New Year’s Day is always one for lounging around and watching football. This year, I took in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl along with the crews from ESPN Radio.
From Joe Tessitore saying “We welcome you to the Granddaddy of them all,” prior to the start of the Rose Bowl to Marc Kestecher adding, “Incomplete! And the Washington Huskies have held on to their unbeaten season in their final season in the Pac-12 and advances to play Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship,” at the end of the Sugar Bowl, it was a great way to spend the first day of 2024.
Two tremendous football games, two excellent radio broadcasts.
In game 1, Tessitore was joined in the booth by former Oklahoma Sooners and Chicago Bears defensive lineman Dusty Dvoracek and sideline reporter Quint Kessenich.
In the nightcap, Kestecher teamed in the booth with former NFL quarterback Kelly Stouffer along with Ian Fitzsimmons on the sidelines.
Both games also featured the studio team of Kevin Winter and former NFL lineman Trevor Matich.
One of the first things I noticed about both games was the tremendous balance between the audio of the announcers at the game and the crowd on hand. You could hear the announcers very clearly, while also getting a sense for the atmosphere they were surrounded by.
Tessitore, who has long been a top TV play-by-play caller for ESPN, was excellent with the radio call, and both he and Dvoracek had a lot of emotion in their voices throughout the entire game.
A few standout calls by Tessitore included the opening score by Alabama: “Jase McClellan touchdown run, and Alabama strikes first! Milroe struggled to control it, but when he got it to McClellan, he took off like a rocket!”
Then when Michigan attempted its first trick play with just over five minutes left in the first half, and quarterback JJ McCarthy took a big hit, Tessitore described the turf stuck in his helmet: “McCarthy’s helmet looks the way your lawn mower looks on a Saturday afternoon after you’ve mowed the lawn.”
Another call that stood out was the muffed punt by Michigan with around one minute to play in regulation. “It is muffed! It is muffed back at the one-yard line,” Tessitore exclaimed. “There were human missiles coming downfield to absolutely destroy him at the one-yard line!”
Finally, after a failed conversion on 4th down in overtime, “Milroe running straight ahead, he doesn’t get it, he goes nowhere, and the Michigan Wolverines have done it!”
Dvoracek was on his game throughout. During the first half, he consistently pointed out what Michigan’s defensive line was doing to disrupt Alabama’s offense and when the Wolverines sacked Jalen Milroe twice to start the second quarter, Dvoracek said, “It’s like a feeding frenzy out there for Michigan.”
Later, as things started to change in the game, he was quick to point out, “You can feel it this entire second half. Michigan was winning at the line and now Alabama is not giving Michigan anywhere to run, it has completely flipped along the lines.”
As the game came down to the wire, with Michigan driving, Tessitore excitedly said, “Michigan has first and goal with a chance to tie it or win it. You want drama, you got it!”
Drama certainly helps keep listeners engaged, but with this game, the team of broadcasters shined as much as the players on the field.
A key takeaway while listening was also the work of Quint Kessenich on the sidelines. A Hall of Fame lacrosse player from Johns Hopkins, Kessenich wasn’t just providing your standard sideline reports. Whether it was talking about the confidence of Michigan, despite the slow start, the Alabama defense getting mad at each other coming off the field, or the pregame struggles of the Michigan kicker, Kessenich really gave the listeners some great insight.
In the second half, as Jalen Milroe and Alabama started to take control, Kessenich compared the game to a high school football game, saying “Just give the ball to Jalen and good things are going to happen.”
It didn’t quite end up that way, with Michigan coming out on top, however, the broadcast was every bit as good as the game.
Another key takeaway from the day was the work of Winter and Matich in the studio. Whereas you normally get other scores and highlights, because these were the only two games going on, the two combined to provide even more analysis about the current game and kept the listeners entertained during breaks, in between and after the games.
They did an excellent job breaking down the Michigan pass rush and had several strong takes, including when Matich said late in the 3rd quarter of the Rose Bowl, “The worm is starting to turn a bit in favor of Alabama. If Alabama can stop self-destructing it looks like they have something going on.”
As the scene shifted to New Orleans and Kestecher, Stouffer and Fitzsimmons took over, you quickly realized the chemistry the group has with one another. “Kesty, Kelly and Fitzy,” was often said in reference to the crew, and while the game had a much different flow to it than the first game, the national radio broadcast was again on it’s A-game.
Kestecher set up the listeners well from the very beginning: “Might we see two classics tonight? We hope so,” he said.
Whether it was talking about the “Joe Moore Award Winning” offensive line of Washington, or the massive defensive line of Texas, the broadcast team took the listeners deep in to the trenches of the game early and often.
They also did a masterful job of transitioning from the sideline and studio reports. Often you will get a report and the broadcasters will thank the reporter or studio analyst, but not continue that particular subject. In this broadcast, whether it was Ian Fitzsimmons noting a players-only meeting led by Michael Penix Jr. of Washington or Trevor Matich pointing out “the Texas secondary needs to clean itself up and they have to find a way to get Penix down,” Kestecher and Stouffer would take those points and add to them.
Something else both broadcasts had in common, was how well the broadcasters would quickly give you what they saw on plays that were being reviewed. When watching, the viewers can see the replays for themselves, but it is much more difficult on the radio side to explain what you saw and then give a take on how it will be ruled, quickly, so the listener feels just as informed as a viewer.
I also noted how there were no “rules analysts” on the radio broadcasts. No Mike Pereira or Dean Blandino to be found, and frankly, because of the work of the broadcast teams, the listener didn’t miss out on anything.
When the game was tied 21-21 at halftime, Kestecher said, “We are at the half and we haven’t solved anything yet.”
Stouffer was outstanding with his analysis and had a great sequence when he noted, “Texas is making Washington one dimensional, but now needs to keep them from having big plays in the passing game.” Moments later, Washington’s Jalen McMillan would catch a 19-yard touchdown pass from Penix Jr. to cap off an 8 play, 70-yard drive, mostly through the air.
Later, Stouffer and Kestecher noted how the Texas star wide receivers had not seen much action and needed to be involved if Texas had a chance. In their next series, they hit receivers Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy for big plays, including a touchdown pass to Mitchell from one yard out.
Just like Quint Kessenich had done in game 1, Ian Fitzsimmons was outstanding on the sidelines in the Sugar Bowl, including giving the listeners insight, late in the game, into Michael Penix Jr. and Washington star receiver Rome Odunze having an exchange on the sideline and noting Penix Jr. was “calm as can be with a natty on the line.”
Fitzsimmons also smoothly weaved in an interview with Texas fan Matthew McConaughey, and actually seemed to understand what the Oscar-winning actor was saying as he described the game of football.
As the Sugar Bowl came down the stretch, Kestecher let out a terrific line, something everyone had to be feeling, as he exclaimed, “What a day in the college football playoffs!”
The announcers did a great job recognizing the amount of time that should be left on the clock (one second), giving Texas one last chance, drawing a perfect response from Kestecher, “Of course it would come down to this.”
When the game was finally over, with Washington on top, you could really sense how hard the broadcasters had worked to bring the game to light. In fact, both broadcast teams should be commended for having just as much energy, if not more, at the end of the game as they had at the beginning.
In addition to the great performances by the broadcasters, kudos to the producers, sound engineers, and all that made the New Year’s Day national radio calls of the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl so enjoyable.
Joe Tessitore summed it up best at the end of the Rose Bowl by saying: “Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.”
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
