming in at the top of the rankings, this duo does have their critics. A large part of those comments was about perceived SEC bias (although one commenter accused Herbstreit of Big Ten bias). Others had individual criticisms for Fowler (“incredibly overrated,” “lost his fastball”) and Herbstreit (“can’t stop himself from fawning over a specific team in the broadcast,” “overanalyzes everything”), with one commenter saying Herbstreit’s dual duty calling Thursday Night Football for Amazon has brought down his CFB analysis. But, as you’d expect for the top booth in these rankings, there are a lot of commenters who love this team, calling them the “gold standard” (in seven different responses), “best in the biz,” and “best crew in the land.” And the overall grades agree with that.
Thanks to everyone who voted!
