College Football Season Launches; U.S. Open Tennis Tourney Continues: What’s On This Weekend in TV Sports (September 2-4)

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

A look at the weekend's top TV sports events on broadcast, cable and streaming services

Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers (19) pulls his tacklers after a catch during the Georgia Bulldogs game versus the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 9, 2023.
Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers (19) pulls his tacklers after a catch during the Georgia Bulldogs game versus the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 9, 2023. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Week one of the college football regular season headlines a busy Labor Day holiday weekend TV sports schedule.

The first official weekend of college football action features several top 10-ranked teams in the nation playing on Saturday, beginning with the top-seeded and defending champion Georgia Bulldogs facing UT Martin on the SEC Network and second-ranked Michigan facing East Carolina on Peacock. Third-rank Ohio State travels to Indiana to face the Hoosiers on CBS, while fourth-ranked Alabama hosts Middle Tennessee on the SEC Network. 

The rest of the top 10 includes No. 6 USC-Nevada (Pac 12 Network) and No. 10 Washington-Boise State (ABC.) On Sunday, fifth-ranked LSU battles No. 8 Florida State on ABC, while on Monday, No. 9 Clemson faces Duke on ESPN.

ESPN2 on Saturday will offer coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament featuring third-round men’s singles action, while on Sunday, ESPN and ABC will offer live coverage of the fourth round of women’s singles play. 

On the racetrack Sunday, USA will air the NASCAR Cup: Cook Out Southern 500 race, NBC will televise the IndyCar BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland race, and ESPN will showcase the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix competition. 

On the baseball diamond, Peacock will stream the Philadelphia Phillies-Milwaukee Brewers game. ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will pit the New York Yankees against the Houston Astros. 

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will stream a UFC Fight Night card headlined by the Ciryl Gane-Serghei Spivac heavyweight match. 

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.