No. 3 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State: ABC’s Presentation of The Game Culminates ESPN’s Weeklong, all Platform Coverage of Marquee Matchup

Derek Volner

ABC’s presentation of No. 3 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 26, (noon ET) culminates more than 40 hours of programming dedicated to The Game across ESPN TV and various platforms including coverage from Ann Arbor, Mich., and Columbus, Ohio, a special-five hour edition of College GameDay Presented by the Home Depot, SportsCenter on the Road and re-airs of historic games between two of the biggest rivals in college football.

Everything is On the Line
The result of Michigan at Ohio State has ramifications in both the Big Ten and across the college football landscape as both teams sit atop the Big Ten East division standings, tied with Penn State, and are in the College Football Playoff Top 4 with the Wolverines currently No. 3 and the Buckeyes No. 2.

Michigan clinches the Big Ten East division with a victory, while an Ohio State victory shifts the focus to State College, Pa., where Penn State hosts Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. A Nittany Lions victory following a Buckeyes victory will give Penn State the East division, while a Spartans victory will give the Buckeyes the division.

ABC’s Presentation
Chris Fowler calls the play-by-play alongside analyst Kirk Herbstreit and Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi work from the sidelines, with Ponder reporting on the Buckeyes and Rinaldi the Wolverines.  Derek Mobley (director) and Bill Bonnell (producer) lead the production which includes more than 50 cameras inside Ohio Stadium. Additional production elements include:

Overall, more than 175 staffers will be onsite to assist Bonnell and Mobley in the game production.

ESPN Radio’s Broadcast
ESPN Radio broadcasts the matchup throughout the country to more than 400 ESPN Radio stations, ESPNRadio.com, SirusXMRadio, the ESPN app, Apple Music, TuneIn and Slacker Radio.  Bill Rosinski calls the play-by-play with David Norrie as the analyst and Ian Fitzsimmons as the reporter.

ESPN Deportes Telecast
ESPN Deportes televises the matchup in Spanish with Pablo Viruega calling the game alongside analyst Eduardo Varela.

College GameDay Presented by The Home Depot Begins at 7 a.m.
College GameDay Presented by the Home Depot starts at 7 a.m. on Saturday, two hours earlier than its normal 9 a.m. air time. The special five-hour program originates from outside Ohio Stadium in front of the Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) on the Ohio State campus for the majority of the first four hours before moving inside the stadium.

Saturday is College GameDay’s sixth time at the site of The Game (1997, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007) and the first time in Columbus for this matchup since 2006. Additional GameDay highlights:

 

More information on College GameDay can be found here

SportsCenter on the Road
Sara Walsh co-hosts SportsCenter on the Road Friday, Nov. 25, (10 a.m. to noon on ESPN) from Columbus. Additionally, SportsCenter will have a presence on both campuses this week, including Jeannine Edwards reporting from Ohio State starting Wednesday.

Throughout the week, SC provides a look back at some of the greatest moments of the rivalry, while also airing  numerous celebrities and former participants of both teams’ take on rivalry. Among those include:

ESPN.com on Michigan, Ohio State, Harbaugh, Meyer and More
The digital home for college football news and information will have more than dozen articles focused around The Game. An anticipated schedule of write-ups include:

Sunday, Nov. 20

Monday, Nov. 21

Tuesday, Nov. 22

Wednesday, Nov. 23

Thursday, Nov. 24

Friday, Nov. 25

ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio covers The Game throughout the week on its shows, including on Mike & Mike (6 a.m. – 10 a.m.). The four-hour daily show, which is also televised on ESPN2, will have a number of guests including Herbstreit (Wednesday and Thursday), Paul Finebaum (TBD), Joey Galloway (Friday), Danny Kanell (TBD) and Booger McFarland (TBD).

Friday, Doug Kezirian and Trevor Matich will host The Right Time with Bomani Jones (4 p.m. – 7 p.m.) Saturday, Dari & Mel (7 a.m. – 10 a.m.), hosted by Dari Nowkhah and Mel Kiper Jr., will preview the game and welcome two-time All-American and former Ohio State linebacker AJ Hawk onto the program hours before kickoff.

Following the game, ESPN Radio’s College GameDay will air a special edition (7 p.m. – 11 p.m.) with host Kezirian and analysts Matich and Brad Edwards.

Cross Promotion

ESPN’s marketing team will promote The Game across various ESPN networks and platforms, including placements during Monday Night Football — Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders from Mexico City (8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN). Additionally, on ABC, Good Morning America and ABC News will also have promotional elements throughout the week.

Re-live Historic Games from Michigan and Ohio State on ESPNU and ESPN Classic
ESPNU and ESPN Classic will air more than 25 hours of classic games between the two schools on Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25

Date Time Year: Game Network
Thu, Nov. 24 12:30 a.m. 2013: Ohio State at Michigan ESPNU
3:30 a.m. 2003: Ohio State at Michigan ESPNU
6:30 a.m. 2005: Ohio State at Michigan ESPNU
9:30 a.m. 2006: Michigan vs. Ohio State ESPNU
Fri, Nov. 25 12 a.m. 2006: Michigan at Ohio State ESPN Classic
2 a.m. 1999: Ohio St at Michigan ESPN Classic
4 a.m. 2003: Ohio St at Michigan ESPN Classic
7 a.m. 2012: Michigan at Ohio St ESPN Classic
11 a.m. 1995: Ohio St at Michigan ESPN Classic
1 p.m. 2011: Ohio St at Michigan ESPN Classic
3 p.m. 2006:  Michigan at Ohio St ESPN Classic
5 p.m. 2000:  Michigan at Ohio St ESPN Classic

All games will also be available on WatchESPN after they have aired on either ESPNU or ESPN Classic at their designated time above.

-30-

Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner

 

Related Articles
↑
Exit mobile version