ESPN's Chris Fowler on Texas-Ohio State, juggling tennis and football, and 'joke' scheduling

With assignments that include calling three of tennis' four major tournaments and ESPN's top college football game weekly through the playoffs, Chris Fowler readily admits he's living the dream.

His weekend travel itinerary, however, hardly seemed the stuff of dreams.

After calling Friday's second U.S. Open semifinal, he was on a private flight that landed in Austin around 3 a.m. Saturday. Following a scant amount of sleep, there was a late-morning production meeting before calling Saturday night's matchup between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Texas on ABC, arguably the top non-conference matchup in college football this season.

Once Saturday's game ends, it's back on a plane to New York for Sunday's 1 p.m. CT men's final on ABC between Alexander Zverez and Blake Shelton, with the latter trying to become the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S, Open.

"They are my two favorite sports and I get to call the championship events in them," Fowler told the Houston Chronicle on Saturday afternoon during a brief respite in Austin. "So that's a dream job. I live in the dream I had since I'm 10 years old."

Fowler, at ESPN since 1986, has called tennis since 2003 and after a 25-season stint hosting "College GameDay," shifted to the network's lead college football play-by-play role in 2014.

This time of year almost always includes a juggling act between the Open and college football - he called LSU/Clemson in Baton Rouge, La., last Saturday - but this weekend arguably presents the biggest events he's called on back-to-back days.

Friday's semifinal between Frances Tiafoe and Shelton was the first between two Black American men during the Open era (since 1968). Ohio State-Texas is the third matchup between the programs since January 2025. Fowler will have called two of the three, the first being the Buckeyes' win in the 2024 CFP semifinals .

"I feel like this game is bigger than Oklahoma-Michigan was in this time slot a year ago and I think that the Shelton-Tiafoe match obviously was historic," Fowler said. "And there's a lot in it falling on (the 25th anniversary of) September 11th. It was a very involved, elaborate broadcast for numerous reasons. And then going back and doing the men's final with an American playing for it, trying to end a 23 year drought? So no, probably nothing (before compares) to the one-two-three punch of these days. Probably not equal to that."

Fowler's week also included calling a marathon five-set quarterfinal between Shelton and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz that took 4 hours and 28 minutes and ended at 3:33 a.m. ET on Wednesday in the latest finish in Open history.

"There's nothing quite like the scale of a big, long tennis match when you can be working five hours," Fowler said. "I've called a 5:53 match, almost a six-hour match before. It's a muscle you develop and you get used to those very long periods of concentration. And certainly (analysts) John and Patrick (McEnroe) are very dialed in for those long matches and and so that helps.

"But, yeah, 3:33 (a.m.), you just try not to look at the clock. I didn't have to get up the next morning and do anything. But you know you're going to be disrupted the following day. But that doesn't matter because it's a monster match; it's what you live for, to me. A tennis match when it's like that is as good as sports get. And I'm including a great football game. To me, tennis can be right on the top end of as compelling as anything in sports."

Fowler's tennis work also cut into his prep time for Saturday's broadcast with analyst Kirk Herbstreit and sideline reporters Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge. For instance, he was on a Zoom call with Ohio State coach Ryan Day but had to drop out early after an Open match ended abruptly and he was needed back on tennis duty.

"I was working in a little bit of prep here and there, staying up late and doing football, but as I said, I'm going to be working right down to kickoff. which is not in the normal rhythm of the week," Fowler said. "I know I've got a lot of work to do to get ready for this game. I don't have one eye on tennis and one eye on football. You have to have both eyes on exactly what you're doing because it requires that, right? So there's no thought of football during (Tiafoe-Shelton).

"Now the minute it ends, on the ride to the airport, I got the chart out on the plane last night. I'm not sleeping. I'm looking at Texas State versus Texas (last week). I hadn't had a chance during the week to watch tape, and that's essential. So that that got pushed to Friday night in the wee hours, and I'm looking at my 38-page analytic report. Every aspect of this matchup dissected and it's a tremendous mountain of information that you don't want to smother the game with, but it's good to know it."

The Ohio State-Texas game represents what may be a dying breed of marquee non-conference matchups as more teams look to protect their playoff hopes. Fowler didn't mince words about that trend.

"I love the sport, and I hate what the pre-conference schedules have become," he said. "And you look around today - it's a joke. It's bad for the sport. I hope that there are repercussions for teams that don't schedule difficult, but will there be? That's up to the selection committee.

"They're not must-win games, but they're tone setters. And résumé builders and all that stuff. … (Many non-conference matchups) are exhibition games. I'd rather see a scrimmage than watch some of these games."

Fowler has called his share of high-profile Texas games during the Longhorns' first two SEC seasons and as always, expectations are high in Austin after an offseason overhaul via the transfer portal and Arch Manning entering his second season as the starting quarterback.

"I think Texas' talent that they've assembled is impressive," Fowler said. "They've addressed specific weaknesses. I think they feel like their O-line is better. They're better at running back. They're better at receiver (and) Arch's a year older. I think he'll play overall better than last year, but I think he'll pick up where he left off at the end of the season. And I think defensively, they've also addressed the needs in a less dramatic way than they did in offense (by) getting guys like Rasheem Biles and and getting guys like Colin Simmons back.

"I think there's pressure on Texas because I think this is a game that a lot of people feel they should win. These matchups, these are like heavyweight NFL games. It's hard to beat a good team three times in 18 months, right? That's what Ohio State's trying to do. And if they do it, it's really impressive. But I think Texas has a little bit of an edge. I'm not making a pick, just so you know, They've spent a lot of money, as you know, and made some smart (portal) acquisitions, and now they need to see those weaknesses that were apparent last year and begin to get exposed against the Buckeyes, they need to see those shored up for what they hope is a 15-, 16-game run,"