2026 College Football on NBC & Peacock Announcers

A promotional graphic for NBC Sports’ college football coverage (2026 - present). (NBC Sports Press Box)

| ⏵ Thursday, August 20, 2026

🟅 Highlights:

• Beginning Year #4 as a trio, Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), & Kathryn Tappen (reporter) reprise their roles on Big Ten Saturday Night and select primetime games, with their Week 1 assignment being Western Michigan vs. No. 16 Michigan.

• Dan Hicks (play-by-play) and former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett (analyst) team up once again for Notre Dame Football in 2026, supported by new sideline reporter and Notre Dame alum Caroline Pineda (sidelines).

• Late-season marquee matchups on NBC and Peacock include No. 7 Miami vs. No. 4 Notre Dame on November 7 & SMU-Notre Dame on November 21.

• NBC Sports’ college football play-by-play rotation welcomes experienced announcers Dave Flemming and Jason Benetti. Longtime NBC host/reporter Paul Burmeister returns to call the regular slate of Big Ten football. Yogi Roth (analyst) and Ashley ShahAhmadi (reporter) are also expected to broadcast Big Ten games regularly throughout the fall.

• College Countdown studio team for 2026 — Ahmed Fareed (host), Joshua Perry (analyst), Chris Simms (analyst), Nicole Auerbach (insider), Connor Rogers (betting analyst), & John Fanta (fill-in host/contributor).

With the 2026 college football season set to kick off next weekend, NBC Sports announced its 2026 college football broadcast team on Wednesday (August 19). This year, NBC Sports will broadcast over 25+ Big Ten and Notre Dame football games.

No. 14 USC hosts San José State in a Week 0 matchup on Saturday, August 29 at 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT on NBC and Peacock from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, with Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, & Kathryn Tappen providing commentary.

Big Ten Saturday Night Presented by Discover:

Rising broadcasting star Noah Eagle (play-by-play), former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge (analyst), and veteran sportscaster Kathryn Tappen (reporter) are expected to call Big Ten Saturday Night and primetime games for the fourth consecutive year. Blackledge begins his 33rd season covering college football games in the position of game analyst. The trio opens up the season with San José State vs. USC on Saturday, August 29 at 3:00 PM ET on NBC and Peacock. The following week, Eagle, Blackledge, and Tappen head to Ann Arbor to cover No. 16 Michigan and Western Michigan (Saturday, September 5).

Notre Dame Football:

NBC Sports televises Notre Dame Football for the 36th consecutive year. In 2026, NBC’s Notre Dame Football team consists of Dan Hicks (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), and Caroline Pineada (reporter). To begin the campaign, the team will call No. 4 Notre Dame’s first regular-season contest against Wisconsin from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday, September 6, in primetime on NBC and Peacock. Hicks enters his fourth year in his second stint as Notre Dame football lead play-by-play, having previously called games from 2013-16. Garrett, who played 12 years in the NFL as a quarterback and then spent 16 years as a coach, including 9 seasons with the Cowboys, is back for his fifth year covering Notre Dame Football. Pineda, who has covered multiple sports for NBC Sports since 2022, including college football, college basketball, and MLB, among other notable assignments, starts a new gig with the sidelines for Notre Dame Football (replacing Zora Stephenson). Pineda is a Notre Dame alum.

Big Ten Football:

NBC will use several play-by-play announcers to cover its Big Ten slate of games. Paul Burmeister, a longtime NBC Sports host/announcer, will lead the rotation of broadcasters. NBC Sports newcomers Jason Benetti and Dave Flemming (who already call games for NBC’s MLB coverage) are expected to call select Big Ten games throughout the season. Former USC coach and Pitt wide receiver Yogi Roth expands his role to a full-time game analyst. Additionally, Roth will serve as a field reporter for College Countdown, providing insight and perspective on select Big Ten games throughout the season. Matt Cassell, a 14-year NFL veteran, gets select assignments as game analyst.

Ashley ShahAhmadi, who has covered MLB and NBA for NBC Sports over the past few years, joins the NBC Sports college football team as a sideline reporter this season. Caroline Pineda will also cover select Big Ten games in addition to her primary Notre Dame Football sideline reporter role.

