No. 5 USC at No. 16 Washington State and No. 2 Clemson at No. 12 Virginia Tech on Consecutive Nights Highlight ESPN/ABC’s College Football Week 5
- ESPN: Four Undefeated Teams Friday Night, Saturday SEC Tripleheader including No. 1 Alabama Hosting Ole Miss, Seven Ranked Teams Overall
- ESPN/ABC Airs All Three Matchups of Ranked Teams in Week 5
ESPN/ABC will be the only networks to showcase matchups of ranked teams in college football’s week 5, as, on Friday, Sept. 29, ESPN will air No. 5 USC at No. 16 Washington State (10:30 p.m. ET) and, on Saturday, Sept. 30, ABC’s Saturday Night Football Presented by Wells Fargo televises No. 2 Clemson at No. 12 Virginia Tech (8 p.m.) and ESPN televises No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 13 Auburn (6 p.m.).
ABC’s Saturday Night Football Features Top 5 Team for Fifth Consecutive Week
Clemson plays a ranked ACC opponent on the road for the second time in three weeks and ABC’s Saturday Night Football airs a top 5 team for the fifth consecutive week when the Tigers matchup against the Hokies from Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor will on hand for the rematch of the 2016 ACC Championship game, which the Tigers won on their way to the College Football Playoff National Championship. Earlier in the day, College GameDay Presented by The Home Depot (9 a.m. – noon) will televise from Virginia Tech for the first time since 2007.
Friday Night Lights: Showdown of Ranked Pac-12 Teams and No. 14 Miami on the Road at Duke; All Four Teams Undefeated
The Cougars face their first ranked opponent of the season when the Trojans come into Pullman, Wash., Adam Amin, Dusty Dvoracek and Molly McGrath will be at Martin Stadium as the two schools play each other for the first time since 2014. Washington State, which has only beaten USC nine times in 71 meetings, will be looking to beat the Trojans at home for the first time since 2002. Prior to the Pac-12 showdown, No. 14 Miami will play at Duke (7 p.m.). The last time the Hurricanes played at Wallace Wade Stadium, the game had a very memorable ending. All four teams are undefeated on the season.
No. 1 Alabama, Ranked Teams Highlight SEC Tripleheader on ESPN
ESPN will air a SEC tripleheader Saturday, concluding with No. 1 Alabama hosting Ole Miss (9 p.m.). The aforementioned Bulldogs-Tigers matchup will precede the Crimson Tide-Rebels game and follows No. 21 Florida hosting Vanderbilt (noon).
Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge, and Holly Rowe will be in Tuscaloosa, while Dave Flemming, Brian Griese, and Todd McShay head to Auburn and Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, and Tom Luginbill travel to Gainesville.
Additional Highlights:
- 10 Wisconsin opens up conference play against Northwestern (noon on ABC). Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, and Allison Williams will be in Madison, Wisc.
- Florida State looks for its first win of the season when the Seminoles travel to Wake Forest (3:30 p.m. on ABC). Mike Patrick, Tommy Tuberville, and Paul Carcaterra will head to Winston-Salem, N.C.
