ESPN Saturday Night Football (branded for sponsorship purposes as ESPN Saturday Night Football on ABC presented by Wells Fargo or Walmart) is a weekly presentation of prime time broadcasts of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football games that are produced by ESPN, and televised on ABC. Games are presented each Saturday evening starting at 8:00Â p.m. Eastern Time during the college football regular season, although as of 2017 some games will occasionally have a start time of 7:30Â p.m. ET (however until ESPN/ABC lost the NASCAR television rights to NBC Sports Group in 2015, games were not broadcast during weeks when ABC was scheduled to carry a Saturday nighttime Sprint Cup Series race).
As of 2017, the primary broadcast team includes play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler and analyst Kirk Herbstreit, with Maria Taylor as sideline reporter. Kevin Negandhi, Mack Brown and Booger McFarland host the studio halftime show, as well as brief pre-game and post-game shows. Other ESPN broadcast teams may also occasionally appear for regional (and some national) telecasts.
Overview
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Saturday Night Football premiered on September 2, 2006, with a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. While ABC and ESPN have aired college football games on Saturday nights for decades, this program marks the first time that a collegiate sports broadcast has officially been part of any major broadcast television network's primetime schedule.
Twelve weeks of regular season games were televised during the three-month college football season in 2006, 2007 and from 2009 to 2011; the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship Game closing out each season until a conference realignment in which four university football programs left and two others joined the Big 12 Conference resulted in the Championship Game being discontinued after the 2010 event (the Big 12 Football Championship Game returned in 2017). With the college football season being extended by one week, ABC televised thirteen weeks of games in 2008, closing with the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game on December 6.
The Advocare Classic (formerly the Cowboys Classic) became the opening game for Saturday Night Football beginning in 2011; however in 2013, the matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and Clemson Tigers served as the opening game with the Classic matchup between LSU and TCU being broadcast on ESPN. The Classic served as the opening game for Saturday Night Football again in 2014 (that year, involving the Florida State Seminoles and Oklahoma State Cowboys), in 2015 (Alabama Crimson Tide and Wisconsin Badgers) and in 2016 (Alabama Crimson Tide and USC Trojans). In 2017, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game (Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida State Seminoles) served as the opening game for Saturday Night Football (first time since 2010), while the Advocare Classic featuring the Michigan Wolverines and Florida Gators aired in the 3:30 ET timeslot.
Games from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12 Conference, the old Big East Conference, the Big Ten Conference, the Pac-12 Conference the now-defunct Western Athletic Conference and the American Athletic Conference have aired on Saturday Night Football, as well as non-conference games in which teams from these conferences were either playing at home or a neutral-site game to which ABC holds the television rights. Only North Carolina State and Virginia (from the ACC), and Indiana (from the Big Ten) have not appeared on Saturday Night Football. All BCS and Power 5 conferences have appeared on Saturday Night Football, as the Southeastern Conference has had its teams featured in 13 non-conference games. Boise State, Temple, UCONN and Cincinnati are the only Group of 5 teams to be featured on "Saturday Night Football" to date, with the latter two teams being featured when they were members of the BCS-aligned Big East or American Athletic conference.
In recent years, following the loss of some broadcast rights of the Pac-12 Conference to Fox Sports in 2012, the Pac-12's Saturday Night Football appearances have been limited to non-conference games, especially home games against Notre Dame and games against the Southeastern Conference, as well as road games against conferences that still have broadcast rights with ABC.
Besides Pac-12 and Big Ten games, ABC makes most of its game broadcast selections or options twelve days prior to the game (with some being made six days beforehand). This allows ABC to 'flex' the most compelling game it has the rights to broadcast into the Saturday Night Football slot. As a result, the Saturday night game is usually ABC's "game of the week". With the loss of the Sprint Cup Series to NBC and NBCSN, Saturday Night Football expanded its seasonal game schedule full-time to 13 weeks beginning in 2015, starting with the Advocare Classic.
As of the 2016 college football season, all games on ABC are broadcast in the 16:9 letterbox format on both the SD and HD feeds.