College Countdown presented by Genesis:

Ahmed Fareed retains his role as host of NBC Sports’ College Countdown, presented by Genesis. He is joined in-studio by Chris Simms, Joshua Perry, Nicole Auerbach, Connor Rogers, and John Fanta (who will actually host the show for several weeks at the start of the season due to Fareed’s MLB commitments). Fanta, in particular, will furnish viewers with updates from around college football and present his highly acclaimed “Fanta in 60” segments.

Fareed currently serves as a host and reporter for several of NBC Sports’ marquee properties, including MLB, NBA, the Olympics, horse racing, and the Premier League.

Perry, who played LB for Ohio State and was a member of the first-ever College Football Playoff national championship team in 2015, spent two seasons in the NFL.

Simms played his college football for Texas between 1999 and 2002. Following this, Simms played for eight seasons in the NFL.

Auerbach regularly covers college sports, including BOTH college football and college basketball. Auerbach starts her fourth year covering Big Ten football for NBC Sports platforms. Also, Nicole works Olympic sports as a reporter (in a little side job).

Rogers begins his second season on College Countdown, while lending his NFL Draft expertise to NBC Sports platforms.

Since joining NBC in 2025, Fanta has been a rockstar for the company! John has covered several sports for NBC Sports, including college basketball (particularly his lead BIG EAST play-by-play role), NBA (play-by-play/reporter), MLB (reporter), horse racing (reporter), and college football (host/contributor).

For more information about NBC and Peacock’s 2026 college football schedule, please click here.

|| 🛈 Sources: NBC Sports Press Box ||

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MLB on Fox — On Deck | "Baseball Night in America" on Fox heads to the Pacific Northwest as Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs visit Julio Rodríguez and the Seattle Mariners (or Pirates vs. Dodgers, Giants vs. Red Sox) | Saturday, August 22, at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT on Fox & Fox One

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (#4) tosses a ball towards the infield during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 20, 2026. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)

| ⏵ Tuesday, August 18, 2026

🟒 Highlights:

• The road to October continues, and Fox Sports is set to present another “Fox Saturday Baseball” day/night doubleheader this Saturday across Fox and FS1, featuring several clubs with their eyes 👀 set towards a postseason push.

• CJ Abrams and the Washington Nationals square off against Xavier Edwards and the Miami Marlins in an NL East rivalry game on Saturday, August 22 at 4:00 PM ET on FS1.

• Interleague baseball from the Pacific Northwest as Nico Hoerner and the Chicago Cubs battle Randy Arozarena and the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM ET on Fox.

• National League rivals go toe-to-toe as Brandon Lowe and the Pittsburgh Pirates match up with Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM ET on Fox.

• Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants travel to Boston, Massachusetts to play Adley Rutschman and the Boston Red Sox from historic Fenway Park on Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM ET on Fox.

Welcome one and all to this week’s edition of MLB on Fox: On Deck! Apologies for the late posting of this week’s article, but we’re here! This week, we will preview the Saturday, August 22 slate of MLB on Fox/FS1 games, including Nationals-Marlins, Cubs-Mariners, Pirates-Dodgers, & Giants-Red Sox. The following paragraphs will feature game previews and eventually, distribution splits for each matchup. With that in mind, let’s get into the action!

FS1 (Nationals-Marlins):

Saturday’s MLB lineup gets started on FS1 with National League East play as the Washington Nationals duel with the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park in Miami, with live coverage beginning at 4:00 PM ET.

⯀ Nationals vs. Marlins — Saturday, 4:00 PM ET on FS1:

Daylen Lile and the Washington Nationals participate in National League East play versus Griffin Conine and the Miami Marlins on Saturday, August 22 at 4:00 PM ET on FS1. 🎙 Saturday’s Nationals at Marlins broadcast team on FS1 features play-by-play commentator Eric Collins and analyst Eric Karros, calling the game off-monitor.

These two squads are set to meet for the third time this season. Previously, the teams played six times in 2026, with Miami claiming victory in five of those six games. 

Of course, this series has MASSIVE implications for both teams, with the Wild Card hopes quickly fading away by each passing day. The Nationals are 60-67 on the season, while the Marlins have a 64-63 record. Miami is four games behind San Diego for the last Wild Card berth, while Washington trails the Padres by eight games for the third National League Wild Card spot. A sense of desperation has to be the prevailing storyline during this weekend set.

