ABC to start Saturday Night College Football

Ohio State-Texas among contests slated for 8 p.m. ET game of week

David J. Phillip / AP file

Texas coach Mack Brown holds a bundle of roses after beating Colorado 70-3 in the Big 12 championship game in Houston, Saturday, Dec.3, 2005. Texas will advance to the national championship game in the Rose Bowl. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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updated 5:06 p.m. ET May 18, 2006

NEW YORK - Out of the Monday Night Football business, ABC is set to serve up a regular dose of college football on Saturday night.

ABC Saturday Night College Football will begin this fall with Notre Dame at Georgia Tech on Sept. 2. The next week, ABC will air Ohio State at defending national champion Texas.

The 12-week prime-time college football series is a first for a broadcast network. All games will being at 8 p.m. Eastern. Last season, ABC did four Saturday prime-time college games.

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ABC’s Monday Night Football ended a 36-year run in December as the longest running network series. ESPN will take over the weekly Monday night NFL game this season.

Brent Musburger will be the primary play-by-play man for Saturday Night College Football with former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie the color analyst.

Lisa Salters will be the sideline reporter and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit will occasionally join Musburger and Davie in the booth.

ABC'S SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Tentative schedule
— Sept. 2 — Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
— Sept. 9 — Ohio State at Texas
— Sept. 16 — Nebraska at USC
— Sept. 23 — Notre Dame at Michigan State and USC at Arizona (split national coverage).
— Sept. 30 — Ohio State at Iowa or Michigan at Minnesota
— Oct. 7 — Oregon at California and ACC, Big 12 or Big East game (split national coverage).
— Oct. 14 — Michigan at Penn State and Arizona State at USC (split national coverage).
— Nov. 4 — UCLA at California and ACC, Big 12 or Big East game (split national coverage).
— Nov. 11 — ACC, Big 12 or Big East game (split national coverage).
— Nov. 18 — California at USC and ACC, Big 12 or Big East game (split national coverage).
— Nov. 25 — Notre Dame at USC
— Dec. 2 — Big 12 championship game.