‘Tis the Season for College Football: ESPN’s On-Site Studio Presence Complements Extensive, Exclusive Coverage of College Football Playoff Semifinals and New Year’s Six

Derek Volner

December 19, 2019

New this Year: ESPN+ Adds All-Access Series Following Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, and Oklahoma’s Preparation for CFP Semifinals; Continues through the CFP National Championship

Set Presence in Atlanta, Glendale, Ariz., New Orleans, and Pasadena, Calif.
College GameDay Built by The Home Depot from PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

ESPN’s exclusive presentation of the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six will include on-site studio presence across the country. From Glendale, Ariz., to Atlanta to Pasadena, Calif. and New Orleans, ESPN hosts, analysts and reporters will bring fans through bowl week leading up to the games to capture the atmosphere and excitement. Additionally, a new all-access series, available only on ESPN+, will give fans a look into the preparation and journey for each of the four teams through the College Football Playoff, as No. 1 LSU faces No. 4 Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

Additional Announcement: ESPN will offer 10 presentations of both College Football Playoff Semifinals

ESPN will have reporters on-site at both CFP Semifinals, beginning Sunday, Dec. 22, as Marty Smith is at the Peach and Alyssa Lang covers the Fiesta. Game reporters Laura Rutledge and Holly Rowe will be on-site in Atlanta, with Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor in Glendale, Ariz., beginning on Thursday, Dec. 26, as ESPN ramps up its programing with the airing of Media Day from both CFP Semifinals on ESPNU, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET.

ESPN’s set presence begins Friday, Dec. 27, and continues through New Year’s Day at four different locations. College GameDay Built by The Home Depot, college football’s premier traveling pregame show, will head to the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, airing on Saturday, Dec. 28 (9 a.m. – noon ET), ahead of ESPN’s coverage of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 16 Memphis) and CFP semifinals. Host Rece Davis will be joined by analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, along with Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, Gene Wojciechowski, Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor inside State Farm Stadium.

The crew will then travel to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, airing a special edition on New Year’s Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The GameDay crew and other commentators will also contribute to shows throughout the week, including Get Up, First Take and SportsCenter.

ESPN+ All-Access Series to Showcase Journey of the Four CFP Teams
New this year, ESPN+ will carry College Football Playoff coverage, with a four part, all-access series, debuting the Dec. 24, and continuing through the College Football Playoff National Championship. Viewers can get a glimpse into each of the top four team’s preparation leading up to and through the semifinals and national championship. Following the first episode, the remaining three episodes will be available each of the following dates – December 31, Jan. 9 and Jan. 16. Sport & Story and Jim Jorden Productions will produce the series.

CFP Quarterback Conversations
Before on-site coverage begins, ESPN reporters sat down with CFP Playoff quarterbacks for one-on-one conversations that will air this weekend across SportsCenter and College GameDay including Gene Wojciechowski with Joe Burrow (LSU) and Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) and Maria Taylor with Trevor Lawrence (Clemson). Reporters Marty Smith and Wojciechowski also sat down with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.

Additional On-site Coverage Details

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – Atlanta, Ga.
Studio crew: Matt Barrie, Jesse Palmer and Joey Galloway

Barrie, Palmer and Galloway will be live from Atlanta on the concourse of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, beginning Friday, Dec. 27. The team will provide halftime updates throughout the weekend, and will also be a part of College GameDay.
SEC Network: With the top-ranked LSU Tigers gearing up for their first College Football Playoff Semifinal and eight additional SEC squads participating in bowl action, SEC Network will feature around-the-clock studio analysis and in-game reaction surrounding the College Football Playoff and SEC teams playing in the postseason beginning Thursday, Dec. 26. For more information, click here.
Big 12 Now on ESPN+: With Oklahoma back in the College Football Playoff for the fourth time, Big 12 Now on ESPN+ will house short form feature content and game highlights around the Sooners, as well as highlights from additional bowl games involving Big 12 teams.

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl – Glendale, Ariz.
Studio crew: Kevin Negandhi, Mark Sanchez and Jonathan Vilma; College GameDay analysts

Negandhi, Sanchez and Vilma are slated to provide updates from State Farm Stadium on Friday Dec. 27, and on Saturday, Dec. 28.
ACC Network: ACCN will be live from Glendale on Friday, Dec. 27 and Saturday, Dec. 28, with its signature studio shows Packer and Durham and The Huddle. ACCN’s daily morning show Packer and Durham will be live from State Farm Stadium for its 7-10 a.m. morning show on Friday, Dec. 27, while The Huddle will have two sets at State Farm Stadium – one on the field and one at the Westgate Entertainment District for its pre and postgame coverage Friday and Saturday. Additional info is available here.
ESPN Digital Show at CFP Semifinal: The College Football Show, ESPN’s digital offering, will air a special episode on Semifinal Saturday (3-4 p.m.) from the Fiesta Bowl and carried on the ESPN App, Twitter and YouTube. Jason Fitz, Mike Golic Jr., and Treavor Scales will be joined by Harry Douglas and other guests throughout the hour-long program. ESPN’s college football digital shows experienced great reach this season, including Countdown to GameDay reaching 22 million viewers and The College Football Show reaching 14 million fans.

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual
Studio crew: College GameDay – Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack

Davis and the rest of the GameDay group will be on-site in Pasadena for three consecutive days, beginning Monday, Dec. 30 with coverage of the Capital One Orange Bowl

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Studio crew: Matt Barrie, Jesse Palmer and Joey Galloway