ESPN College Football Coverage Carries On: Bowl Season Continues, FCS Champion Crowned
ESPN’s college football coverage continues this week with the second half of Bowl Season, as well as the FCS Championship on January 8.
Bowl Season Bounds into the New Year
As the calendar flips from 2021 into the New Year, ESPN’s expansive college football bowl season continues in the week ahead, concluding the extensive 1,000+ game schedule across ESPN networks for the 2021 season. The Quick Lane Bowl between Western Michigan and Nevada (11 a.m. ET, ESPN) kicks off the post-Christmas action on Monday, Dec. 27, followed by a quartet of Tuesday matchups, including two ESPN Events bowls: TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl (noon, ESPN) and the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (3:15 p.m., ESPN). Nearly two dozen bowls are set for ESPN networks over the coming weeks. Full details available here.
Also on the horizon is ESPN’s presentation of each College Football Playoff Semifinal courtesy of the network’s signature CFP MegaCast production on Friday, Dec. 31. In total, nearly 40 presentations will be available across the New Year’s Six, peaking with the CFP Semifinals as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic highlights No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Cincinnati (3:30 p.m.) and the Capital One Orange Bowl features No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia (7:30 p.m.). More MegaCast details available here.
College Football Bowl Schedule on ESPN Networks (Dec. 27 – Jan. 10)
| Date | Time (ET) | Bowl | Network |
| Mon, Dec 27 | 11 a.m. | Quick Lane Bowl Ford Field (Detroit, Mich.) Western Michigan vs. Nevada Mike Couzens, Dustin Fox, Taylor McGregor |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
| Tue, Dec 28 | Noon | TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl * Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Ala.) No. 20 Houston vs. Auburn Taylor Zarzour, Eric Mac Lain, Taylor Davis |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
| 3:15 p.m. | SERVPRO First Responder Bowl * Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas, Texas) Air Force vs. Louisville Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Jalyn Johnson |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes | |
| 6:45 p.m. | AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Memphis, Tenn.) Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech TV: Dave Neal, Deuce McAllister, Andraya Carter Radio: Sean Kelley, Barrett Jones, Ian Fitzsimmons |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| 10:15 p.m. | Guaranteed Rate Bowl Chase Field (Phoenix, Ariz.) West Virginia vs. Minnesota TV: Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Stormy Buonantony Radio: Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Dawn Davenport |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| Wed, Dec 29 | 2:15 p.m. | New Era Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (Bronx, N.Y.) Maryland vs. Virginia Tech TV: Matt Barrie, Tim Hasselbeck, Sam Acho Radio: Chris Carlin, Jack Ford, Abby Labar |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes |
| 5:45 p.m. | Cheez-It Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Fla.) No. 19 Clemson vs. Iowa State TV: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill Radio: Marc Kestecher, Ben Hartsock, Kris Budden |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| 9:15 p.m. | Valero Alamo Bowl The Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas) No. 14 Oregon vs. No. 16 Oklahoma TV: Jason Benetti, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra Radio: Jorge Sedano, Max Starks, Alex Chappell |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| Thu, Dec 30 | 11:30 a.m. | Duke’s Mayo Bowl Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, N.C.) North Carolina vs. South Carolina Anish Shroff, Mike Golic Jr., Taylor McGregor |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
| 3 p.m. | TransPerfect Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tenn.) Tennessee vs. Purdue TV: Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic Radio: Dave Neal, Deuce McAllister, Jalyn Johnson |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| 7 p.m. | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Ga.) No. 12 Pittsburgh vs. No. 10 Michigan State TV: Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III, Quint Kessenich Radio: Roy Philpott, Kelly Stouffer, Lauren Sisler |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| 10:30 p.m. | SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl * Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nev.) Wisconsin vs. Arizona State Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Dawn Davenport |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes | |
| Fri, Dec 31 | 11 a.m. | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Fla.) No. 17 Wake Forest vs. Rutgers Taylor Zarzour, Mark Herzlich, Alyssa Lang |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
| 3:30 p.m. | College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati TV: Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath, Laura Rutledge Radio: Sean Kelley, Barrett Jones, Ian Fitzsimmons |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| 7:30 p.m. | College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Fla.) No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Georgia TV: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Marty Smith Radio: Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III, Quint Kessenich |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| Sat, Jan 1 | Noon | Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.) Penn State vs. No. 21 Arkansas Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Stormy Buonantony |
ESPN2 |
| 1 p.m. | Vrbo Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Fla.) No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 22 Kentucky TV: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill Radio: Marc Kestecher, Ben Hartsock, Taylor Davis |
ABC/ESPN Radio | |
| 1 p.m. | PlayStation Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Ariz.) No. 9 Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame TV: Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, Kris Budden Radio: Jason Benetti, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| 5 p.m. | Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One Venture X Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.) No. 11 Utah vs. No. 6 Ohio State TV: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Tiffany Blackmon Radio: Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes | |
| 8:45 p.m. | Allstate Sugar Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, La.) No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 8 Ole Miss TV: Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, Katie George Radio: Sean Kelley, Barrett Jones, Ian Fitzsimmons |
ESPN/ESPN Radio | |
| Tue, Jan 4 | 9 p.m. | TaxAct Texas Bowl * NRG Stadium (Houston, Texas) LSU vs. Kansas State Dave O’Brien, Tim Hasselbeck, Kelsey Riggs |
ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
| Mon, Jan 10 | 8 p.m. | College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Ind.) TV: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Molly McGrath Radio: Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Ian Fitzsimmons |
ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes |
* ESPN Events bowl games
FCS Championship Set for Jan. 8 on ESPN2 – No. 2 North Dakota State vs. No. 8 Montana State
The FCS postseason reaches its conclusion with the FCS Championship, set for Saturday, Jan. 8 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The championship contest will be televised on ESPN2 at noon, featuring Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Jay Walker and Stormy Buonantony on the call.
North Dakota State leads all schools with eight FCS Championships, while the Bobcats are making their second FCS Championship game appearance – their first since 1984.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game/Commentators | Network |
| Sat, Jan 8 | Noon | FCS Championship: No. 2 North Dakota State vs. No. 8 Montana State Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Jay Walker, Stormy Buonantony |
ESPN2 |
