Scott Hanson Breaks Silence on College Football RedZone Rumors as Roger Goodell Causes Pandemonium

Flipping through college football games on a Saturday is like juggling a dozen remote controls at once. You want to see every big play, but with staggered kickoff times, multiple networks, and that frustrating “wait, who’s playing?” moment, it can seem like an impossible task to do. Enter NFL RedZone, the magical network on which Scott Hanson holds viewers fast by jumping from touchdown to touchdown in real time, all day long.

So, of course, there has been a buzz among fans for a College Football RedZone, a network where all those crazy Saturday games could be summarized into one action-packed, non-stop highlight show. But is it that easy? NFL RedZone voice Scott Hanson himself recently broke down the rumors surrounding him hosting a college version. Spoiler alert: it isn’t very easy. And he did so with a signature pinch of humor.

“As for college football, red zone, which is the big one that people are talking about,” Hanson said during his recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, “if Bob Iger [CEO of The Walt Disney Company], Jimmy Pitaro [CEO of ESPN], Burke Magnus [President, Content, at ESPN] want to hit me up. Hey, I love college every bit as much as I love pros. Well, there’s way more games, too. There’s a lot of different dynamics.” He broke down the challenges as well, saying, “If you were to do a college football red zone, okay, first of all, ESPN doesn’t have the rights to every conference… And second of all, the kickoffs are not all synchronized. Yeah, you get a good batch kicking off at noon Eastern, but they’re not all synchronized. They come at different times. The games go throughout the day.”

Hanson also touched on a key fan knowledge gap. “If your favorite team is the Alabama Crimson Tide, you probably know the Alabama Crimson Tide, but you can’t name me 30 other quarterbacks in college football… so it’s not college is not quite as accessible to the frontal lobe of the American sports fan as it is in the NFL. Does that make sense?” Hanson isn’t wrong. The college football landscape includes over 130 FBS teams, compared to 32 in the NFL, making coverage far more sprawling.

This is essentially why the college RedZone is such a challenging endeavor. Unlike the NFL’s clean and convenient Sunday schedule, college games are everywhere, starting times scattered here and there, and spread across ESPN, CBS, FOX, and numerous other channels. And on top of that, with so many players and teams, even the most occasional of fans will feel like they’re attempting to catch up on a dozen soap operas on TV simultaneously. Good luck changing channels quickly enough!

ESPN’s Goal Line tries to be Saturday’s MVP but still can’t match NFL RedZone’s smooth moves. Hanson’s openness is basically a “Maybe someday!” nod, if the networks stop playing broadcast musical chairs. Meanwhile, college fans keep flipping channels like it’s an extreme sport, hoping to catch every big play without missing a beat. But hang tight, the way we watch college football might be about to get a major remix, and the new bosses could shake things up big time.

Could college football become the NFL’s new playground?

Just a few days ago, ESPN shook things up by announcing it’s about to take over the NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and a bunch of other league assets. Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell chimed in, confirming ESPN now runs the full RedZone show, which could mean some big changes are coming, maybe even for how we watch college football on Saturdays.

On August 7, CBS Sports and On3 analyst Josh Pate sparked intense debate when he suggested the NFL might eventually take over college football from the NCAA. “Yes, I do think it’s possible,” Pate said, emphasizing that the league’s best strategy might be to quietly take control without overt branding: “I think the smartest thing to do would be to take it over and never have their sticker on it whatsoever.”

If being honest, Josh Pate’s bold prediction doesn’t sound too crazy. College football is already a ratings beast, and the 2024 season pulled in record numbers for the biggest games, making it a juicy target for the pros to cozy up to. Sure, the future is still a bit fuzzy, but it looks like the line between college Saturdays and the NFL Sunday spectacle might start to blur. Fans could get a whole new way to watch their favorite games, but it also has us wondering: will college football keep its unique charm, or will it start feeling more like a pre-game show for the pros? Only time will tell!