Opinion: Is ESPN Shuffling It’s College Football Deck?

If you believe the rumours that have been swirling since the 2014 BCS National Championship about Brent Musburger having likely called his last big game for ESPN, it appears that the self-professed Worldwide Leader in Sports will have a new play-by-play commentator alongside Kirk Herbstreit on ABC’s primetime Saturday Night Football series, as well as – at least – a national semi-final assignment, and perhaps the National Championship Game, too. 

A veteran of CBS and now ESPN/ABC, it’s been speculated that Musburger, who admittedly is not getting any younger, will get a new contract with ESPN, but perhaps as lead play-by-play on the start-up SEC Network, scheduled to launch later this year, rather than a place on the network’s primetime flagship presentation of the sport.

With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to peruse the play-by-play talent that ESPN have amassed and try to put myself in the shoes of the execs in Bristol, CT making the important decision of who might be in line to take over one of the prime broadcasting gigs in sport. Here are the candidates I came up with:

Mike Tirico: The current voice of ESPN’s flagship product, Monday Night Football, is no stranger to multiple assignments, calling NBA and college basketball on television and college football on radio around his NFL gig. 

A great play-by-play man who previously called Thursday night games with Kirk Herbstreit, so chemistry would be there, and the fact that ESPN can fly Herbstreit from GameDay locations to the site of Saturday Night Football – sometimes, by private jet – is all the proof you need that Bristol could do the same to get Tirico from Saturday night college football to Monday pro football. 

Sean McDonough: One of my personal favourites, and currently calls the big 3.30pm game on ABC. There are few sports the former Boston Red Sox announcer hasn’t called for ESPN and in his time at CBS before that. His voice is synonymous with college football these days, and he’s had the good fortune to call some of the more memorable moments in recent history, right up to Central Florida’s dramatic Fiesta Bowl victory over Baylor this year.

The fact that he (with on-air partner Chris Spielman; the pair are very entertaining and have a long history together) has had a BCS assignment the last few years suggests that he is held in high esteem by the ESPN execs. The only downside to a McDonough promotion would be separating him from Spielman. They are a great team, and popular, so maybe ESPN might be hesitant to break them up?

Chris Fowler: The host of College GameDay is as versatile an announcer as ESPN has on it’s payroll. For example, just days after working at the BCS National Championship, Fowler’s on a plane headed to Melbourne for the Australian Open. He’s also made it very clear in interviews recently that he wants a shot at college football play-by-play and ESPN might wish to elevate him rather than risk a situation where he’s lured to the SEC package that CBS has when current announcer, the veteran Verne Lundquist retires, which will likely be in the next few years.

I was a huge fan of Fowler calling Thursday night games first with Kirk Herbstreit then with Craig James/Doug Flutie/Jesse Palmer before he gave it up to focus on his GameDay work. It remains to be seen whether Fowler could juggle both GameDay duties and play-by-play. Yes, Herbstreit does it, but the prep for host would be more than that of an analyst. Maybe, it would mean giving up GameDay altogether?

Rece Davis: I assumed that Davis, an Alabama graduate and the guy who took over from Fowler as play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s high-rating Thursday night college broadcasts (now with Jesse Palmer and David Pollack, a great trio), would get the gig as host of SEC Nation, the GameDay-esque pre-game show that’s going to be the centrepiece of football Saturdays on the new SEC Network. 

Perhaps Davis didn’t get promoted to that show because he is either in line to front ESPN/ABC primetime coverage or, thinking somewhat outside the box, maybe Davis is to be promoted to GameDay host to replace Fowler. That would ensure two of ESPN’s brightest and most popular stars are given new positions, which, you assume, ties them to Bristol into the foreseeable future. A smart move with CBS soon in the market for a play-by-play man, and FOX Sports, who want viewers for their FOX Sports 1 cable network, knowing that hiring a big-name broadcaster is the first step to inflating their viewership.

Whatever happens, Davis, who hosts the basketball version of College GameDay, has done more than his fair share of hard yards, sharing a desk with Mark May and Lou Holtz two or three days a week every fall. I wouldn’t mind seeing him on GameDay or calling the big primetime package.

Joe Tessitore: With his promotion to host the pre-game show, SEC Nation on the soon-to-be-launched SEC Network, it seems unlikely that Tessitore could manage to do both, especially if it regularly involved flying from one end of the country to the other, which is likely, given that most of the big SEC games are broadcast on CBS. It could be a very draining schedule.

It’s a shame, because Tess has become ESPN’s equivalent of Gus Johnson, in that insane football games seem to break out wherever he is broadcasting. Clearly ESPN like him – his BCS Bowl assignments of the last few years are an indicator of that – but they apparently don’t like him enough to give him a better partner than blowhard Matt Millen.

Dave Pasch: Another of my favourites, and a very underrated guy. Teams nicely with Brian Griese on the ESPN (sometimes ABC) midday game, and is an NBA veteran, too. Even so, he’s probably the least likely guy on this list to be elevated so high, given his relatively light experience, at least compared to the Fowler’s, Davis’ and Tirico’s of the world. It would be nice to see Pasch in a higher-profile assignment, though. Sometimes those midday kickoffs are forgotten in the rush of later games.

Brent Musburger: Hey, why not just stick with Brent. I mean, it’s not like he’s exactly falling apart at the microphone. His calls this year have been sharp and witty, and I love how he slides in the occasional gambling reference. 

A little irreverence and an exciting call of all those big-time moments – reference his call of the Florida State return in Monday’s game – are what you get with Brent, and he has undeniable chemistry with Kirk Herbstreit. His is the voice that reminds me that I’m watching a really big contest.

Yes, I know he called himself Kirk Herbstreit to open the BCS National Championship broadcast, but that doesn’t mean he’s suddenly gone all senile. People make mistakes. For all his eccentricities – hello, Katherine Webb – he’s popular I honestly don’t think there’s a better guy calling college football at the moment than Brent. It’s not like he’s had a major fall off like, say, Dick Stockton on the NFL on FOX has had recently. It wouldn’t be a dumb idea for ESPN to keep him, at least for a few more years.