FOX Sports Plans All-Out Blitz for Michigan-Utah Season Opener

FOX Sports kicks off the 2015 college football season with its biggest opening weekend ever, highlighted by a primetime showdown between Michigan and Utah on Thursday, Sept. 3 on FOX Sports 1. Coverage begins at 7:00 PM ET with an expanded 90-minute pregame show live from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City before the Wolverines, led by first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh, and the Utes, powered by star running back Devontae Booker, take the field at 8:30 PM ET. In addition to FOX Sports 1, the game is available via FOX Sports GO, FOXSportsGO.com and in Spanish on FOX Deportes.

FOX Sports is live from Salt Lake City as lead college football play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, lead analyst Joel Klatt and sideline reporter Molly McGrath join studio host Rob Stone, analysts Dave Wannstedt and Matt Leinart, plus contributor Colin Cowherd, who makes his FOX Sports debut. FOX Sports 1’s live on-site coverage begins Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 7:00 PM ET with a special one-hour FOX SPORTS COLLEGE FOOTBALL KICKOFF preview show in addition to live hits for FOX Sports 1 signature studio programs AMERICA’S PREGAME and FOX SPORTS LIVE.

Highlighting Thursday’s expanded edition of FOX SPORTS 1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREGAME, Wannstedt sits down with Harbaugh for an exclusive 1-on-1 interview taped earlier this week in Ann Arbor. The former Chicago Bears’ head coach and quarterback reunite to discuss Harbaugh’s emotions as the season gets underway, his competitive spirit, where Michigan stands in the Big Ten and more.

“We have ground to make up,” Harbaugh tells Wannstedt. “And ground is a hard thing to make up. That’s what we’re working extremely had at, and really feeling good about our coaching staff, about our players – that they’re really putting in the work necessary.”

The full interview runs during Thursday’s pregame show, and clips can be seen throughout the week on FOX Sports 1 studio news programming and online at FOXSports.com. Thursday’s pregame coverage also includes a feature on Utah’s team culture and what makes the program so good, and several Ute players tell viewers “3 Things You Need to Know” about their squad.

Leaving no angle uncovered, FOX Sports has a camera in a local Ann Arbor bar to show fan reaction throughout the game, and FOX Sports GO offers five distinct live streams, including simulcasts in English and Spanish, a “Skycam” view, “Khaki Cam,” and “CFB 360.” “Khaki Cam” features a camera devoted entirely to Harbaugh as he paces the sidelines for the first time leading his alma mater. “CFB 360” offers a behind-the-scenes pregame experience that begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff, documenting team arrivals, warmups and player huddles, also presenting in-game highlights and post-game press conferences. FOX Sports GO is available to customers of participating pay-TV providers in iOS, Android, Fire tablets and Fire phones, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, select Windows devices and online at FOXSportsGO.com.

Before descending upon Salt Lake City for the highly anticipated season-opener, FOX Sports begins its 2015 college football coverage on Sunday, Aug. 30, with the FOX SPORTS 1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW SHOW airing at 4:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1. Hosted by Stone with analysis from Klatt, Leinart, Wannstedt and insider Bruce Feldman, the one-hour program takes a look at the biggest preseason storylines from around the country.

In addition, FOX Sports and Big Ten Network cover the Michigan-Utah showdown throughout the week, as Feldman and Ryan Field are in Ann Arbor on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, filing live reports for AMERICA’S PREGAME and FOX SPORTS LIVE on FOX Sports 1. Sue Ann Robak reports live from Ann Arbor for BTN FOOTBALL AND BEYOND and BTN LIVE.

FOX Sports kicks off the 2015 college football season with seven games over four days on Labor Day weekend, including Michigan at Utah on FOX Sports 1. On Saturday, Sept. 5, college football returns to FOX broadcast network with Virginia at No. 13 UCLA (3:30 PM ET) with Joe Davis, Brady Quinn and Kris Budden on the call. That night on FOX Sports 1, Mississippi State meets South Miss (10:00 PM ET) with Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman in the booth, and on Sunday, Sept. 6, Marshall hosts Purdue (3:00 PM ET) on FOX Sports 1, called by Justin Kutcher, Steve Hutchinson and Petros Papadakis.

Those exciting matchups are part of the nearly 100 games telecast on FOX Sports’ national and regional platforms this season, comprising a schedule that features top contests from the Big 12, Pac-12 and Conference USA on FOX broadcast network, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Networks (FSN), FOX College Sports (FCS), FOX Deportes and FOX Sports GO.