With the holiday season in full swing, ESPN’s Molly McGrath is juggling festive cheer alongside one of the busiest stretches on the college football calendar. As bowl season ramps up, the sideline reporter will once again spend much of December working games across the country, missing major holidays with family. To make up for it, McGrath carved out time for an early Christmas celebration and shared glimpses of it on Instagram.

“With hearts & home full ❤️💚,” ESPN’s sideline reporter Molly McGrath captioned her Instagram post.

The ESPN reporter shared photos from a pre-Christmas Eve gathering with her husband, Max Dorsch. McGrath wore a black off-shoulder top paired with a maroon skirt, while Dorsch matched the holiday spirit in a red sweater and black pants. The couple posed beside a decorated Christmas tree, with additional photos featuring family and close friends rounding out the celebration.

December is the most demanding month of the postseason, and the schedule reflects it. Bowl season began on December 13 with the Celebration Bowl and LA Bowl. Games now run almost daily, starting with matchups like Troy vs. Jacksonville State on December 16, followed by Old Dominion vs. South Florida and Louisiana vs. Delaware on December 17. Arkansas State faces Missouri State on December 18, while December 19 features Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan and Memphis vs. NC State.

Then comes the crucial first-round playoff game between Texas A&M and Miami, and Oklahoma and Alabama on December 20. That means two different locations on the same day. Then that’s followed by some additional bowls on December 22 against Washington State and Utah. Followed by December 23 games between Louisville and Toledo, Western Kentucky and Southern Miss, and UNLV vs. Ohio. The Hawai‘i Bowl between Cal and Hawai‘i closes out Christmas Eve.

The schedule resumes immediately after, with games on December 26, 27, 29, 30, and December 31, culminating with Iowa vs. Vanderbilt. The holiday grind doesn’t end there. ESPN’s College GameDay crew will travel to Pasadena on January 1, 2026, for the Rose Bowl, where No. 1 Indiana will face the winner of Alabama vs. Oklahoma. That workload explains why McGrath opted to celebrate Christmas early.

Since joining ESPN in July 2016, McGrath has steadily risen through the ranks with her hard work. She used to host College Football Live and College Basketball Live, but then her sideline reporting became her signature role, drawing praise from fans and colleagues. She worked as a production assistant at ESPN in 2011, reported for the Boston Celtics, and hosted Celtics Now on Comcast SportsNet New England.

Through all adversity, she stood tall. And the efforts are paying off as ESPN is dominating the viewership market.

ESPN dominates the Big Noon Kickoff

The debate of who’s better than whom is never going to end in college football. But one is clearly surpassing the other. With ESPN College GameDay dominating pregame show ratings this season, outperforming Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff despite a two-week YouTube TV dispute, fans are looking at its dominance. GameDay averages 2.7 million viewers, while Big Noon Kickoff averages 1.8 million.

Week 14 marked the peak of viewership for both shows. Big Noon drew 4.4 million viewers, while GameDay pulled in 3 million during their Ann Arbor broadcasts. GameDay’s week 1 finale with Lee Corso was the one that attracted 4.0 million viewers, making it the second most-watched show of the season.

Big Noon only outperformed once in Week 10 before the Penn State vs. Ohio State game during their dispute. Now, the dispute, in a way, helped GameDay’s long-term viewership, as ESPN streamed the show for free on its app. But those numbers didn’t get counted.

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ESPN outperforms BNK in terms of habit, as personalities like Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit have become household names, and their travel also boosts their case. But here things are different, as Fox rarely makes trips.

Now, it will be interesting to see how the postseason and the 2026 season go for both shows.