Here’s a look at who’s televising and calling (where available) this week’s college football games, with some discussion of a featured game or games in each slot based on announcers, matchup, or both. All times are Eastern.
Tuesday, Nov. 12 (all listings from 506 Sports)
Featured game: Western Michigan @ Bowling Green
7:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Clay Matvick, Steve Addazio
This is some crucial #MACtion, involving two of the four teams tied at the top of the conference with 4-1 MAC records. Both are 5-4 overall, but the Falcons are 9.5-point home favorites, and they’re coming off a three-game win streak. Meanwhile, the Broncos fell 42-28 last week to Northern Illinois, but had won four straight games before that.
For Western Michigan, a key figure to watch is RB Jaden Nixon. He has 116 carries for 847 yards and 12 touchdowns this year, and is averaging 7.3 yards per carry. For Bowling Green, keep an eye out for tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who has 73 catches for 1,033 yards and six touchdowns (14.2 yards per reception).
Central Michigan @ Toledo
7:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Matt Schumacker, Dustin Fox
Ball State @ Buffalo
7:00 p.m.
CBSSN
Dave Ryan, Adam Breneman
Wednesday, Nov. 13
Featured game: Eastern Michigan @ Ohio
7:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Jay Alter, Rocky Boiman
Speaking of those four teams at the top of the MAC, a third is here with Ohio. The Bobcats are 6-3 overall and 4-1 in conference, and they have what could be a pretty good test here against Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are just 2-3 in MAC play, but they’re 5-4 overall. Ohio is a 10.5-point favorite here, but this looks like a closer game than the other one involving a team that’s 4-1 in the MAC (that would be Miami (Ohio), facing 0-9 Kent State in the game below this, and 31-point favorites there).
For Eastern Michigan, defensive lineman Peyton Price is a player to watch. He has a team-high 4.5 sacks this season, plus two forced fumbles and 37 tackles. For Ohio, RB Anthony Tyus has 694 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 126 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. We’ll see what he can do in this one.
Kent State @ Miami (OH)
7:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Shawn Kenney, Charlie Strong
Akron @ Northern Illinois
7:00 p.m.
CBSSN
Jason Knapp, Brock Vereen
Thursday, Nov. 14
East Carolina @ Tulsa
7:30 p.m.
ESPN
Matt Barrie, Dan Mullen
Featured game: Grambling @ Alabama A&M
8:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker
There’s a solid HBCU game here from the Southwest Athletic Conference, with the 5-5 Tigers at the 4-5 Bulldogs. Grambling enters this after a last-second escape against Alabama State last week, where they scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and Hornets’ kicker Brandon Gilliam missed a last-second 28-yard field goal. Meanwhile, Alabama A&M beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 52-24 last week, but lost 25-20 to Southern the week before. And both teams have had conference struggles, coming in at 2-4 (Grambling) and 2-3 (Alabama A&M) there.
The Tigers have had some quarterback questions this year. Senior QB Myles Crawley was selected as the SWAC’s preseason player of the year in a July media poll, and he’s thrown for 1,395 yards and 10 touchdowns this season (with a 59.1 percent completion mark and six interceptions), but hit an injury setback two weeks back. Freshman Deljay Bailey has been starting in his place, but his numbers have been underwhelming; he completed just six of 12 attempts for 76 yards and an interception last week. The Bulldogs also have their own QB questions, with Cornelious Brown IV replacing Xavier Lankford partway through last week’s win.
Friday, Nov. 15
North Texas @ UTSA
8:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Anish Shroff, Andre Ware
Howard @ N.C. Central
8:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker
Wyoming @ Colorado State
8:00 p.m.
CBSSN
Chris Lewis, Donte Whitner
Featured game: UCLA @ Washington
9:00 p.m.
Fox
Connor Onion, Mark Helfrich
The latest game in broadcast Fox’s Friday night sports strategy has a matchup of former Pac-12 rivals who now face off in the Big Ten. Both the Bruins and Huskies are 3-4 in conference, but they’re 4-5 and 5-5 overall. UCLA is coming in off a three-game win streak, while Washington got pasted 35-6 by Penn State last week, but the Bruins are only 3.5-point favorites here, so this could be a close one.
