Why is Chris Fowler not on ESPN's Saturday Night Football crew to call the Notre Dame vs. Duke matchup?

Chris Fowler won’t be on game-calling duty this weekend on ESPN’s Saturday Night Football in Week 5 of college football. This is due to his overseas NFL obligation, which will see him travel to London for the Sunday game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The famous broadcaster inked a fresh multi-year contract with ESPN in August. The new agreement includes him as part of the broadcast team for certain NFL games during the 2023 season, where he will be working alongside Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick, and Laura Rutledge.

This weekend, the featured matchup on Saturday Night Football is between No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 17 Duke at the Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The Blue Devils hope to continue their brilliant start to the season when they host the Fighting Irish, who are coming from a disappointing loss to Ohio State.

Who replaces Chris Fowler this weekend?

Chris Fowler has been the play-by-play announcer for the college football prime-time broadcast since 2014 after replacing Brent Musburger. He rose to fame in sports broadcasting as the host of the College GameDay, which he hosted from 1990 to 2014.

As ABC’s Rudy Martzke reported on X (formerly Twitter), Rece Davis will replace Chris Fowler in the booth in Durham this weekend on Saturday Night Football, working alongside Kirk Herbstreit. Sideline reporter Holly Rowe will also be on the call for this weekend.

Notably, Davis replaced Fowler as College GameDay host in 2015. Davis and Herbstreit will both appear on the show earlier in the day. It’s also worth noting that the show is embarking on its inaugural visit to Duke, adding to the anticipation surrounding the event.

Chris Fowler’s new contract with ESPN

Chris Fowler inked a new contract, which included NFL duty, with ESPN in August, marking the continuation of his tenure at the network. This decision came amid ESPN’s announcement of substantial layoffs within its workforce in the summer.

"Fowler's new agreement with ESPN further solidifies one of ESPN's longest-tenured voices with the company, who has progressed over a quarter century to be one of the most respected hosts and play-by-play commentators in television," ESPN said in a statement released.

Earlier this year, the veteran broadcaster concluded his previous 10-year contract, which had a total value of $30 million. Reportedly, Fowler was seeking a significant salary increase from the network, but ESPN offered him only a modest raise.