As ESPN has signed new contracts with various conferences to produce college football coverage, the network has begun branding its coverage of select conferences to which it has rights. This branding was first seen on SEC broadcasts in 2011, which became the "SEC on ESPN". ACC broadcasts followed suit in 2012 becoming the "ACC on ESPN". Despite the fact that ACC games also air on ABC, the games remain branded as the "ACC on ESPN" regardless of network. Similarly, all Pac-12 games broadcast under the branding of "Pac-12 on ESPN." In 2016, a new contract brought conference branding to Big Ten telecasts as well, which air on both ESPN and ABC. While Big Ten games that air on ESPN cable channels are branded as the "Big Ten on ESPN", games airing on ABC are now branded as the "Big Ten on ABC". While the program is still officially part of ESPN College Football which is reflected when talent appears on screen, the Big Ten on ABC logo and branding is used for intro, program IDs, and replay wipes. This is the first time any regularly schedule sporting event outside of the National Spelling Bee has carried any ABC branding since 2006.
Broadcast teams
2006
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit and Bob Davie, analysts; and Lisa Salters, sideline reporter.
- Ten games: Notre Dameâ€"Georgia Tech, Ohio Stateâ€"Texas, Nebraskaâ€"USC, Notre Dameâ€"Michigan State, Ohio Stateâ€"Iowa, Oregonâ€"California, Michiganâ€"Penn State, Oklahomaâ€"Texas A&M, Wake Forestâ€"Florida State, and Notre Dameâ€"USC.
- Dan Fouts, play-by-play; Tim Brant, analyst; and Jack Arute, sideline reporter.
- Three games: USCâ€"Arizona, Nebraskaâ€"Iowa State, and UCLAâ€"California.
- Mark Jones, play-by-play; David Norrie, analyst; and Stacey Dales, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Arizona Stateâ€"USC and Virginia Techâ€"Miami (Fla.).
- Gary Thorne, play-by-play; Andre Ware, analyst; and Todd Harris, sideline reporter.
- One game: Texasâ€"Kansas State.
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Bob Griese and Paul Maguire, analysts; and Erin Andrews, sideline reporter.
- One game: Californiaâ€"USC.
- Mike Patrick, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- One game: Nebraskaâ€"Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship Game).
2007
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; and Lisa Salters, sideline reporter.
- Eleven games: Tennesseeâ€"California, USCâ€"Nebraska, Iowaâ€"Wisconsin, USCâ€"Washington, Ohio Stateâ€"Purdue, Michiganâ€"Illinois, Ohio Stateâ€"Penn State, Florida Stateâ€"Boston College, Kansasâ€"Oklahoma State, Missouriâ€"Kansas, and Oklahomaâ€"Missouri (Big 12 Championship Game).
- Dan Fouts, play-by-play; Tim Brant, analyst; and Todd Harris, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Washington Stateâ€"USC and Notre Dameâ€"UCLA.
- Terry Gannon, play-by-play; David Norrie, analyst; and Jeannine Edwards, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Oregon Stateâ€"USC and USCâ€"California.
- Ron Franklin, play-by-play; Ed Cunningham, analyst; and Jack Arute, sideline reporter.
- One game: Texas A&Mâ€"Oklahoma.
- Dave Lamont, play-by-play; Chris Spielman, analyst; and Quint Kessenich, sideline reporter.
- One game: Boston Collegeâ€"Maryland.
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Bob Griese and Paul Maguire, analysts; and Bonnie Bernstein, sideline reporter.
- One game: Oklahomaâ€"Texas Tech.
2008
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; and Lisa Salters, sideline reporter.
- Twelve games: Alabamaâ€"Clemson (with Erin Andrews), Ohio Stateâ€"USC (with Andrews), Georgiaâ€"Arizona State, Illinoisâ€"Penn State, Missouriâ€"Texas, Penn Stateâ€"Ohio State, Texasâ€"Texas Tech, Oklahoma Stateâ€"Texas Tech, Boston Collegeâ€"Florida State, Texas Techâ€"Oklahoma, Oklahomaâ€"Oklahoma State, and Missouriâ€"Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship Game).
