Week 5 of the 2026 college football season will be headlined by three ranked matchups that figure to play a big part in the College Football Playoff picture.
No. 7 Alabama and No. 16 Mississippi State will meet in Starkville, and Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy will have the call for ABC (12 p.m. ET).
The 3:30 p.m. ET slot will feature multiple high-profile games. No. 5 Ohio State and No. 14 Iowa will face off in Iowa City (where ESPN’s College GameDay will be for the first time in 20 years), and Brad Nessler and Charles Davis will provide the commentary for CBS. And No. 8 Florida will take on No. 25 Missouri in Columbia, with Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer in the ABC booth.
Here’s a look at the television networks and announcers for the Week 5 FBS college football games (all times are Eastern).
(You can pass along further details on omissions or corrections to mclapp@awfulannouncing.com)
Thursday, October 1
Western Kentucky at New Mexico State (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network): Justin Kutcher (play-by-play), Ben DiNucci (analyst)
North Texas at Tulsa (9 p.m., ESPN): Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Chase Daniel (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (reporter)
Friday, October 2
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech (7 p.m., ESPN): Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), Dana Boyle (reporter)
Liberty at Delaware (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network): Alex Del Barrio (play-by-play), Emory Hunt (analyst)
Penn State at Northwestern (8 p.m., Fox): Connor Onion (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst), Alexa Landestoy (reporter)
Saturday, October 3
No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State (12 p.m., ABC): Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), Katie George (reporter)
No. 3 Notre Dame at North Carolina (12 p.m., ESPN/Disney+): Wes Durham (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), Taylor McGregor (reporter)
Michigan at Minnesota (12 p.m., Fox): Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), Jenny Taft (reporter)
UCF at No. 20 Houston (12 p.m., ESPN2): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), Morgan Uber (reporter)
Boston College at No. 21 SMU (12 p.m., The CW): Thom Brennaman (play-by-play), Jason Cabinda (analyst), Wes Bryant (reporter)
West Virginia at Iowa State (12 p.m., TNT): J.B. Long (play-by-play), Mike Golic Jr. (analyst)
Navy at Air Force (12 p.m., CBS): Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Adam Breneman (analyst), Brian Kelly (analyst), Jordan Giorgio (reporter)
Stanford at Wake Forest (12 p.m., ACC Network): Jorge Sedano (play-by-play), Rodney McLeod (analyst), Kendra Douglas (reporter)
Syracuse at UConn (12 p.m., CBS Sports Network): Jack Gordon (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue (analyst), Jaclyn DeAugustina (reporter)
Middle Tennessee at Kansas (12 p.m., ESPNU): Mark Neely (play-by-play), Jay Walker (analyst)
Michigan State at Wisconsin (12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network): Jason Horowitz (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analyst), Brooke Fletcher (reporter)
Vanderbilt at No. 2 Georgia (12:45 p.m., SEC Network): Matt Schumacker (play-by-play), Aaron Murray (analyst), Taylor Davis (reporter)
Western Michigan at Buffalo (1 p.m., ESPN+): Shawn Kenney (play-by-play), Mo Hasan (analyst)
Toledo at Ball State (2 p.m., ESPN+): Kelsie Kasper (play-by-play), Marcus Ray (analyst)
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa (3:30 p.m., CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analyst), Jenny Dell (reporter)
No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri (3:30 p.m., ABC): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst), Kris Budden (reporter)
Auburn at No. 17 Tennessee (3:30 p.m., ESPN): Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Louis Riddick, Stormy Buonantony (reporter)
Louisville at NC State (3:30 p.m., ACC Network): Justin Kutcher (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst), Madison Fitzpatrick (reporter)
