''ESPN College Football Primetime'' is a live game presentation of Division 1-FBS college football on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

or sometimes

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

. In the past, the presenting sponsor was

Cooper Tires Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sales of replacement automobile and truck tires, and has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle, and racing tires. W ...

, but since the 2006 season, the current presenting sponsor is

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...

. The game telecast airs every Thursday night at 7:45pm ET during the college football regular season. The game is preceded by a 30-minute segment with Matt Barrie, Joey Galloway and Jesse Palmer, all of whom also appear on the halftime report. This game telecast is also presented in high definition on

ESPNHD ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. It has broadcast games from numerous conferences including the SEC,

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

, Sun Belt and the American. This game is often seen as the

''Game of the Week'' along with the Saturday night telecast. The most visible voices of ''ESPN College Football Primetime'' over the years have been Mike Tirico,

Kirk Herbstreit Kirk Edward Herbstreit (; born August 19, 1969) is an American sportscaster and former college football player. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's '' College GameDay'', a television program covering college football, and he also provides color ...

and

Lee Corso Lee Richard Corso (born August 7, 1935) is an American sports broadcaster and football analyst for ESPN and a former coach. He has been a featured analyst on ESPN's '' College GameDay'' program since its inception in 1987. Corso served as the he ...

, but none remain in the booth, with Tirico and Herbstreit being promoted and Corso cutting back on his schedule. The current commentators are Matt Barrie on

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

Louis Riddick Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ...

as analyst and

Harry Lyles Jr. Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as sideline reporter since 2022.

Personalities

Current

* Matt Barrie: (play-by-play, 2020–present) *

: (analyst, 2022–present) *Harry Lyles Jr.: (field reporter, 2021–present)

Former

* Mike Golic Jr.: (analyst, 2020) * Adam Amin: (play-by-play, 2019) *

Erin Andrews Erin Jill Andrews (born May 4, 1978) is an American sportscaster, television personality, and actress. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox S ...

: (field reporter, 2005–2009) *

Jill Arrington Tiffany "Jill" Arrington (born July 27, 1972) is an American sportscaster and reporter. She previously was a sports anchor at KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles for three years. Before that, she was in the same position at Fox Sports 1 and Fox Spor ...

: (field reporter, 2004) *

Todd Blackledge Todd Alan Blackledge (born February 25, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 19 ...

(analyst, 1998) *

Jenn Brown Jennifer Lynne Brown (born March 23, 1981) is an American sports broadcaster and television host. A former Division I Collegiate Athlete for the University of Florida, she spent eight years as a reporter and host for ESPN and ''American Ninja W ...

: (field reporter, 2010–2011) *

: (analyst, 1999–2004) *

Rece Davis Rece Davis (born }) is an American sports television journalist for ESPN/ ABC. Davis works as an anchor on '' SportsCenter'' and serves as host of various other programs on the network, including '' College GameDay'' football road show and ba ...

: (play-by-play, 2010–2014) *

Gary Danielson Gary Dennis Danielson (born September 10, 1951) is an American college football commentator and former professional American football player. Danielson was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Detroit Lions from ...

: (analyst 1994) *

Dave Flemming David Braxton Flemming (born May 31, 1976) is an American sportscaster who has been a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2003. Flemming also calls college football, college basketball, major leagu ...

: (play-by-play, 2016–2018) *

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...

: (analyst, 2007) *

Chris Fowler Chris Fowler (born ) is an American sports broadcaster for ESPN, who serves as the play-by-play announcer for ''Saturday Night Football'' on ABC and ESPN’s tennis coverage. He is also known for his work on '' College GameDay'', which he h ...

: (play-by-play, 2006–2009) *

Mike Gottfried Mike Gottfried (born December 17, 1944) is a sportscaster and former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Murray State University (1978–1980), the University of Cincinnati (1981–1982), the University of ...

: (analyst, 1992–1998) *

Kaylee Hartung Kaylee Hartung (born November 7, 1985) is an American broadcaster. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she has served as a contributor for CBS News, ESPN, CNN, and ABC News. In July 2022, she was announced as the sideline reporter for ''Thursday Nig ...

: (field reporter, 2015) *

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth ro ...

: (analyst, 2019) *

: (analyst, 1999–2006) * Craig James: (analyst, 2007–2011) *

Roddy Jones Roderick "Roddy" Stephen Gerrard Jones (born 2 December 1944) is a male British former swimmer. Swimming career Jones competed in the men's 100 metre backstroke at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos d ...

: (analyst, 2021) * Pat McAfee: (analyst, 2019) *

Molly McGrath Molly Anne McGrath (born June 6, 1989) is an American sportscaster and studio host who works as a sideline reporter for ESPN’s college football and college basketball telecasts. Career Early sportscasting work (2009–2013) While attending Bo ...

: (field reporter, 2019) *

Brad Nessler Bradley Ray Nessler (born June 3, 1956) is an American sportscaster, who currently calls college football and college basketball games for CBS Sports. Career Early assignments Nessler began his professional broadcasting career sharing play� ...

: (play-by-play, 1994) * Jesse Palmer: (analyst, 2008–2016) *

Mike Patrick Michael Patrick (born September 9, 1944) is a retired American sportscaster, known for his long tenure with ESPN. Early career Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was ...

: (play-by-play, 1992–1997) *

David Pollack David M. Pollack (born June 19, 1982) is a former professional American football linebacker who played in two seasons in the National Football League (NFL), having suffered a career-ending injury in the second game of his second season. He play ...

: (analyst, 2012–2015) *

Samantha Ponder Samantha Ponder ( née Steele; born December 11, 1985) is an American sportscaster who is the host of '' Sunday NFL Countdown'' on ESPN. Prior to hosting Sunday NFL Countdown, Ponder worked as a reporter/host for ESPN college football and as a ...

: (field reporter, 2012–2014) *

Jerry Punch Gerald Punch (born August 20, 1953) is an American auto racing and college football commentator working for ESPN, as well as a physician. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville. Punch is currently a Principal Investigator for an award- ...

: (field reporter, 1992–2003) *

Laura Rutledge Laura Rutledge ( née McKeeman; born October 2, 1988) is a reporter and host for ESPN and the SEC Network. She is an American beauty pageant titleholder from St. Petersburg, Florida, who was named Miss Florida 2012. Biography She won the title o ...

: (field reporter, 2016–2018) *

Joe Tessitore Joseph William Tessitore (born January 1, 1971) is an American sportscaster for ABC and ESPN. He leads ESPN's world championship fight broadcasts as the blow-by-blow broadcaster for Top Rank Boxing on ESPN, serves as a play-by-play announcer f ...

: (play-by-play, 2015) * Mike Tirico: (play-by-play, 1997–2005)

By year

Game features

*Starting Lineups: The starting lineups are presented during the first possession of each team's offense and defense. *Impact Players: Following the starting lineups, Barrie and Jones run down the top two or three impact players on each team's side of the ball. *Halftime Report:

Kevin Connors Kevin Connors is a sports television journalist for ESPN. He is among the most versatile studio hosts in sports television, handling ESPN's coverage of college basketball and college football, as well as Baseball Tonight. He is also a regular anc ...

, Joey Galloway and Jesse Palmer present the halftime report, which features analysis of the first half, highlights of earlier games and a look at other happenings in the sports world.

References

{{College football on television 1990s American television series 2000s American television series 2010s American television series ESPN original programming American sports television series

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name ''Se ...