NBC SPORTS KICKS OFF COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON ON AUG. 29 -- ANNOUNCE TEAMS NAMED
Blockbuster Primetime Matchups on NBC and Peacock Include No. 19 Texas A&M at No. 6 Notre Dame on Sept. 13, No. 7 Oregon at No. 2 Penn State in 'White Out' Game on Sept. 27, and USC at No. 6 Notre Dame on Oct. 18
Dan Hicks, Jason Garrett, and Zora Stephenson Return to Call Notre Dame Football
Ahmed Fareed, Chris Simms, Joshua Perry, and Nicole Auerbach Lead College Countdown Pregame Show with Jordan Cornette, Matt Cassel, and Michael Robinson at Saturday Night Game Site
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 20, 2025 – NBC Sports, which will present more than 25 Big Ten and Notre Dame Football games this season across NBC and Peacock, including four Peacock-exclusive games in the first three weeks, named its 2025 college football announce teams today.
BIG TEN SATURDAY NIGHT PRESENTED BY DISCOVER
Noah Eagle (play-by-play), former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge (analyst), and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporter) return to Big Ten Saturday Night and will call all Saturday primetime games this season. Eagle, Blackledge, and Tappen return for their third season together, with Blackledge beginning his 32nd season calling college football games. The trio will call Associated Press preseason No. 14 Michigan hosting New Mexico in the season debut of Big Ten Saturday Night on NBC and Peacock on Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
NBC Sports' unprecedented 35th season broadcasting Notre Dame Football features veteran play-by-play voice Dan Hicks, analyst Jason Garrett, and reporter Zora Stephenson as the announce team. Hicks returns for his second consecutive season in South Bend after calling Fighting Irish games from 2013-2016. Garrett, who is also an analyst on Football Night in America, had a 12-year career in the NFL as a quarterback and spent 16 years as an NFL coach, including nine as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. This will be the fourth consecutive season calling Notre Dame Football for Garrett and Stephenson.
TOP PRIMETIME MATCHUPS
Premier primetime matchups on NBC and Peacock include the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish hosting No. 19 Texas A&M on Sept. 13, the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions hosting the No. 7 Oregon Ducks in the annual 'White Out' game at Beaver Stadium on Sept. 27, and Notre Dame hosting USC in college football's 'greatest intersectional rivalry' on Oct. 18.
BIG TEN FOOTBALL
NBC Sports veteran play-by-play voice Paul Burmeister will call Big Ten Football games throughout the season, while FNIA analyst Chris Simms, Super Bowl XLVIII champion and 2005 Big Ten MVP Michael Robinson, and longtime college football voice, former USC coach, and Pitt wide receiver Yogi Roth, will serve as game analysts. Super Bowl XXI MVP and 15-year NFL quarterback Phil Simms will return to NBC Sports to serve as a game analyst on multiple Big Ten football games exclusively on Peacock this fall. Additionally, Michael Grady, who was announced as one of NBC Sports' NBA play-by-play voices in July, will call Towson-Maryland on Sept. 13 on Peacock. Sideline reporter Caroline Pineda returns for her third season.
COLLEGE COUNTDOWN PRESENTED BY GENESIS
Host Ahmed Fareed, analyst Joshua Perry, and Nicole Auerbach return to NBC Sports' college football studio show, with Football Night in America's Chris Simms joining as an analyst throughout the season.
Fareed, who will also anchor NBC Sports' Monday night NBA studio coverage following the college football season, serves as a host and reporter on a variety of events and properties across NBC Sports, including the Olympics, horse racing, and Premier League. Perry, a former Ohio State linebacker, helped the team win the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship in 2014 and spent two seasons in the NFL. Simms played quarterback at the University of Texas (1999-2002) and had an eight-year NFL career after being selected in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
On-location each Saturday will be host Jordan Cornette alongside analysts Matt Cassel and Robinson.
Cassel, a seventh-round pick out of USC in 2005, played quarterback in the NFL for 14 seasons, while Robinson, a 2006 fourth-round pick from Penn State, spent eight seasons in the NFL. Cornette, a four-year member of the Notre Dame basketball team, currently serves as an analyst, host, and reporter on a variety of events and properties across NBC Sports, such as college basketball and will serve as a courtside reporter when the NBA returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock this fall.
Big Ten College Countdown will lead into most Big Ten games on NBC/Peacock. In addition, College Countdown will lead into most Notre Dame Football games on NBC/Peacock.
NBC Sports College Football Podcasts:
Rushing the Field with Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry presented by Xfinity returns for its second season with new episodes every Thursday morning and Saturday night. Auerbach and Perry will break down the biggest college football stories, preview the upcoming weekend slate, analyze the college football playoff picture, and cultivate a home for college sports fans who want the latest news, smart takes, and laughs. Each week's episode will also air on NBC Sports NOW FAST Channel on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. ET, beginning Sept. 2.
NBC Sports' 2025 Big Ten and Notre Dame Football games announced to date
--NBC SPORTS--
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