A key figure to watch here is Huskies’ RB Jonah Coleman, who has 913 rushing yards and seven touchdowns (with a 6.0 yards-per-carry average) and 150 receiving yards on 20 catches. For the Bruins, keep an eye on linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who has 92 tackles (almost double the second-most on the team), three sacks, and an interception.
Houston @ Arizona
10:15 p.m.
FS1
Trent Rush, Petros Papadakis
Saturday, Nov. 16, morning window
Featured game 1: Texas @ Arkansas
12:00 p.m.
ABC
Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer
The Longhorns are up to No. 3 in the AP and coaches’ polls this week after losses by Georgia and Miami. They’re 8-1 overall and 4-1 in conference, and they’ve won two straight after a 30-15 loss to Georgia on Oct. 19. And they’re 13.5-point favorites here, but the Razorbacks have been known to play spoiler; they’re coming in off a 63-31 loss to Ole Miss two weeks back, but they posted a massive 19-14 win over then-No. 5 Tennessee on Oct. 5.
For Arkansas, a player to watch is junior QB Taylen Green. He has 2,214 passing yards this year, already a career-high, and has thrown 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions with a 61.2 percent completion rate. For the Longhorns, there’s also a QB debate: Quinn Ewers is back in the saddle for now, and threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns (and a 70.4 percent completion rate) with no interceptions last week, but there’s always Arch Manning waiting in the wings, especially after his very successful starts (939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions, a 67.8 percent completion rate) while Ewers was injured.
Featured game 2: Utah @ Colorado
12:00 p.m.
Fox
Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt
While the Buffaloes aren’t pulling the TV ratings they did in Year 1 of Deion Sanders’ tenure there, they’re having quite the on-field season. They’re 7-2 overall (5-1 in conference), and have won three straight since a loss to Kansas State on Oct. 12. Meanwhile, the Utes entered this season as one of the top Big 12 contenders, but have hit some notable stumbles, including a close 22-21 loss last week to BYU (then No. 9 in the AP poll).
A key figure to watch here is Colorado WR/DB Travis Hunter, currently a notable favorite for the Heisman Trophy. Hunter has 69 catches for 856 yards (12.4 yards per reception) and nine touchdowns this season, plus two interceptions, a forced fumble, and 20 tackles on defense. For Utah, keep an eye on RB Micah Bernard, who has 860 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 147 carries this year.
Clemson @ Pittsburgh
12:00 p.m.
ESPN
Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy
Tulane @ Navy
12:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Roy Philpott, Sam Acho
Ohio State @ Northwestern
12:00 p.m.
BTN
Jeff Levering, Jake Butt
Louisiana Tech @ Western Kentucky
12:00 p.m.
CBSSN
Liberty @ Massachusetts
12:00 p.m.
ESPN+
ULM @ Auburn
12:45 p.m.
SECN
Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb
Coastal Carolina @ Marshall
1:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Murray State @ Kentucky
1:30 p.m.
SECN+, ESPN+
Richard Cross, Charles Arbuckle
Mercer @ Alabama
2:00 p.m.
SECN+, ESPN+
Jay Alter, Rocky Boiman
Florida Atlantic @ Temple
2:00 p.m.
ESPN+
James Westling, Barrett Brooks
Florida International @ Jacksonville State
2:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Michigan State @ Illinois
2:30 p.m.
FS1
Alex Faust, Robert Smith
Saturday, Nov. 16, afternoon window
Syracuse @ California
3:00 p.m.
CW
Thom Brennaman, Max Browne
Hawaii @ Utah State
3:00 p.m.
Hawaii PPV, Team1Sports
Sam Houston @ Kennesaw State
3:00 p.m.
ESPN+
LSU @ Florida
3:30 p.m.
ABC
Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek
Featured game: Penn State @ Purdue
3:30 p.m.
CBS
Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson
The 8-1 Nittany Lions enter this one fourth in the AP poll and fifth in the coaches’ poll. 1-8 Purdue (0-6 in conference) doesn’t look like a massive opponent, and Penn State is a 28-point favorite here, but this is still possibly interesting given the Nittany Lions’ prominence. And style points may matter a bit for them this year.
