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 in each slot based on announcers, matchup, or both. All times are Eastern.
Tuesday, Nov. 5 (all listings from 506 Sports)
Bowling Green @ Central Michigan
7:30 p.m.
ESPN2
Clay Matvick, Steve Addazio
Featured game: Miami (OH) @ Ball State
8:00 p.m.
ESPN
Matt Schumacker, Dustin Fox
Hallelujah, midweek #MACtion is back! The RedHawks look like the stronger team coming into this one, entering at 4-4 and on a three-game win streak. And they’re 12.5-point favorites. But the Cardinals just beat Northern Illinois (giving them a transitive win over Notre Dame), so they can’t be written off.
For Miami, a key figure to watch is QB Brett Gabbert (yes, the younger brother of former NFL QB Blaine). He’s thrown for 1,727 yards and 13 touchdowns so far, but with seven interceptions and just a 58.9 percent completion mark. For Ball State, watch out for TE Tanner Koziol, who has a team-high 580 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 64 catches.
Wednesday, Nov. 6
Featured game: Northern Illinois @ Western Michigan
7:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Lowell Galindo, Fozzy Whittaker
The visiting Huskies are having an interesting season. As noted above, they beat Notre Dame 16-14 on the road on Sept. 7, but they lost to Ball State last week and are just 4-4 on the year. Meanwhile, the Broncos are 5-3 and on a three-game winning streak. But they’re 1.5-point home underdogs.
Northern Illinois’ crucial figures to watch may be their running back duo. Antario Brown has 516 yards and four touchdowns on 111 carries, while Gavin Williams has 488 and one on 106. For the Broncos, QB Hayden Wolff has thrown for 1,586 yards with 15 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 68.8 percent completion rate.
Ohio @ Kent State
7:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Mike Corey, Craig Haubert
Thursday, Nov. 7
Featured game: Appalachian State @ Coastal Carolina
8:00 p.m.
ESPN
Matt Barrie, Dan Mullen
This is an interesting clash of 4-4 Sun Belt teams. Many had decent expectations for App State this season, but their overall record’s a bit below what had been expected. But they’ve battled through extremely tough circumstances around Hurricane Helene and its impact on their hometown of Boone, N.C., which even had some suggestions they might have to move home games. They’ve continued to play at home despite challenges, though, and they’re on a two-game win streak.
For the visiting Chanticleers (a one-point favorite), WR Jameson Tucker is a standout. He’s caught 22 passes for a team-high 414 yards and four touchdowns so far, averaging 18.8 yards per reception. For the Mountaineers, QB Joey Aguilar has thrown for 2,270 yards with 18 touchdowns, but 10 interceptions and just a 56.5 percent completion rate.
Florida Atlantic @ East Carolina
8:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb
Friday, Nov. 8
Dartmouth @ Princeton
6:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Eric Frede, Jack Ford
California @ Wake Forest
8:00 p.m.
ACCN
Jorge Sedano, Orlando Franklin
Featured game: Iowa @ UCLA
9:00 p.m.
Fox
Connor Onion, Mark Helfrich
This clash of the 6-3 Hawkeyes and the home 3-6 Bruins isn’t perfect big-Fox programming, but it’s not bad. It’s notable that the Iowa offense is actually somewhat better this year following the forced exit of head coach Kirk Ferentz’s son Brian as offensive coordinator (after he very much did not hit his contractual minimums) and the introduction of Tim Lester. They’re averaging 356.1 yards per game and 30.78 points per game, up from 234.6 and 15.43. Meanwhile, DeShaun Foster’s first year as UCLA HC following Chip Kelly’s February exit to be the OC at Ohio State is not going as well.
For UCLA, QB Ethan Garbers has thrown for 1,703 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions, plus a 65.3 percent completion rate. For Iowa, RB Kaleb Johnson continues to be a force, rushing for 1,279 yards (QB Cade McNamara has only thrown for 1,017) with 19 touchdowns and 7.5 yards per carry. We’ll see what he and the 6.5-point favorite Hawkeyes can do here.
Rice @ Memphis
9:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Beth Mowins, Andre Ware
New Mexico @ San Diego State
10:30 p.m.
FS1
Dan Hellie, Petros Papadakis
Saturday, Nov. 9, early window
Featured game: Florida @ Texas
12:00 p.m.
ABC
Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer
These teams are in rather different spots, with the Longhorns coming in at 7-1 and No. 5 in the AP poll and the Gators just 4-4. And more concerningly still, Florida has lost two of their last three and is down to third-stringer Clay Millen at quarterback, part of why they’re 21.5-point underdogs here. But it will be interesting to hear Palmer call his alma mater, especially with the Gators facing so many questions at his old position of QB.
For Texas, there’s been a QB debate of some sort as well, with some flip-flopping between Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. Ewers has battled injuries and also saw a brief performance-based benching against Georgia, but is back in the starting role now, and persevering despite some injury effects lingering for a while. He’s thrown for 1,389 yards and 14 touchdowns against six interceptions this year, with a 69.1 percent completion mark. But he is facing some pressure from Manning, the hot prospect who’s thrown for 920 yards and nine touchdowns (with two interceptions and a 69.0 percent completion mark) in relief this year.