- Ron Franklin, play-by-play; Ed Cunningham, analyst; and Heather Cox or Jack Arute, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Michigan Stateâ€"California (with Cox) and Oklahoma Stateâ€"Colorado (with Arute).
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Chris Spielman, analyst; and Rob Stone or Erin Andrews, sideline reporter (ESPN2 crew).
- Two games: Virginia Techâ€"Nebraska (with Andrews) and Californiaâ€"USC (with Stone).
- Mike Patrick, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- One game: Ohio Stateâ€"Wisconsin.
- Mark Jones, play-by-play; Bob Davie, analyst; and Todd Harris, sideline reporter (ESPN2 crew).
- One game: Oregonâ€"USC.
2009
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; and Lisa Salters, sideline reporter.
- Twelve games: Alabamaâ€"Virginia Tech, Texas Techâ€"Texas, Iowaâ€"Penn State, Oklahomaâ€"Miami (Fla.), Michiganâ€"Iowa, Texasâ€"Missouri, USCâ€"Oregon, Connecticutâ€"Cincinnati, Notre Dameâ€"Pittsburgh, Oregonâ€"Arizona, Notre Dameâ€"Stanford, and Texasâ€"Nebraska (Big 12 Championship Game).
- Mike Patrick, play-by-play; Craig James, analyst; and Heather Cox, sideline reporter.
- Three games: Oregon Stateâ€"USC, USCâ€"Arizona State, and Texas Techâ€"Oklahoma State.
- Ron Franklin, play-by-play; Ed Cunningham, analyst; and Shelley Smith, sideline reporter.
- Three games: USCâ€"California (with Smith), Oklahomaâ€"Nebraska, and Kansasâ€"Texas (with Smith).
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Matt Millen, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Texasâ€"Oklahoma State and Georgiaâ€"Georgia Tech.
2010
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; and Erin Andrews, Heather Cox, or Holly Rowe, sideline reporter.
- Ten games: LSUâ€"North Carolina, Oregon Stateâ€"Boise State, Stanfordâ€"Oregon, Florida Stateâ€"Miami (Fla.) (with Cox), Oklahomaâ€"Missouri, Oregonâ€"USC, Arizonaâ€"Stanford, Nebraskaâ€"Texas A&M (with Cox), Oklahomaâ€"Oklahoma State, and Nebraskaâ€"Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship Game) (with Rowe).
- Mike Patrick, play-by-play; and Craig James, analyst.
- Four games: USCâ€"Stanford (with Shelley Smith), Ohio Stateâ€"Minnesota (with Ray Bentley), Clemsonâ€"Florida State (with Jeannine Edwards), and Florida Stateâ€"Maryland.
- Ron Franklin, play-by-play; and Ed Cunningham, analyst.
- Three games: Texasâ€"Texas Tech (with Jeannine Edwards), Missouriâ€"Texas Tech, and USCâ€"Arizona (with Shelley Smith).
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Matt Millen, analyst; and Heather Cox, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Notre Dameâ€"Boston College and Oklahoma Stateâ€"Texas.
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; and Todd Blackledge, analyst (ESPN crew).
- Two games: Notre Dameâ€"Michigan State (with Holly Rowe) and Notre Dameâ€"USC (with Shelley Smith).
- Mark Neely, play-by-play; Mike Bellotti and Brock Huard, analysts.
- One game: USCâ€"Oregon State.
2011
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; and Erin Andrews or Lisa Salters, sideline reporter.
- Seven games: Oregonâ€"LSU, Oklahomaâ€"Florida State, LSUâ€"West Virginia, Nebraskaâ€"Wisconsin, Stanfordâ€"USC, Kansas Stateâ€"Oklahoma State (with Salters), and Oregonâ€"Stanford.
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Matt Millen, analyst; and Heather Cox or Jeannine Edwards, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Ohio Stateâ€"Nebraska (with Edwards) and Washingtonâ€"Stanford (with Cox).