This year, Marlins SS Otto Lopez has found his offensive firepower, and he is one of the reasons why Miami is even in contention this late into the baseball season. The 27-year-old shortstop is batting .308 on the year (3rd in NL), with 152 hits (2nd in NL) and 7 triples (2nd in NL). If Lopez continues to hit the baseball, the Marlins could potentially sneak into the National League playoffs. We’ll see.

Fox (Baseball Night in America: Cubs-Mariners, Pirates-Dodgers, Giants-Red Sox):

This Saturday night (August 22), Baseball Night in America, Fox Sports’ signature weekly MLB primetime package, continues with THREE regional games beginning at 7:00 PM ET on the Fox broadcast network. The selection of games includes the Cubs visiting the Mariners in Seattle, the Pirates colliding with the Dodgers in LA, and the Giants and Red Sox taking the field in Boston. Which game will you watch and who’s set to call the action? Read on for additional information.

⯀ Cubs vs. Mariners — Saturday, 7:00 PM ET on Fox and Fox One:

A West Coast showdown awaits from T-Mobile Park in Seattle as Seiya Suzuki and the Chicago Cubs battle Josh Naylor and the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM ET on Fox. 🎙 Aaron Goldsmith (play-by-play), the current lead announcer for the Mariners on television, calls the action with Hall of Famer John Smoltz (analyst).

This is the first matchup of the season between the Cubs and Mariners. Last season, the Mariners took the series vs. the Cubs, winning two out of three games.

This series is vital for both teams, as the postseason race heats up in the American and National Leagues. The Cubs, with a record of 73-53, hold a strong position in the Wild Card race. Meanwhile, the Mariners (59-67) have hit a rough patch late in the season, battling not only in the AL West but also in the AL Wild Card race. To summarize: the Mariners are four games behind the Astros for the AL West lead and three games behind the Rangers for the final playoff spot in the AL.

Of course, Cubs CF Pete Crow-Armstrong has been the talk of baseball, as the 24-year-old has only bolstered his candidacy for National League MVP, in the same league that Shohei Ohtani has been downright dominating over the past couple of seasons. As of right now, Crow-Armstrong has a .934 OPS, batting .282 for the year, 31 home runs, and 79 runs batted in.

⯀ Pirates vs. Dodgers — Saturday, 7:00 PM ET on Fox and Fox One:

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles plays host to this National League primetime duel when Oneil Cruz and the Pittsburgh Pirates confront Teoscar Hernández and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM ET on Fox. 🎙 In the broadcast booth, Connor Onion (play-by-play) teams up with World Series champion and longtime MLB pitcher Dontrelle Willis (analyst) for Saturday’s Pirates-Dodgers game on Fox.

The two teams are colliding for the second time this year, with Los Angeles taking a three-game series between the clubs at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park in June (June 9-11). For this series, the Pirates are traveling to Southern California to face the Dodgers.

Both teams are mapping out potential paths to the postseason, with one team having a higher likelihood of reaching the postseason party. Pittsburgh is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2015, while Los Angeles is attempting to become the first team to win three consecutive World Series since the Yankees did it between 1998 and 2000. The Dodgers try to qualify for the postseason for the 14th consecutive year (2013-present). Pittsburgh’s fading Wild Card hopes make this series even more important. The Dodgers continue their pursuit of the best record in the National League.

The National League MVP race right now is essentially a two-horse race between Pete Crow-Armstrong (who I mentioned earlier) and the guy who I am about to talk about, Shohei Ohtani. You guys have definitely heard of him! Ohtani, gunning for his third consecutive MVP award in the National League, is a two-way superstar that defies any and all conventional logic. As a pitcher, Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 games. As a hitter, he has a .294 batting average with 30 home runs, 80 runs batted in, and a .948 OPS.

⯀ Giants vs. Red Sox — Saturday, 7:00 PM ET on Fox and Fox One:

Opponents from opposite sides of the country meet in an interleague game as Bryce Eldridge and the San Francisco Giants compete against Caleb Durbin and the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM ET on Fox. 🎙 Play-by-play commentator Kevin Kugler and analyst Mark Sweeney provide commentary for Giants-Red Sox from Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

San Francisco plays Boston for the first time this year. Last year, Boston went 1-2 vs. San Francisco in a three-game set. This time, the Giants head east for a weekend series at the historic Fenway Park. San Francisco, which is basically out of the playoff race at this time, tries to spoil the amazing Red Sox story (at least hand Boston a few more losses).