For Penn State, QB Drew Allar remains a figure to watch. He was quite efficient this past week against Washington, throwing for 220 yards and a touchdown with a 71.4 percent completion mark. But he looked a lot worse in the previous week’s loss to Ohio State, throwing for just 146 yards with a 60.0 percent completion mark and no touchdowns against one interception. For Purdue, watch TE Max Klare, who has 475 receiving yards (a team-high) and two touchdowns on 32 catches.
Featured game 2: Virginia @ Notre Dame
3:30 p.m.
NBC
Dan Hicks, Jason Garrett
The 8-1 Fighting Irish come into this one on the heels of a 52-3 home thumping of Florida State, so they’re in good shape. That’s not quite the same for the Cavaliers, who are 5-4 on the year and 3-3 in the ACC. But even the 23-point underdog status here for Virginia doesn’t necessarily write them off, especially with Notre Dame’s only loss this year being against Northern Illinois on Sept. 7.
For Notre Dame, a key figure is QB Riley Leonard. He leads the team in both passing (1,575) and rushing (609) yardage, and has nine passing and 13 rushing touchdowns to date. For Virginia, keep an eye on LB Kam Robinson, who has four sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery, plus 49 overall tackles.
Boston College @ Southern Methodist
3:30 p.m.
ESPN
Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick
Louisville @ Stanford
3:30 p.m.
ACCN
Jorge Sedano, Orlando Franklin
Oregon State @ Air Force
3:30 p.m.
CBSSN
Jordan Kent, Logan Ryan
South Florida @ Charlotte
3:30 p.m.
ESPN+
Justin Kutcher, Reggie Walker
Nebraska @ USC
4:00 p.m.
Fox
Jason Benetti, Brock Huard
Baylor @ West Virginia
4:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison
James Madison @ Old Dominion
4:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Courtney Lyle, Rene Ingoglia
Troy @ Georgia Southern
4:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Missouri @ South Carolina
4:15 p.m.
SECN
Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers
Arkansas State @ Georgia State
5:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Rutgers @ Maryland
6:00 p.m.
FS1
Chris Myers, Spencer Tillman
Saturday, Nov. 16, evening window
Arizona State @ Kansas State
7:00 p.m.
ESPN
Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler
Boise State @ San Jose State
7:00 p.m.
CBSSN
Rich Waltz, Robert Turbin
South Alabama @ Louisiana
7:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Southern Mississippi @ Texas State
7:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Tennessee @ Georgia
7:30 p.m.
ABC
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit
Featured game: Oregon @ Wisconsin
7:30 p.m.
NBC
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge
The 10-0 Ducks (No. 1 in both the AP and coaches’ polls) have an interesting Big Ten clash here, taking on the 5-4 Badgers on the road. Camp Randall is never a particularly easy place to play, and while Wisconsin is coming off two straight losses (42-13 to Iowa and 28-13 to Penn State), they can’t be written off.
For the Badgers, there’s an interesting RB tandem. Tawee Walker has been their workhorse, carrying 142 times for 676 yards (4.8 per carry) and 10 touchdowns, but Cade Yacamelli has been a great change-of-pace back, collecting 274 yards and two touchdowns on just 33 carries (8.3 yards per carry). For the Ducks, QB and Heisman Trophy candidate Dillon Gabriel remains the key figure, throwing for 2,848 yards and 22 touchdowns with five interceptions and a 74.1 completion percentage so far.
New Mexico State @ Texas A&M
7:45 p.m.
SECN
Dave Neal, Aaron Murray
Cincinnati @ Iowa State
8:00 p.m.
Fox
UAB @ Memphis
8:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Brian Custer, Rod Gilmore
Wake Forest @ North Carolina
8:00 p.m.
ACCN
Wes Durham, Tom Luginbill
Washington State @ New Mexico
9:30 p.m.
FS1
Dan Hellie, Petros Papadakis
Kansas @ BYU
10:15 p.m.
ESPN
Mark Jones, Roddy Jones
San Diego State @ UNLV
10:30 p.m.
CBSSN
Carter Blackburn, Randy Cross
