ESPN Announces College Gameday Hosts Will Broadcast BYU Opener Against Navy

PROVO, Utah – BYU football has quite an opportunity in front of them to gain national television exposure unlike ever before. The Cougars season opener against Navy will air on ESPN on Labor Day night with some of ESPN’s top on-air talents calling the game.

ESPN announced on Wednesday their opening weekend schedule along with the broadcast teams that will be on those games. On the mic for BYU and Navy’s Labor Day night tilt is College Gameday hosts Reece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit. With Allison Williams reporting from the sidelines.

ESPN kicks off @ESPNCFB 2020-21 campaign

🏈 Times set for Week 0 & 1 matchups
🎶 @JuiceWorlddd & @marshmellomusic's 'Come & Go' debuts as new anthem
🎬 Graphics package includes new logo, revamped clock/score graphics & more

Details: https://t.co/39mOutcsIF pic.twitter.com/fbKEy1GC3O

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 26, 2020

The opening week of games on ESPN isn’t much to write home about so naturally, BYU’s cross-country trip to Annapolis is the “highlight” game during ESPN’s opening weekend.

Last time College Gameday host Kirk Herbstreit called a BYU game

BYU has had Reece Davis and Allison Williams on the call of games during the Cougars Independent era (since 2011). But you have to go back in the archives to hear a BYU game called by the “Voice of College Football” Kirk Herbstreit. The last time Herbstreit called a BYU game was in 2003 when the Cougars hosted Boise State on a Thursday night game in Provo in 2003.

This meeting between BYU and Navy will mark only the third all-time meeting between the two schools, with each school coming away victorious in one of the previous two games. The last meeting was in 1989 when Ty Detmer led BYU to a victory over the Midshipmen in Annapolis.

BYU added Navy earlier this month after the Midshipmen lost their rivalry game against Notre Dame and the Cougars lost their rivalry matchup with Utah.

Navy is scheduled to return to Provo at a yet to be determined date in a future season.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.