ESPN’s Networks Week 5 College Football Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Thu, Sep 28 | 7:30 p.m. | North Carolina Central at Florida A&M Eric Clemons, Jay Walker |
ESPNU |
| 8 p.m. | Texas at Iowa State Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Laura Rutledge, Todd McShay |
ESPN | |
| Fri, Sep 29 | 7 p.m. | No. 14 Miami at Duke Dave Lamont, Mack Brown, Julie Stewart-Binks |
ESPN |
| 10:30 p.m. | No. 5 USC at No. 16 Washington State Adam Amin, Dusty Dvoracek, Molly McGrath |
ESPN | |
| Sat, Sep 30 | Noon | Northwestern at No. 10 Wisconsin Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams |
ABC |
| Vanderbilt at No. 21 Florida Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, Tom Luginbill |
ESPN | ||
| North Carolina at Georgia Tech Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer, Kris Budden |
ESPN2 | ||
| Houston at Temple Mike Couzens, John Congemi |
ESPNU | ||
| New Mexico State at Arkansas Taylor Zarzour, Andre Ware, Olivia Harlan |
SEC Network | ||
| Rice at Pittsburgh | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Benedictine at Central Methodist | ESPN3 | ||
| 12:20 p.m. | Syracuse at NC State | ACC Network Extra | |
| 1 p.m. | Central Michigan at Boston College
Dave Weekley, Dustin Fox |
ACC Network Extra | |
| Guilford at Jacksonville | ESPN3 | ||
| East Tennessee State at Furman | ESPN3 | ||
| Gannon at Mercyhurst | ESPN3 | ||
| 2 p.m. | Missouri State at North Dakota State | ESPN3 | |
| 3 p.m. | The Citadel at Samford | ESPN3 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Florida State at Wake Forest
Mike Patrick, Tommy Tuberville, Paul Carcaterra |
ABC | |
| Baylor at Kansas State Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht, Rocky Bomain |
ESPN2 | ||
| Navy at Tulsa Mark Neely, Ray Bentley |
ESPNU | ||
| Buffalo at Kent State Michael Reghi, Jerod Cherry |
ESPN3 | ||
| Murray State at No. 17 Louisville | ACC Network Extra | ||
| 4 p.m. | Eastern Michigan at Kentucky Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb, Dawn Davenport |
SEC Network | |
| Connecticut at SMU Shawn Kenney, Rene Ingoglia |
ESPNEWS | ||
| Colorado Mesa at CSU-Pueblo | ESPN3 | ||
| South Dakota at Western Illinois | ESPN3 | ||
| Clarion at Edinboro | ESPN3 | ||
| 5 p.m. | Central Connecticut State at Sacred Heart | ESPN3 | |
| 6 p.m. | No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 13 Auburn Dave Flemming, Brian Griese, Todd McShay |
ESPN | |
| Akron at Bowling Green Jim Barbar, Bobby Carpenter |
ESPN3 | ||
| Western Carolina at Chattanooga | ESPN3 | ||
| Bryant at New Hampshire | ESPN3 | ||
| 7 p.m. | Memphis at UCF Mike Corey, Ahmad Brooks, Roddy Jones |
ESPN2 | |
| Troy at No. 25 LSU Clay Matvick, Kirk Morrison |
ESPNU | ||
| Ball State at Western Michigan Dan Gutowsky, Marcus Ray |
ESPN3 | ||
| Coastal Carolina at Louisiana-Monroe Joel Meyers, Brian Kinchen |
ESPN3 | ||
| Marshall at Cincinnati Drew Fellios, Forrest Conoly |
ESPN3 | ||
| South Alabama at Louisiana Tech | ESPN3 | ||
| Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State | ESPN3 | ||
| Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas | ESPN3 | ||
| South Dakota State at Youngstown State | ESPN3 | ||
| Saginaw Valley State at Grand Valley State | ESPN3 | ||
| Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois | ESPN3 | ||
| West Florida at Florida Tech | ESPN3 | ||
| Abilene Christian at Incarnate Word | ESPN3 | ||
| McNeese at Stephen F. Austin | ESPN3 | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | South Carolina at Texas A&M Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic |
SEC Network | |
| Indiana State at Illinois State | ESPN3 | ||
| Southeastern Louisiana at Northwestern State | ESPN3 | ||
| 8 p.m. | No. 2 Clemson at No. 12 Virginia Tech
TV: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons |
ABC & ESPN Radio | |
| Delta State at Mississippi College | ESPN3 | ||
| Nicholls at Lamar | ESPN | ||
| 9 p.m. | Ole Miss at No. 1 Alabama Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe |
ESPN | |
| 10:30 p.m. | Colorado at UCLA Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore |
ESPN2 | |
| San Jose State at UNLV Roy Philpott, Tom Ramsey |
ESPNU |
Not all ESPN3 and ACC Network Extra Games are Exclusive
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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner
