Oklahoma-Alabama gets ESPN’s lead broadcast crew on Saturday

Fowler, Herbstreit and Rowe will make their second trip to Norman in 2024.

The Oklahoma Sooners will play just their seventh game all-time against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. Two of the undeniable blue bloods in college football will square off in Norman in front of a primetime, national TV audience in Week 13. ABC will broadcast the game as part of an “SEC on ABC” tripleheader, that concludes with the Sooners hosting the Crimson Tide at 6:30 p.m. central time.

Though ESPN’s “College GameDay” won’t be making a return trip to Norman, the network’s lead announcing crew will. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Holly Rowe will call their third OU game this season and second game on Owen Field.

The trio was in Norman when the Sooners hosted Tennessee in Week 4, OU’s first conference game in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. The Volunteers won 25-15, as Oklahoma struggled offensively in front of the entire country.

They were also in Dallas at the Red River Rivalry in Week 7, as the Sooners fell against the top-ranked Texas Longhorns by a score of 34-3. In the first edition of the rivalry in the Southeastern Conference, Oklahoma again fell flat in front of the nation against their biggest rivals.

Here’s hoping that the third time’s the charm for the Sooners in front of the top broadcast crew for ESPN.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @AaronGelvin.

Saints’ team doctors have sought advice on treating Derek Carr’s injury

The Saints’ doctors can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing. They consulted with Texas after Quinn Ewers suffered the same injury as Derek Carr:

The New Orleans Saints will be without starting quarterback Derek Carr for  a few more weeks, which gives Spencer Rattler an opportunity to learn on the job and take more live reps. But it’s not like the Saints are planning to keep Carr on ice forever. They want him back in the lineup, and their doctors have been doing their homework to devise the best plan for treating his oblique muscle injury.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered a similar oblique strain, which is an unusual injury for a football player. But the school’s medical staff treated him well and Ewers only missed two games, plus a bye week, before returning against Oklahoma in the “Red River Rivalry” game. Ewers scored a touchdown pass and ran for another score in the Longhorns’ 34-3 rout on Saturday.

And on the broadcast, FOX Sports sideline reporter Holly Rowe shared an interesting footnote. She said the Saints had reached out to consult with Texas’ doctors on how they treated Ewers so effectively.

“It’s such a rare injury, it’s actually something that we see in baseball pitchers and volleyball players,” Rowe said, misspeaking and calling Carrr by his older brother’s name, “Actually David Carr in the NFL had a similar injury, they reached out to Texas this week to find out how they’re treating him, treating Quinn Ewers, because he has looked good. A lot of different techniques.”

That misstep aside (it’s not the first time the Carr brothers have been confused for one another, and it won’t be the last), this is good information. There’s nothing unusual about medical professionals consulting with each other especially for rare conditions like this one. The best surgeons in the world still sit through seminars and visit universities for workshops to learn how to better treat their patients.

But that hasn’t stopped fans on social media from laughing at the Saints’ expense — what kind of sports doctors can’t treat sports injuries? That seems to be a negative response due to all the frustration the team has had with injuries over the years, which is a little unfair. It would be more concerning if the Saints weren’t looking for help when working outside their area of expertise. They can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing and hope for different results.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

ESPN reporter Holly Rowe has a message for EA Sports College Football 25: ‘Don’t forget about women’

Holly Rowe makes an important point about EA Sports College Football 25.

EA Sports College Football 25 is set to drop, and ESPN analyst Holly Rowe has an important message for the iconic game brand.

Don’t forget about women in the game.

With the return of EA Sports College Football announced this week, there has been a rollout of news about the game. From players being able to opt-into the game to news about the announcers (Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler among others), there is absolute excitement about the game’s return.

But on Thursday night, Rowe brought about a great point about the game. A highly respected sideline reporter for ESPN, Rowe doesn’t ask cookie-cutter questions. And she didn’t with her post on social media.

 

Rowe has been with ESPN since 1998. She is a regular on the sidelines for ESPN’s marquee college football games throughout the fall.

She also works for the Utah Jazz as an on-air analyst.

[lawrence-related id=35583,35573]

This year marks the return of the college football game for the first time in 11 years.

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call for LSU vs. Florida State

LSU and Florida State will get ESPN’s top crew on Sunday night.

LSU and Florida State will garner ESPN’s top announcing crew on Sunday night.

According to a press release from ESPN, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be on the call with Holly Rowe handling the sideline duties.

Last year, it was Joe Tessitore and Greg McElroy on the call. With the heightened attention around this year’s game, ESPN’s giving it the “big game” treatment.

It’ll be a busy weekend, especially for Herbstreit.

Fowler, Herbstreit, and Rowe will also work the Florida at Utah game on Thursday night. The trio won’t call a game on Saturday, but Herbstreit still has his College Gameday duties.

