NBC’s broadcast of USC-Notre Dame game falls flat

The classic rivalry between USC and Notre Dame was front-and-center in the college football world on Saturday night. That also meant that NBC’s Notre Dame broadcast team was front-and-center.

Unfortunately, the reviews were not great.

This was Notre Dame’s fifth game of the season on NBC (or its streaming service, Peacock). The first two were predictable blowout wins, with the Fighting Irish beating Navy 42-3 and Tennessee State 56-3. The third was on Peacock, a streaming service which led to a state senator representing Columbus pushing for a law that would legally require games to be shown on traditional television, apparently feeling that one Peacock-only game is such an inconvenience that it should be prioritized over other matters.

The fourth game was the instant classic against Ohio State. And while it was a Notre Dame home game, NBC elected to use its Big Ten announcers. So, while every Notre Dame game is nationally televised, Saturday night was the first time that NBC’s Notre Dame broadcast team, led by announcers Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett, was truly in the spotlight this season.

Garrett reminded everyone of his career as a head coach when he said “Believe it or not, I think you gotta consider this four-down territory,” referencing a third-and-17 that USC was facing from deep in its own territory. On the surface, that seems like a bold statement. But given that roughly five minutes remained in the game and the Trojans were down 18, it wasn’t exactly a “believe it or not” moment.

With USC down 18 and just over five minutes left, that was a weird time for Jason Garrett's "Believe it or not, I think you gotta consider this four-down territory." pic.twitter.com/klDZ7bCsda

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 15, 2023

And that was far from it. The game being a blowout might have caused some fans to turn it off a little earlier than expected. But both Garrett and Collinsworth were panned throughout the night.

I’ve never heard a more naturally emotionless broadcast pair than Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett

— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) October 15, 2023

https://twitter.com/North2North/status/1713367595867390073

My ears are bleeding listening to Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett on the Notre Dame-USC call.

A game of this magnitude deserves so much better.

— Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) October 15, 2023

Going from Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit in the Oregon Washington game to Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett in this USC ND tilt is like going from a Rolls Royce to a Honda Civic

This is an insult to Tuesday night MAC games these guys BLOW

— Joe O’Leary (@TheHQNerd) October 15, 2023

And as if that wasn’t enough, the coup de grâce came a few minutes later from the graphics team. Notre Dame scored the game’s final points on a scoop-and-score by Xavier Watts.

The graphics team, though, identified it as a USC score. Not only were six points added to USC’s total on the score bug but as the camera panned over to the celebrating Notre Dame bench, a graphic popped up that not only said USC scored, but specifically, that it was a “Scoop N’ Score” for the Trojans.

Xavier Watts set up two Notre Dame touchdowns with interceptions. Here, he gets to the end zone on his own with a scoop-and-score. pic.twitter.com/sHoQWOodjq

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 15, 2023

Saying it was a USC touchdown is one thing. The Trojans were on offense and that’s when most touchdowns are scored. It’s much harder to get a “Scoop N’ Score” on offense, though.

On the positive end, we did get Garrett shouting out Ice Spice after the Saturday Night Live preview.

"I can't wait to see Ice Spice in action." – Jason Garrett pic.twitter.com/TqmSkZhCRC

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 15, 2023

That couldn’t have been on too many bingo cards. The Fighting Irish have two more games on NBC this season.

We can only hope that those go a little more smoothly.

[Photo Credit: NBC]