- Key matchups: No. 10 NC State at No. 5 Clemson, No. 7 Kentucky at No. 14 Ole Miss, No. 22 Wake Forest at No. 23 Florida State, Arizona State at No. 6 USC
- ESPN+ Highlights No. 25 Kansas State, Full Slate of Sun Belt Squads
- 18 of AP Top 25 on ESPN platforms
ESPN welcomes Week 5 of the college football season with a full slate of ranked matchups, premier showdowns and more, with games across ESPN platforms featuring 18 Top 25 teams. In total, nearly 50 contests are set for ESPN networks.
ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One highlights a Top 10 showcase between ACC foes No. 10 NC State and No. 5 Clemson at 7:30 p.m. ET. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will provide commentary on ABC, with the debut of CFB Primetime with The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN2. Guests will be announced for the alternate telecast later in the week. The AT&T SkyCast & Command Center will supplement the primetime presentations on the ESPN App.
At noon, No. 18 Oklahoma travels to take on Big 12 rival TCU on ABC, with Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III and Quint Kessenich on the call. ABC features all-ACC afternoon action between No. 22 Wake Forest and No. 23 Florida State, with Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Tom Luginbill calling the conference contest at 3:30 p.m.
ESPN features a pair of SEC showdowns Saturday, a Big Ten battle and a Pac-12 late night presentation, kicking off with No. 7 Kentucky at No. 14 Ole Miss at noon. Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge and Molly McGrath are on the ESPN call, joined by Todd McShay providing NFL Draft analysis and insight on the sport’s top pro prospects. At 3:30 p.m., Northwestern visits Happy Valley to match up against No. 11 Penn State, as Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky and Kris Budden announce the action on ESPN. In primetime, it’s an all-Tigers tussle as LSU takes on Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Katie George are on the mic on The Plains, with both SEC matchups on ESPN supplemented by SkyCast viewing options on the ESPN App.
In Pac-12 After Dark action, No. 6 USC hosts Arizona State on ESPN and ESPN Radio at 10:30 p.m. Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore and Tiffany Blackmon are set for the TV call, with Jorge Sedano and Tom Ramsey handling ESPN Radio duties. Sedano makes his second appearance of the season following his CFB TV debut earlier this fall.
Additional Programming Highlights:
- Thursday, Sept. 29
- Utah State at No. 19 BYU (8 p.m. | ESPN)
- Talent: Matt Barrie, Louis Riddick, Harry Lyles Jr.
- Utah State at No. 19 BYU (8 p.m. | ESPN)
- Friday, Sept. 30
- Tulane at Houston (7 p.m. | ESPN)
- Talent: Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Stormy Buonantony
- 15 Washington at UCLA (10:30 p.m. | ESPN)
- Talent: Roy Philpott, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra
- Tulane at Houston (7 p.m. | ESPN)
- Saturday, Oct. 1
- Purdue at No. 21 Minnesota (Noon | ESPN2)
- Talent: Anish Shroff, Brock Osweiler, Taylor McGregor
- 2 Alabama at No. 20 Arkansas (3 p.m. | ESPN Radio)
- Talent: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons
- 17 Texas A&M at Mississippi State (4 p.m. | SEC Network)
- Talent: Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Alyssa Lang
- 1 Georgia at Missouri (7:30 p.m. | SEC Network)
- Talent: Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic
- Georgia Tech at No. 24 Pittsburgh (8 p.m. | ACC Network)
- Talent: Wes Durham, Roddy Jones, Taylor Davis
- Purdue at No. 21 Minnesota (Noon | ESPN2)
For updates to programming schedules and game assignments, please visitESPNPressRoom.com.