It’s rare for Fowler and Herbstreit to call an LSU game, but that will change as the SEC’s biggest games begin moving to ABC and ESPN Networks.

The two were on the call last year when LSU beat Alabama.

The game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

John Calipari had an extremely cringey interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe

C’mon, Cal.

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari might want to rethink his interview decorum after he created an incredibly weird interaction with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

During a mid-game interview with Calipari, Rowe started to ask the longtime Wildcats coach a game strategy question before Calipari put his hands on Rowe’s shoulders and interrupted her.

He then went on to reframe the moment as a statement instead of an answer, and tried to explain whatever it is he was trying to explain about Kentucky’s Saturday road tilt with Tennessee.

While Calipari and Rowe are certainly friendly, the Kentucky coach cutting Rowe off and engaging in physical contact while he did it just created a bizarrely awkward situation for no reason whatsoever.

Kentucky earned a huge victory over the Vols in Knoxville, which might simmer a little bit of the heat on Calipari’s seat right now.

His job status has been the topic of intense conversation in Lexington as Kentucky is in the midst of a season going off the rails. However, defeating a title contender like Tennessee can buy anyone some time.

Coach Cal seemed to make things even stranger doing the postgame.

Calipari might want to chill a little bit when giving interviews, even with people he knows well.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

[mm-video type=video id=01gksemztb6thgyknjb9 playlist_id=none player_id=01gp1x90emjt3n6txc image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gksemztb6thgyknjb9/01gksemztb6thgyknjb9-9507ad6dce24df5889caa0ad7c283c9a.jpg]

[listicle id=1995020]

ESPN’s Holly Rowe sees Ohio State in person, says Buckeyes will win it all

Holly Rowe likes what she sees after visiting the Ohio State football practice. #GoBucks

Regardless of your personal feelings about ESPN, it is one of the leading sources when it comes to college football opinions and analysis. Holly Rowe has been on football sidelines reporting for the worldwide leader in sports for a long time and recently visited Columbus for an Ohio State practice. Let’s just say, she really likes what she sees.

Rowe recorded a video from her car sitting outside of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and gave her thoughts. Brief as they were, she had high praise for what she had just witnessed. She gave an assessment of what Buckeye fans already know: C.J. Stroud is really good and there is an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver.

However, it was her thoughts on the defense that should grab fans’ attention. She raved about the play of the defensive line. And she ends her thoughts with a pick in favor of Ohio State to “win it all.” Check it out below.

We know it’s only August and the team still has to prove itself on the field. We’ve heard Ryan Day and Jim Knowles say they feel the defense is progressing nicely, but let’s be honest, it’s encouraging news to hear someone from the outside liking what they see on the defensive side of the ball.

We’ll see how accurate Rowe’s assessment is in less than two weeks when Notre Dame comes to town to kick off the Buckeye football season.

[mm-video type=video id=01gb6mrd8hrxwd8r1fje playlist_id=01eqbz0qtnjg5x7tc8 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gb6mrd8hrxwd8r1fje/01gb6mrd8hrxwd8r1fje-86cfa78ebf9e9004e537d845e4c27089.jpg]

[listicle id=94578]

[listicle id=93841]

[pickup_prop id=”25564″]

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Longtime college football announcer Ron Franklin dead at 79

RIP to an all-time college football voice.

Longtime college football and basketball announcer Ron Franklin has died at the age of 79.

Franklin attended college at Ole Miss before media stops in New Mexico, Tulsa, and Houston.  He was the voice of the Houston Oilers for over a decade before calling Texas Longhorns games for much of the eighties.

I and most college football fans Franklin for his time at ESPN as he’d call the majority of primetime games on the network.  If you’re making a Mt. Rushmore of college football voices from my youth Franklin would almost certainly be on it as he was the voice of Saturday nights for so long and for so many.

His career was prolific but wasn’t without controversy.  Notre Dame fans may recall Franklin and Bob Davie being on the call of the 2005 contest at Purdue when Franklin made an inappropriate remark to sideline reporter Holly Rowe.

Colleagues and college football fans took to Twitter to remember Franklin upon the news of his death, see some old highlights and remembrances below:

Alabama vs. LSU: Game day information, how to watch, stream, listen

How to watch the Alabama Crimson Tide take on the LSU Tigers!

Alabama and LSU has been one of the most anticipated matchups for the last decade. This season’s contest doesn’t carry the same weight as most years because of the impending dismissal of LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.

Nevertheless, the Alabama faithful still remembers what happened in the post-game after LSU defeated the Crimson Tide the last time they entered Bryant-Denny Stadium. I don’t think the Tide players have forgotten either.

This should be fun!

Here is how you can watch:

Kickoff, How to Watch/Stream/Listen

Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. CT, Saturday, Oct. 16

Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Television: ESPN (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe)

Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network/ TuneIn app

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.


Stream college football games from the SEC, Big 12, The American, and more on ESPN+