- Mike Patrick, play-by-play; Craig James, analyst; and Jenn Brown, sideline reporter.
- One game: Clemsonâ€"Georgia Tech.
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- One game: Texas Techâ€"Oklahoma.
- Mark Jones, play-by-play; and Ed Cunningham, analyst (ESPN2 crew)
- One game: Notre Dameâ€"Wake Forest.
2012
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; and Heather Cox, sideline reporter.
- Twelve games: Michiganâ€"Alabama, Notre Dameâ€"Michigan State, Clemsonâ€"Florida State, Wisconsinâ€"Nebraska, Nebraskaâ€"Ohio State, Florida Stateâ€"Miami, Notre Dameâ€"Oklahoma, Oklahoma Stateâ€"Kansas State, Notre Dameâ€"Boston College, Stanfordâ€"Oregon, and Notre Dameâ€"USC.
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Chris Spielman, analyst; and Quint Kessenich, sideline reporter.
- One game: Baylorâ€"Texas.
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- One game: Texasâ€"Kansas State.
2013
- Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; and Heather Cox, sideline reporter.
- Eleven games: Georgiaâ€"Clemson, Notre Dameâ€"Purdue, Kansas Stateâ€"Texas, Wisconsinâ€"Ohio State, Ohio Stateâ€"Northwestern, Florida Stateâ€"Clemson, Miamiâ€"Florida State, Notre Dameâ€"Pittsburgh, Stanfordâ€"USC, Baylorâ€"Oklahoma State, Dukeâ€"Florida State.
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Chris Spielman, analyst; and Shannon Spake, sideline reporter.
- Two games: Michiganâ€"Connecticut, UCLAâ€"USC.
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- One game: Penn Stateâ€"Ohio State.
2014
- Chris Fowler, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; Heather Cox, and Tom Rinaldi, sideline reporters.
- Nine games: Florida Stateâ€"Oklahoma State, Tennesseeâ€"Oklahoma, Clemsonâ€"Florida State, Notre Dameâ€"Syracuse, Nebraskaâ€"Michigan State, Notre Dameâ€"Florida State (with Rinaldi), Ohio Stateâ€"Michigan State, Florida Stateâ€"Miami, Florida Stateâ€"Georgia Tech
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- Three games: Ohio Stateâ€"Penn State, USCâ€"UCLA, Oregon-Oregon State
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Chris Spielman, analyst; and Todd McShay, sideline reporter.
- One game: Illinoisâ€"Ohio State
- Bob Wischusen, play-by-play; Matt Millen, analyst; and Quint Kessenich, sideline reporter.
- One game: Oklahoma Stateâ€"Kansas State
2015
- Chris Fowler or Rece Davis, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi, sideline reporters.
- Eleven games: Wisconsinâ€"Alabama, Oregonâ€"Michigan State (with Davis), UCLAâ€"Arizona, Notre Dameâ€"Clemson, Miamiâ€"Florida State, Penn Stateâ€"Ohio State, Ohio Stateâ€"Rutgers, Notre Dame-Temple, Oklahoma-Baylor, Oklahoma-Oklahoma State (with Rinaldi), North Carolina-Clemson (with Rinaldi).
- Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; and Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- Two games: Minnesota-Ohio State, TCU-Oklahoma
- Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Chris Spielman, analyst; and Todd McShay, sideline reporter.
- One game: Stanfordâ€"USC
2016
- Chris Fowler or Rece Davis, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi, sideline reporters, Jerry Punch and Marty Smith pit reporters (Battle at Bristol only)
- Twelve games: USC-Alabama, Virginia Tech-Tennessee (with Davis, Punch and Smith), Stanford-UCLA, Louisville-Clemson (with Rinaldi), Florida State-Miami, Ohio State-Wisconsin, Ohio State-Penn State, Clemson-Florida State, Nebraska-Ohio State, Michigan-Iowa, Oklahoma-West Virginia, Clemson-Virginia Tech
- Joe Tessitore, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; Holly Rowe, sideline reporter (ESPN crew).
