Joe Tessitore Joe Tessitore is an American national sports TV broadcaster . Biography . Recent work . Joe Tessitore is best known for his television work in football , basketball , horse racing and boxing . He is currently the play by play broadcaster for Saturday Night prime time college football games paired with veteran commentator Matt Millen . Joe was the broadcaster of the 2013 Orange Bowl . Joe is also the primary studio host for ESPN ' s daily College Football Live . In addition to his primary assignments as a College Football play - by - play commentator on ESPN and ABC he also is teamed with Sean Farnham on ESPNs College Basketball . Tessitore also produces documentaries for ESPN ' s award winning 30 for 30 series . In 2011 Tessitore executive produced the ESPN Film Roll Tide , War Eagle which premiered in November . In 2012 he was the consulting producer on ESPN ' s 30 for 30 featuring Bo Jackson . Tessitore is also ESPN ' s Heisman Trophy expert appearing on various shows and platforms throughout the season with poll results and historical analysis . Joe spent many years anchoring ABC / ESPN Horse Racing presentations including The Belmont Stakes and The Breeders ’ Cup World Championships . Joe is also a popular longtime blow - by - blow boxing broadcaster on ESPN ’ s Friday Night Fights . In August 2012 Joe was the subject of an extensive feature story titled , Tessitore becoming major voice of college football , one upset at a time " , " " ' written by Stewart Mandel . http : / / sportsillustrated . cnn . com / 2012 / writers / stewart _ mandel / 08 / 06 / joe - tessitore / index . html For five years he had been the host of ESPN ’ s live New Year ' s Eve specials including RedBull New Year , No Limits and the debut of ESPN ' s Year of the Quarterback . Among his most notable recent assignments Joe broadcast two of the most thrilling upsets of the 2011 college football season . He had the dramatic call of Iowa State ' s double - overtime win of # 2 Oklahoma State , as well as Baylor ' s stunning last second victory over # 5 Oklahoma . In 2010 Joe also was the play by play host for two of the biggest upsets of the year . On November 26 , 2010 he was ESPN ' s play - by - play broadcaster for # 19 Nevada ' s overtime upset of # 4 Boise State . The loss broke the Broncos ' twenty - four game win streak . Joe also was ESPN ' s host / anchor when Zenyatta ' s unbeaten streak was stopped . The champion race horse was defeated in the Breeders ' Cup Classic by Blame . Zenyatta was 19 - 0 prior to that race . In addition to his regular duties of football , horse racing and fights Joe has covered a wide array of sporting events for ESPN and is also a featured contributor for ESPN . com . Tessitore has been honored for his on air work . Sports Illustrated ' s Richard Deitsch has twice named him a finalist for Sports Media Person of the Year . On January 18 , 2010 he accepted an Eclipse Award on behalf of his ESPN production team for their Belmont Stakes broadcast on ABC . On June 4 , 2010 the Boxing Writers of America presented Tessitore with the prestigious Sam Taub award for Broadcast Excellence . The Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame has included Tessitore in their 2010 class of inductees . Since 2004 , Tessitore has been the voice for the top selling Fight Night video game series produced by EA Sports . Joe is considered an expert in many of the fields he covers . He is part of Ring Magazine ’ s rankings panel as well as a voter for the Heisman Trophy . Through the years Joe has also worked play - by - play or host duties on The Contender , HBO pay - per - view , international pay - per - view , Showtime pay - per - view and many ESPN properties , including NCAA college basketball , Arena Football , High Stakes Golf , the PBA Tour , and the World Arm Wrestling Championships . Tessitore also has hosted numerous ESPN Classic Boxing shows and has reported for ABC ’ s Good Morning America . In 2008 , he was the host anchor of Big Brown ' s failed Triple Crown attempt in the Belmont Stakes . On December 31 , 2007 , he called motorcyclist Robbie Maddison ’ s World Record 300 + foot jump . On December 31 , 2008 , he presented Maddison ’ s jump up / down from the Arc de Triomphe at the Paris Resort on the Vegas strip . On December 31 , 2009 Joe broadcast Travis Pastrana ' s world record rally car jump over Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach , California . On November 7 , 2009 he was the host of Zenyatta ' s history making victory on the Breeders ' Cup Classic , a broadcast which earned ESPN an Emmy nomination . On December 26 , 2009 he was the broadcaster of USC ' s bowl victory over Boston College . It was the last game in the USC career of head coach Pete Carroll . On April 3 , 2010 , Joe was the lead host and ringside broadcaster for Bernard Hopkins victory over longtime rival Roy Jones Jr on pay - per - view . In October 2010 Joe had the call of LSU ' s dramatic last second win over Florida . Joe has worked with numerous broadcast partners in his career . In the ABC / ESPN College Football booth he was long joined by Rod Gilmore . For boxing he is teamed ringside with Teddy Atlas . On ESPN horse racing he ’ s on the set along with Randy Moss and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey . He has also been teamed with Matt Millen , Todd Blackledge , Bill Curry , Mike Tomczak , Ray Bentley , Marcellus Wiley , Shaun King , Scott LeDoux , Sugar Ray Leonard , Roy Jones Jr , Bernard Hopkins , Nate Campbell and Shannon Briggs . Tessitore ’ s distinct voice - over work has been used in several feature films , including Annapolis and The Breakup , plus numerous TV programs . He has also appeared in the TV drama The Dead Zone acting as himself in an episode . Education . Tessitore graduated from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College with a degree in Marketing . For his college preparatory studies , Tessitore graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in Albany , NY . Early career . His earlier work was in local television , with over eight - years as the lead sports anchor at WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford . Prior to joining WFSB , he was a sports anchor at WRGB channel 6 , Albany - Schenectady - Troy , New York . He also spent time in the sports department at KXAS channel 5 in Fort Worth , Texas . Personal life . Tessitore is a member of the National Italian - American Foundation . He is on the board of Directors for the Connecticut Cystic Fibrosis Foundation . Tessitore founded the annual Sportscasters ' SuperBall for CF Research .