2026 has been yet another disappointing year for San Francisco. San Francisco is slated to miss the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. Despite getting a new manager in Tony Vitello, things haven’t gone well for the Giants at all. Of course, this season was basically conceded when they traded their star, Luis Arráez, to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline this summer. Obviously, you guys know the Red Sox story by now: from a virtual laughingstock to a sudden contender in just a couple of weeks. The Red Sox, of course, need to take care of business vs. a San Francisco club already looking ahead to next season.

Want somebody that can give you extra doubles virtually every time he is at bat? Well, let’s talk about Red Sox CF Ceddanne Rafaela. The 25-year-old is second in Major League Baseball with 32 doubles, only one behind Cardinals 1B Alec Burleson (33). Rafaela, of course, is one of the stars ⭐ on a Red Sox team doing something improbable. Can Ceddanne Rafaela add to his doubles number this weekend vs. the Giants? Yeah, I think he can.

For additional information about the 2026 MLB on Fox Schedule and 2026 MLB on FS1 Schedule, please consult the links displayed in the “Links Mentioned” section. Also, you can find the weekly 506 Sports Maps used to create these articles.

Links Mentioned 🔗:

. » 2026 MLB on Fox Schedule: https://tamirmoore.blogspot.com/2026/01/2026-mlb-on-fox-schedule.html

. » 2026 MLB on FS1 Schedule: https://tamirmoore.blogspot.com/2026/01/2026-mlb-on-fs1-schedule.html 

. » 506 Sports Maps: https://506sports.com/mlb.php?yr=2026&wk=22

Check out this week’s MLB on Fox and FS1 broadcast schedule and commentator assignments below 👇:

• MLB on Fox: On Deck | MLB Broadcast Schedule & Regionalization (Fox, FS1) | Saturday, August 22, 2026 (All Times EDT and Subject to Change):

■  4:00 PM ET — FS1 (National):

🆚

. 🞙 Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins — Eric Collins, Eric Karros (called off-monitor) — FS1

- ⮞ Distribution: National (All FS1 Stations)

- ⮞ 100% of Markets Include: ALL

■  7:00 PM ET — Fox, Fox One (Regional):

🆚

. 🞙 🔵 Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers — Connor Onion, Dontrelle Willis — Fox, Fox One

- ⮞ Distribution: Primary (Most Stations) — including 🔵 Hawaii

- ⮞ 50% of Markets Include: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Bakersfield, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Biloxi, Birmingham, Charleston, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Denver, Erie, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Miami, Mobile, Montgomery, Myrtle Beach, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Palm Springs, Panama City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, Roanoke, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Shreveport, Tallahassee, Tucson, Tulsa, Washington D.C., West Palm Beach, Wheeling, Wichita, Wichita Falls & Youngstown

🆚

. 🞙 🔴 Chicago Cubs at Seattle Mariners — Aaron Goldsmith, John Smoltz — Fox, Fox One

- ⮞ Distribution: Primary (Most Stations) — including 🔴 Alaska

- ⮞ 29% of Markets Include: Bismarck, Boise, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Des Moines, Detroit, Eugene, Flint, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lansing, Lexington, Louisville, Medford, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, Omaha, Portland, Rapid City, Seattle, South Bend, Spokane, Springfield, St. Louis & Terre Haute

🆚

. 🞙 🟢 San Francisco Giants at Boston Red Sox — Kevin Kugler, Mark Sweeney — Fox, Fox One

- ⮞ Distribution: Regional (Select Markets)

- ⮞ 21% of Markets Include: Albany, Bangor, Boston, Buffalo, Chico, Fort Myers, Fresno, Hartford, New York City, Orlando, Providence, Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco, Scranton, Syracuse & Tampa

|| . ⚪ NO GAME — Gainesville, FL (0.117%) ||

■ UPDATES:

. Idaho Falls, ID (0.118%) and Alpena, MI (0.014%): CHC-SEA to PIT-LAD (Fri.) = 0.132%

🠆 Program Note: In select markets, Saturday’s Fox regional broadcast will air on an alternate channel because the main Fox station is airing NFL preseason football. Additionally, select markets will forgo their right to air baseball on Saturday night and instead air other programming.

✱ Note: This week’s MLB broadcast schedule and commentator lineup on Fox and FS1 are subject to change without notice.

|| ⤍ 🛈 Sources: SportsLogos.Net & 506 Sports ⤎ ||

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