Updated on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. ET
| Date | Time (ET) | Game/Commentators | Network |
| Thu, Sep 29 | 7 p.m. | South Carolina State at South Carolina Dave Neal, Aaron Murray, Alyssa Lang | SEC Network |
| 8 p.m. | Utah State at No. 19 BYU Matt Barrie, Louis Riddick, Harry Lyles Jr. | ESPN | |
| Fri, Sep 30 | 7 p.m. | Tulane at Houston Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Stormy Buonantony | ESPN |
| Penn at Dartmouth Eric Frede, Jack Ford | ESPNU | ||
| 10:30 p.m. | No. 15 Washington at UCLA Roy Philpott, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra | ESPN | |
| Sat, Oct 1 | Noon | No. 18 Oklahoma at TCU Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III, Quint Kessenich | ABC |
| No. 7 Kentucky at No. 14 Ole Miss Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath, Todd McShay | ESPN/SEC Network | ||
| Purdue at No. 21 Minnesota Anish Shroff, Brock Osweiler, Taylor McGregor | ESPN2 | ||
| Temple at Memphis John Schriffen, Rocky Boiman | ESPNU | ||
| Louisville at Boston College Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Lericia Harris | ACC Network | ||
| Texas Tech at No. 25 Kansas State Mark Neely, Ryan Leaf, Shane Sparks | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | ||
| 1:30 p.m. | Texas State at James Madison | ESPN+ | |
| 2 p.m. | UMass at Eastern Michigan Dan Gutowsky, Bob Generelli | ESPN+ | |
| Northern Illinois at Ball State Jim Barbar, Marcus Ray | ESPN+ | ||
| 2:30 p.m. | East Carolina vs. South Florida (Boca Raton, Fla.) Ted Emrich, Taylor McHargue | ESPN+ | |
| 3 p.m. | No. 2 Alabama at No. 20 Arkansas Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons | ESPN Radio | |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 22 Wake Forest at No. 23 Florida State Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill | ABC | |
| Northwestern at No. 11 Penn State Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, Kris Budden | ESPN | ||
| Iowa State at Kansas Brian Custer, Dustin Fox, Lauren Sisler | ESPN2 | ||
| Miami (OH) at Buffalo Doug Sherman, Adam Brenneman | ESPNU/ESPN+ | ||
| Bowling Green at Akron Anthony Lima, Ryan Shazier | ESPN+ | ||
| Ohio at Kent State Michael Reghi, Ryan Cavanaugh | ESPN+ | ||
| Gardner-Webb at Marshall | ESPN+ | ||
| The Citadel at Appalachian State | ESPN+ | ||
| Virginia Tech at North Carolina Dave O’Brien, Tim Hasselbeck, Kelsey Riggs | ACC Network | ||
| 4 p.m. | No. 17 Texas A&M at Mississippi State Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Alyssa Lang | SEC Network | |
| Florida Atlantic at North Texas | ESPN+ | ||
| Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina | ESPN+ | ||
| 5 p.m. | South Alabama at Louisiana | ESPN+ | |
| Wagner at Syracuse Courtney Lyle, Charles Arbuckle, Jalyn Johnson | ESPN+/ACCNX | ||
| 6 p.m. | Liberty at Old Dominion | ESPN+ | |
| New Hampshire at Western Michigan Sam Niederman, Forrest Conoly | ESPN3 | ||
| UTEP at Charlotte | ESPN3 | ||
| 7 p.m. | LSU at Auburn Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, Katie George | ESPN | |
| Cincinnati at Tulsa Jay Alter, Hutson Mason | ESPNU | ||
| Troy at Western Kentucky | ESPN+ | ||
| UL Monroe at Arkansas State | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 10 NC State at No. 5 Clemson Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe | ABC | |
| CFB Primetime with The Pat McAfee Show: No. 10 NC State at No. 5 Clemson Pat McAfee & Guests | ESPN2 | ||
| No. 1 Georgia at Missouri Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic | SEC Network | ||
| UAB at Rice | ESPN+ | ||
| Virginia at Duke | ESPN3 | ||
| 8 p.m. | Georgia Tech at No. 24 Pittsburgh Wes Durham, Roddy Jones, Taylor Davis | ACC Network | |
| 10:15 p.m. | UC Davis at Montana State Clay Matvick, Jay Walker | ESPNU | |
| 10:30 p.m. | Arizona State at No. 6 USC TV: Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Tiffany Blackmon Radio: Jorge Sedano, Tom Ramsey | ESPN/ESPN Radio | |
| Sun, Oct 2 | Noon | Eastern Washington at Florida Drew Carter, Dave Steckel, Morgan Uber | ESPN+/SECN+ |
| 1 p.m. | SMU at UCF | TBD |
