College Football: Longer Show, Shorter Breaks

After a taste of action Thursday night, college football season opens with a bunch of ho-hum, surely lopsided contests and a few non-conference games worth watching this weekend.

Three games highlight the latter group -- Oregon State-TCU (7:45 p.m. Saturday, ESPN), LSU-North Carolina (8 p.m. Saturday, ABC), and Boise State-Virginia Tech (8 p.m. Monday, ESPN) -- and Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit get to work both the second and third game on that list.

Still, non-game action might be some of the most discussed activity of the weekend, at least in terms of TV.

That includes an earlier start and channel (9 a.m., ESPNU) for "College GameDay" on Saturday and some shorter commercial breaks during the Notre Dame game on NBC.

Erin Andrews will host that first hour of "GameDay" as part of her new contract, which provides that taste of hosting action and work for "Good Morning America" as a complement to her duties as a sideline reporter. After her participation in "Dancing with the Stars" further increased her visibility, the opportunities were a logical (and maybe necessary) step to keep her at ESPN and allow her to build and vary her on-screen resume.

Expect the first hour of "GameDay" to go well because Andrews is good and professional. Plus, it's not like she's being asked to do a totally different job. She's comfortable in front of the camera and she'll just be sitting down for some conversations as opposed to standing up. If it does not go well, that would be a surprise.

After that initial hour, Chris Fowler and friends return at 10 a.m. on ESPN -- thankfully getting Fowler off U.S. Open coverage (even though he enjoys tennis) and putting him in the seat where he has seemingly redefined the role as studio host. In the live "GameDay" setting, he's engaging, enjoyable and entertaining. Perfect at his job.

With Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard, the team works well together and the show is always worth watching.

Like Andrews, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly expanded his job duties a bit in the offseason. Because he's looking to assist his preferred up-tempo offense in every possible way, he lobbied NBC -- which broadcasts all of the Irish's home games -- to shorten their in-game commercial breaks. As reported by USA Today, this week, those breaks will go from 2 minutes, 30 seconds to 1 minute, 45 seconds.

The quicker breaks might not transmit into an advantage for Notre Dame, because any break for both teams would seemingly help the defense get a break and get ready to resume action, but if Kelly thinks it helps, well then it might.