College Football on USA
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''College Football on USA'' refers to the
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
's
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
coverage of the
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
regular season. USA's coverage ran from 1980 to 1986.


History

During USA's first three seasons (
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
-
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
), they broadcast several games (they in essence, cherry picked games from regional and national syndicators like
Raycom Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom, through its Communi ...
,
Mizlou Mizlou Television Network, Inc. or Mizlou Communications, Inc., is a former sports broadcast television network. It was active from 1962 to 1991, and in 1992 it was re-established as Mizlou Television Network, Inc., which is now based in Tampa, ...
, and Katz) a week. These broadcasts were shown on a tape delayed basis as much as two days later. For USA's final four seasons (
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
-
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
), they narrowed their coverage to only one game a week. Initially, the games were selected from virtually every conference. However, in the later years, USA would frequently (but not exclusively) air games involving
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
, Notre Dame,
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
and
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. More to the point, by
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, USA primarily aired games from the
Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
.


Schedules


1984


Notable games

* 1981 Liberty Bowl - This was the first
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
to be exclusively broadcast on
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
. *" The Play" - The Play refers to a last-second
kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...
return during a
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
game between the University of California Golden Bears and the Stanford University Cardinal on Saturday, November 20,
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
. After Stanford had taken a 20-19 lead on a field goal with four seconds left in the game, the Golden Bears used five
lateral pass In gridiron football, a lateral pass or lateral (officially backward pass in American football and onside pass in Canadian football) occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to a teammate in a direction parallel to or away from the oppon ...
es on the ensuing kickoff return to score the winning
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
and earn a 25-20 victory. Members of the
Stanford Band The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) is the student marching band representing Stanford University and its athletic teams. Billing itself as "The World's Largest Rock and Roll Band," the Stanford Band performs at sporting ...
had come onto the field midway through the return, believing that the game was over, which added to the ensuing confusion and folklore. There remains disagreement over the legality of two of the laterals,ESPN.com - ESPN 25 - 18: Cal's five-lateral kickoff return shocks Stanford
/ref> adding to the passion surrounding the traditional rivalry of the annual " Big Game." *The biggest highlight of
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
quarterback
Frank Reich Frank Michael Reich Jr. (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Maryland a ...
's college career was the comeback he led against the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
on November 10, 1984 at the
Orange Bowl Stadium The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Downtown Miami. The Miami Orange Bowl was considered a landmark and served as the ho ...
. Reich came off the bench to play for Stan Gelbaugh, who had previously replaced him as the starter after Reich separated his shoulder in the fourth week of the season against Wake Forest. Miami quarterback
Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in ...
had led the 'Canes to a 31-0 lead at halftime. At the start of the third quarter, Reich led the
Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...
multiple scoring drives. Three touchdowns in the third quarter and a fourth at the start of the final quarter turned what was a blowout into a close game. With the score 34-28 Miami, Reich hit Greg Hill with a 68-yard touchdown pass which deflected off the hands of Miami safety Darrell Fullington to take the lead. Maryland scored once more to cap a 42-9 second half, and won the game 42-40, completing what was then the biggest comeback in NCAA history. *1985
Cherry Bowl The Cherry Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played in the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1984 and 1985.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", ''The Washington Times''. December 21, 1997. Page A1. Th ...
- The end of NCAA control over television rights resulted in a major increase in televised games, and TV rights fees dropped sharply amid the resulting glut, something not anticipated by the Cherry Bowl organizers. * 1985 Holiday Bowl * 1985 Freedom Bowl


Simulcasts

* 1985 Independence Bowl (produced by
Mizlou Mizlou Television Network, Inc. or Mizlou Communications, Inc., is a former sports broadcast television network. It was active from 1962 to 1991, and in 1992 it was re-established as Mizlou Television Network, Inc., which is now based in Tampa, ...
) * 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl (produced by
Lorimar Sports Network The Lorimar Sports Network, or LSN, was an American ''ad hoc'' television network providing syndicated college football and basketball. It was based at Lorimar's original headquarters in Culver City, California, with an additional office in Dalla ...
) * 1986 Independence Bowl (produced by
Mizlou Mizlou Television Network, Inc. or Mizlou Communications, Inc., is a former sports broadcast television network. It was active from 1962 to 1991, and in 1992 it was re-established as Mizlou Television Network, Inc., which is now based in Tampa, ...
) * 1986 Peach Bowl (produced by
Mizlou Mizlou Television Network, Inc. or Mizlou Communications, Inc., is a former sports broadcast television network. It was active from 1962 to 1991, and in 1992 it was re-established as Mizlou Television Network, Inc., which is now based in Tampa, ...
)


Notre Dame football

Since 2011, at least two games per-season are played in
primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
often played at neutral venues for the purposes of recruiting and financial benefits for playing at those sites, a high-profile matchup involving a major opponent, or to schedule around conflicts with other NBC Sports or NBC News programming. On occasion, selected games may be shifted to an
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...
-owned cable channel, such as
NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...
or
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
. Notre Dame's September 19, 2020, game against
South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
was shifted to
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
due to conflicts with the 2020 U.S. Open on NBC, and co-produced with the school's in-house production arm Fighting Irish Media due to NBC's main production unit already being used for the tournament. Notre Dame's double-overtime win against Clemson on November 7, 2020, was NBC's most-watched Notre Dame game since 2005, despite game coverage moving temporarily to
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
(due to coverage of Joe Biden's acceptance speech after being declared consensus winner of the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...
).


Commentators


Play-by-play

*
Eddie Doucette Eddie Doucette (born June 15, 1940) is a former television and radio sportscaster and currently the president of Doucette Promotions Inc. Doucette was the original radio play-by-play voice of the Milwaukee Bucks, where he broadcast games for 16 ye ...
*
Harry Kalas Harold Norbert Kalas (March 26, 1936 – April 13, 2009) was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, a position he held f ...
* Ray Lane *
Barry Tompkins Barry David Tompkins (born May 2, 1940) is an American sportscaster. He is better known for his work as a boxing commentator, but he has covered football and other sports. Early life Tompkins was born and raised in San Francisco. Career KCBS, K ...


Color commentary

* John Beasley *
Jim Brandstatter James Patrick Brandstatter (born ) is an American sports announcer. He was the radio play-by-play announcer for the Michigan Wolverines football team. He held the position of color commentator for the Detroit Lions for 31 years until the end o ...
*
Jeff Logan Jeff Logan starred as a running back at Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio establishing numerous scoring records. Logan went to Ohio State University in 1974 and played on 2 Big Ten Conference Championship football teams. Logan backed up ...
*
Kyle Rote, Jr. Kyle Rote Jr. (born December 25, 1950) is an American former professional soccer forward who played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and earned five caps with the United States men's national soccer team between 1973 a ...
Kyle's Pitch Done By Rote.
/ref> *
Joe Theismann Joseph Robert Theismann (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian ...


Sideline reporters

*
Johnny Holliday John Holliday Bobbitt (born October 15, 1937), known professionally as Johnny Holliday, is an American radio and television sportscaster and a former Top 40 radio disc jockey. He has maintained a long association with the University of Maryland ...


References

{{College football on television
USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
USA Network original programming USA Network Sports 1980 American television series debuts 1980s American television series 1986 American television series endings