- Two games: USC-Stanford, Florida-Florida State
2017
- Chris Fowler, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi, sideline reporters
- Thirteen Games: Florida Stateâ€"Alabama (with Rinaldi), Oklahomaâ€"Ohio State, Clemson-Louisville, Penn State-Iowa, Clemson-Virginia Tech (with Rinaldi), Michigan State-Michigan, Michigan-Penn State (with Rinaldi), Georgia Tech-Clemson, Virginia Tech-Miami, Notre Dameâ€"Miami (with Rinaldi), UCLAâ€"USC, Notre Dameâ€"Stanford, Miami-Clemson (with Rinaldi)
- Steve Levy, play-by-play, Brian Griese, analyst; Todd McShay, sideline reporter
- Two Games: Utah-USC, Texas Tech-Oklahoma
Schedules
All rankings are from that week's AP Poll.
2006 schedule
ABC did not air games on either October 21 or October 28 to avoid competing with the World Series.
2007 schedule
ABC did not air games on either September 8 or October 13 due to broadcasts of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
2008 schedule
ABC did not air games on either September 6 or October 11 due to broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
2009 schedule
ABC did not air games on either September 12 or October 17 due to broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
2010 schedule
ABC did not air games on either September 11 or October 16 due to broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
2011 schedule
Notes:
- 1) ABC did not air games on either September 10 or October 15 due to broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
- 2) Many of the markets scheduled to receive the Texas Techâ€"Oklahoma game on October 22 instead saw Washingtonâ€"Stanford, as a thunderstorm delayed the start of the former game, and most affiliates stuck with the latter even after the storm cleared.
2012 schedule
ABC did not air Games on either September 8 or October 13 due to broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
2013 schedule
ABC did not air Games on either September 7 or October 12 due to broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
2014 schedule
ABC did not air games on either September 6 or October 11 due to broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
2015 schedule
2016 schedule
2017 schedule
Standings
Nielsen ratings
Series high: 14.6 million viewers (11/25/2006); Series low: 2.368 million viewers (9/26/15)
Seasonal
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Saturday Night Football on ABC.
Theme music
At the time the Saturday night package began in 2006, ABC Sports was integrated with ESPN, resulting in ESPN production concepts being applied to ABC-televised sports events. As a result, during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the theme music used for the ESPN College Football and College GameDay broadcasts was used on ABC's college football telecasts â€" including Saturday Night Football â€" with the exception in both years being the Rose Bowl, during which it used the bowl game version of the network's 1998-2005 sports theme (a cut that had traditionally been used in broadcast intros). Saturday Night Football games began using the bowl version of the 1998-2005 theme as well in 2008, continuing through the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.
The intro theme was updated in 2011, with the main theme music being changed to a different cut of the 1998-2005 bowl game theme (one that had usually been used during studio shows in the past). Bowl Championship Series games aired on ESPN during this period were produced identically to Saturday Night Football productions, and used this same theme music arrangement.
In 2013, the theme for all college football telecasts on both ESPN and ABC was changed to a heavily updated version of yet another one of ABC's 1998-2005 themes (this one had usually been used for intro teasers in the past). However, unlike previous SNF themes, this theme was a completely new recording, using the tune of the 1998-2005 song as the base.
In 2015, ABC began using the same theme used by all ESPN college football productions since the 2014-15 New Years' Six bowl games.
See also
- College Football Final
- College Football Scoreboard
- College GameDay
- ESPN College Football on ABC
- ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime
- ESPN College Football Saturday Primetime
- ESPN2 College Football Saturday Primetime
References
External links
- Grossman, Ben (May 16, 2006). "ABC Fields Team for College Ball Game". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved October 26, 2007.Â
- "ABC to Broadcast 12 prime-time Saturday Games". ESPN.com news services. May 17, 2006. Retrieved September 7, 2006.Â
- Sarzniak, Matt (2005â€"2010). "Matt's College Sports on TV Website". Retrieved October 26, 2007.Â
Weekly listings for the 2006 through 2010 college football seasons
- Saturday Night Football on IMDb
- Saturday Night Football at TV.com