California at UNLV (3:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): John Sadak (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst)
Virginia at Florida State (3:30 p.m., ESPN2): Jay Alter (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst), Lauren Sisler (reporter)
Wyoming at North Dakota State (3:30 p.m., The CW): Jack McMullen (play-by-play), Cody Kessler (analyst), Bryan Walters (reporter)
Memphis at Charlotte (3:30 p.m., ESPN+): Evan Budrovich (play-by-play), Reggie Walker (analyst), Maria Trivelpiece (reporter)
Samford at UAB (3:30 p.m., ESPN+): Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Doc Holliday (analyst)
Akron at Central Michigan (3:30 p.m., ESPN+): Evan Stockton (play-by-play), Barrett Brooks (analyst)
Eastern Michigan at Massachusetts (3:30 p.m., ESPN+): Bill Spaulding (play-by-play), Craig Haubert (analyst)
Ohio at Kent State (3:30 p.m., ESPN+): Michael Reghi (play-by-play), Ryan Cavanaugh (analyst)
Bowling Green at Miami Ohio (3:30 p.m., ESPN+): Doug Sherman (play-by-play), Forrest Conoly (analyst)
Old Dominion at Georgia State (3:30 p.m., ESPN+): TBD
Marshall at James Madison (3:45 p.m., ESPNU): Ted Emrich (play-by-play), Fozzy Whittaker (analyst)
Maryland at Nebraska (4 p.m., FS1): Dan Hellie (play-by-play), Robert Smith (analyst)
UTEP at New Mexico (4 p.m., MW+): Robert Portnoy (play-by-play), DonTrell Moore (analyst)
No. 24 Kentucky at South Carolina (4:15 p.m., SEC Network): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), Michella Chester (reporter)
Purdue at Illinois (4:15 p.m., Big Ten Network): Chris Vosters (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst), Dannie Rogers (reporter)
Oregon State at Colorado State (6 p.m., USA): Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Darius Walker (analyst), Dalen Cuff (reporter)
Texas Southern at Florida Atlantic (6 p.m., ESPN+): AJ Ricketts (play-by-play), Leger Douzable (analyst)
No. 10 BYU at TCU (7 p.m., ESPN/Disney+): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Quint Kessenich (reporter)
Arkansas at Texas A&M (7 p.m., ESPN2): Lowell Galindo (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), Dawn Davenport (reporter)
UTSA at Rice (7 p.m., ESPN+): TBD
Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina (7 p.m., ESPN+): TBD
UL Monroe at South Alabama (7 p.m., ESPN+): TBD
No. 4 Miami at Clemson (7:30 p.m., ABC): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe (reporter)
No. 12 Texas Tech at Colorado (7:30 p.m., Fox): Noah Reed (play-by-play), Devin Gardner (analyst), Josh Sims (reporter)
Washington at No. 18 USC (7:30 p.m., NBC): Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Kathryn Tappen (reporter)
Utah State at No. 22 Boise State (7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Doug Pederson (analyst), Brandon Baylor (reporter)
McNeese at No. 11 LSU (7:45 p.m., SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Cole Cubelic (analyst), Tori Petry (reporter)
Temple at South Florida (7:30 p.m., ESPNU): Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play), Tyoka Jackson (analyst)
Army at Louisiana Tech (7:30 p.m., ESPN+): Malcom Butler (play-by-play), Luke McCown (analyst)
No. 6 Indiana at Rutgers (8 p.m., Big Ten Network): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Rhett Lewis (analyst), Caroline Hendershot (reporter)
Arkansas State at Louisiana (8 p.m., ESPN+): Dan McDonald (play-by-play), Steve Peloquin (analyst)
Fresno State at Washington State (9:30 p.m., USA): Nate Gatter (play-by-play), Ryan Leaf (analyst), Lauren Green (reporter)
Baylor at Arizona State (10:30 p.m., ESPN): Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), Sherree Burruss (reporter)
Texas State at San Diego State (10:30 p.m., The CW): Rick Allen (play-by-play), Will Blackmon (analyst), Michael Bumpus (analyst)
Cincinnati at Arizona (11 p.m., Fox): Jack Kizer (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst)
San José State at Hawai’i (11:59 p.m., MW+): Kanoa Leahey (play-by-play), Rich Miano (analyst)
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.