ESPN College Sports Update – Oct. 2

Rachel Margolis Siegal

October 2, 2012

ABC Posts Highest-Rated Game of Week & Wins Saturday Prime Time
ESPN on ABC had the highest-rated college football game of the week and the highest-rated college football game in prime time with its two telecasts on Saturday, Sept. 29. The ABC broadcast of Ohio State at Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. ET averaged a 3.3 rating, 4,975,000 viewers and 3,737,000 households, marking the largest audience for a college football game this week. The ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Windows telecast – Wisconsin at Nebraska at 8 p.m. – averaged a 2.7 rating, 4,258,000 viewers and 3,095,000 households, marking the highest-rated and most-viewed prime time college football contest across any network.

In addition, ESPN’s telecast of Alabama defeating Ole Miss 33-14 averaged nearly 3,500,000 viewers on a 2.1 U.S. rating (2.5 coverage rating).

Three Prime Time Games between Ranked Teams Highlights Television Schedule
ESPN’s college football schedule this week will include telecasts of three matchups between ranked teams in prime time on Saturday, Oct. 6.

Join the ESPN college football conversation and follow on Twitter: @CollegeGameDay; @ESPNCFB; @CFBLive; @ESPNU

Recruiting: Harrison Twins’ Live Hoops Announcement Thursday
The official college basketball signing period starts in mid-November and the highly-touted Harrison twins are the first players in the 2013 top seven to make an early verbal commitment.

Twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison, ranked nationally as the No. 2 and No. 4 players, respectively, in the ESPNU 100, will make their college decision live on Recruiting Nation Thursday, at 5 p.m. on ESPNU. The Richmond, Texas, natives have said they will attend school together and are choosing between Kentucky, Maryland and SMU. The chosen college will be getting the No. 1 point guard and the No. 1 shooting guard in the country.

Friday’s GEICO ESPN High School matchup between Carver (Ala.) at Auburn (Ala.) will include two high-profile Auburn University commits. ESPN 150’s No. 2 player Ruben Foster from Auburn High School and 6’5” Carver quarterback Jeremy Johnson will take the field at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

Follow on Twitter: @ESPNU

ESPN.com: One-Stop Shopping for College Football Coverage
Week 6 of ESPN.com’s weekly comprehensive content includes exploring the top rivalries, hot button topics and much more!

Monday

On The Mark: September in review, with an eye toward October – Assumptions made in August were put to the test in September. It all begs for more questions in October, writes Mark Schlabach.

Tuesday

Hot Button: Is the scoring surge good or bad?

Wednesday

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith’s hot start sparked the Mountaineers to an undefeated schedule and thrust him into the Heisman spotlight. How is he doing it? The QB sat down with Ivan Maisel to discuss the season, Heisman and more.
When LSU steamrolled Florida last season, Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel was forced to watch from the sideline. A year later, the unbeaten Gators have turned to Driskel to lead their team in the biggest game in the Swamp since the 2009 season. Chris Low examines.

Thursday

Game day kickoff gets you ready for Week 6 with predictions, what to watch, Rece Davis’ take and more.

Friday

Maisel breaks down what could be the season’s first defining weekend.

Georgia’s Mark Richt Featured in New College GameDay Spot

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt’s annual dive is the centerpiece of a new College GameDay Built by The Home Depot spot that hit the airwaves this week. In the spot, GameDay analyst Lee Corso surprises the GameDay crew and Richt with an impressive dive of his own. Additional GameDay spots will debut throughout the season.

For behind the scenes photos of the shoot, visit: https://bit.ly/GAGameDay

College GameDay: Headed to South Carolina’s Historic Horseshoe

Follow on Twitter: @CollegeGameDay

College Football Live: Daily Destination for All the Headlines

College Football Live continues to be the daily destination for college football news and updates at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN and 4 p.m. on ESPNU. The show primarily utilizes three hosts – Joe Tessitore (Monday & Wednesday), Chris Fowler (Tuesday & Friday) and John Saunders (Thursday), and originates from the site of College GameDay most Fridays.

Trevor Matich and Robert Smith will be live in-studio this week. Also included in the rotation of expert analysts are Desmond Howard (Monday) and Kirk Herbstreit (Tuesday), who are available via satellite weekly.

Follow on Twitter: @CFBLive and @ESPNU

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