You’re Nuts: Who is your current favorite college football announcing crew?

Aside from TreVeyon Henderson rushing for 277 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday against Tulsa, there wasn’t much else of note for the Buckeyes in the victory. For many Ohio State fans it was a tough game to watch, not only because of the sluggish performance from the Buckeyes, but also because of having to listen to Tim Brando doing commentary on the FS1 broadcast. We are sure that many Ohio State fans will be happy if they never hear the words “coach’s son” ever again.

When it comes to announcing crews, Ohio State often gets the best of what the network they are on has to offer. Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt did the first two Ohio State games of the year, and you’ll likely hear them call another 2-3 more Buckeye games this year. For some this is a welcome change after having numerous Ohio State games over the years called by ABC/ESPN’s top crew, Chris Fowler and former Buckeye Kirk Herbstreit.

Today we want to know who is your favorite announcing crew for Ohio State games? While there are plenty of great announcing duos that have called Buckeye games in the past, we are going to stick with current broadcast teams. They could come from ABC/ESPN, FOX Sports, or Big Ten Network.

Today’s question: Who is your favorite current TV announcing duo to listen to call Ohio State football games?

We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.

Brett’s answer: Joe Tessitore and Greg McElroy

Tessitore and McElroy haven’t actually called an Ohio State game together yet, I just know that if I had to choose anyone from the three networks that you see Ohio State on, I’d choose Tessitore and McElroy. This is mainly because of the love that I have for Joe Tessitore. I remember like 5-6 years ago when the “Tess Effect” was taking the college football world by storm. It felt like every game that Tessitore called came down to the wire.

To me, Tessitore just sounds like a true professional when calling any game. I thought he got a raw deal when he was paired with Jason Witten and Booger McFarland on Monday Night Football in 2018 and 2019. If ESPN would have given Tessitore anyone even halfway decent as a partner, I think he would still be calling games on MNF. Luckily for college football fans, Monday Night Football’s loss is our gain.

Really though, you could put anyone next to Tessitore in the booth at a college football game and I’d be sufficiently entertained for 3-4 hours. Tessitore is just a younger version of Brad Nessler in my opinion. Great voice to listen to and they just call a great game. Kevin Harlan is another name that I put up as some of the great current broadcasters, it’s just a shame that Harlan doesn’t call college football games.

I have no real opinion about McElroy, other than he’s there and not the worst. McElroy is just lucky to be working with such a great partner or he’d probably find himself a lot farther down the pecking order when it comes to ABC/ESPN’s broadcast teams. It could be worse though, at least Tessitore isn’t paired with Dan Orlovsky.

Meredith’s pick: Sean McDonough and Todd Blackledge

There have been so many broadcasting crews that I’ve loved watching cover Ohio State. Obviously having alums come in (like Chris Spielman with Sean McDonough or Joey Galloway and Beth Mowins — both outstanding crews in their own right) was extremely fun and brought a touch of nostalgia.

Then there are the plain silly folks who my husband and I still giggle about years later, like when Brad Nessler, on covering a Wisconsin game, said “why don’t you just call him a bratwurst?” in reference to a Wisconsin player. Of course, Nessler is among the best in the business, and watching his coverage is always a treat.

However, my favorite of the moment is probably Sean McDonough and Tod Blackledge, with Todd McShay on the sideline. While I don’t love the utter lack of diversity in this crew — especially since the amazing Holly Rowe moved to the Saturday night game’s crew — I appreciate their professionalism and actual analysis that seems so often lacking (looking at you, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck).

First of all, McDonough has always been stellar on the play-by-play, and his aforementioned pairing with Spielman was always a pleasant way to watch football Saturdays. I think football fans the world around collectively cringed when we had to watch the always professional McDonough paired with the likes of Jon Gruden for Monday Night Football for hours of awkward banter from the now-Raiders head coach, so it is, selfishly, nice to have McDonough back in the college ranks.

When it comes to the color commentating, we’ll forgive the fact, for the moment, that Blackledge went to Penn State, and simply be grateful that he is a better partner for McDonough to banter with.

The fact McShay is one of ESPN’s key draft people adds another level of intrigue to the crew, because he knows so much about the prospects on either side of the field for a given game.