Purdue @ Ohio State
12:00 p.m.
Fox
Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt
Minnesota @ Rutgers
12:00 p.m.
NBC
Jac Collinsworth, Michael Robinson
Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech
12:00 p.m.
ESPN
Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick
Navy @ South Florida
12:00 p.m.
ESPN2
Roy Philpott, Sam Acho
West Virginia @ Cincinnati
12:00 p.m.
FS1
Chris Myers, Robert Smith
Texas State @ ULM
12:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Jason Ross Jr, Tyoka Jackson
Syracuse @ Boston College
12:00 p.m.
CW
Thom Brennaman, Max Browne
Liberty @ Middle Tennessee
1:00 p.m.
CBSSN
Jordan Kent, Logan Ryan
Connecticut @ UAB
2:30 p.m.
ESPN+
James Westling, Leger Douzable
Marshall @ Southern Mississippi
3:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Saturday, Nov. 9, afternoon window
Featured game: Georgia @ Ole Miss
3:30 p.m.
ABC
Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy
The 7-1 Bulldogs (No. 3 in the AP poll) enter as 2.5-point road favorites, but the 7-2 Rebels are no slouch. Ole Miss is second in FBS with 555.4 offensive yards per game, led by QB Jaxson Dart. Dart has thrown for a remarkable 3,210 yards to date with 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions, plus a 71.7 percent completion rate.
For Georgia, QB Carson Beck has thrown for 2,302 yards and 17 touchdowns. But he’s tossed 11 interceptions (including three against Florida last week), and has just a 65.5 percent completion mark so far this season. We’ll see if he can keep up with Dart in this one if it turns into a shootout.
Michigan @ Indiana
3:30 p.m.
CBS
Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson
Clemson @ Virginia Tech
3:30 p.m.
ESPN
Mark Jones, Roddy Jones
Army @ North Texas
3:30 p.m.
ESPN2
Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison
Iowa State @ Kansas
3:30 p.m.
FS1
Guy Haberman, Yogi Roth
San Jose State @ Oregon State
3:30 p.m.
CW
J.B. Long, Michael Bumpus
Duke @ N.C. State
3:30 p.m.
ACCN
Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich
Georgia State @ James Madison
3:30 p.m.
ESPN+
Colorado @ Texas Tech
4:00 p.m.
Fox
Jason Benetti, Brock Huard
Temple @ Tulane
4:00 p.m.
ESPNU
Courtney Lyle, Rene Ingoglia
Kennesaw State @ UTEP
4:00 p.m.
ESPN+
South Carolina @ Vanderbilt
4:15 p.m.
SECN
Dave Neal, Aaron Murray
Jacksonville State @ Louisiana Tech
4:30 p.m.
CBSSN
Chris Lewis, Randy Cross
Arkansas State @ Louisiana
5:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Western Kentucky @ New Mexico State
6:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Saturday, Nov. 9, evening window
Mississippi State @ Tennessee
7:00 p.m.
ESPN
Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek
Oklahoma State @ TCU
7:00 p.m.
FS1
Eric Collins, Spencer Tillman
Maryland @ Oregon
7:00 p.m.
BTN
Jeff Levering, Jake Butt
Featured game: Alabama @ LSU
7:30 p.m.
ABC
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit
The Crimson Tide and Tigers are a little further down the AP rankings than they often are at this point of the year, entering at 6-2 each and at No. 11 and No. 14 respectively. But this is still a big game, especially in a 12-team playoff era, and GameDay will be there for it. And Alabama against LSU at night in Death Valley certainly has some potential.
For three-point road favorites Alabama, QB Jalen Milroe remains in the spotlight. He’s thrown for 1,937 yards and 13 touchdowns this year, and rushed for 380 yards and 12 touchdowns, but has tossed six picks and posted a 67.5 percent completion mark. For LSU, entering off the heels of a 38-23 loss to Texas A&M in their last game two weeks back, QB Garrett Nussmeier has thrown for 2,627 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions, but just a 62.5 percent completion mark. We’ll see which pivot comes out tops Saturday.
Florida State @ Notre Dame
7:30 p.m.
NBC
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge
UCF @ Arizona State
7:30 p.m.
ESPN2
Brian Custer, Rod Gilmore
Oklahoma @ Missouri
7:45 p.m.
SECN
Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers
Nevada @ Boise State
8:00 p.m.
Fox
Virginia @ Pittsburgh
8:00 p.m.
ACCN
Wes Durham, Tom Luginbill
Washington @ Penn State
8:00 p.m.
Peacock
Paul Burmeister, Colt McCoy
UNLV @ Hawaii
9:00 p.m.
CBSSN
Rich Waltz, Ross Tucker
Fresno State @ Air Force
9:45 p.m.
FS1
Chris Vosters, Charles Arbuckle
BYU @ Utah
10:15 p.m.
ESPN
Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler
UC-Davis @ Montana
10:15 p.m.
ESPN2
Jay Alter, Rocky Boiman
Utah State @ Washington State
10:30 p.m.
CW
Ted Robinson, Ryan Leaf
