Irish Football: NBC Puts Mike Mayock on the Field and Doug Flutie in the Booth for the Northwestern Game

On Wednesday the NBC Sports Group released a statement telling the world that color commentator Mike Mayock will be moving to the field while Doug Flutie swaps positions and heads up to the booth.

"Mike is one of the top Xs-and-Os commentators in football. The sideline analyst role will allow him to dissect the game from field level and present his findings to viewers at strategic times throughout the broadcast," said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports & NBCSN. "Doug is synonymous with college football and is an experienced booth analyst. We're excited to see how this new arrangement plays out on Saturday."

We're excited too. So much so that we spent the past 36 hours working on a time machine and were able to provide our readers with a sneak peek at the new arrangement for Saturday. We pick things up late in the second quarter with Notre Dame leading 14-3 after scoring a touchdown.

*****

Welcome back to the game. I'm not Jim Nantz.

Both teams are lined up in traditional kickoff formations down here.

Okay, thank you Mike. And Kyle Brindza sails the ball through the end zone for a touchback.

I talked to Brian Kelly this week and he really wanted Brindza to focus more on kickoff placement.

First down upcoming for the Wildcats.

Run the golf promo.

On December 4th don't forget to check out the first round of the Hero World Challenge golf tournament from Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Windermere, Florida. That's one of my favorites of the year and I'm looking forward to covering it for NBC.

Northwestern lining up with 3 wide receivers, you guys.

Mike, you don't need to announce every formation.

Siemian takes the snap, he's pressured, and throws it away.

Wow, did you see Day number ninety-one flash on that play? Watch him stunt...

We're not running the replay yet! You're not in the booth!

...and defeat his block to pressure the quarterback. Great football play, man.

Northwestern hustling to the line on second down.

They're moving quickly down here, guys.

Siemian finds Jones across the middle for 9 yards. The clock is running and Northwestern only has one timeout.

During our meetings this week I talked...

I'm down here on the sidelines, guys. And I have to tell you the wind is really starting to howl. I'm standing on the west side of the stadium, what's it like on the other side Kathryn?

Oh, it's really...

QUICK SNAP!

They don't get it. I don't think Siemian picked up the first on the quarterback sneak.

Now, hang on a second. I was right in line with that snap and I think he got this.

Looks like they're going to take a look at this up in the booth.

I think he got it, Dan.

This was a nice play-call by Northwestern. You've got a six-three quarterback with...

Now I've pulled up the NBC Sports Mobile Live Extra app on my phone. This is pretty cool.

The replays look like he's about half a yard short.

You see there's a second effort by Siemian where he lunges forward. I thought watching it live he moved the ball past the marker where I'm standing on the sideline. Yeah, that definitely looks like a first down to me.

And here comes the call from the head official. And the call on the field stands. Fourth down.

Wow.

Niswander back to punt, and the ball goes out of bounds at the Notre Dame 38-yard line. So now the Irish take over with one twenty four left to play in the half.

We'll see if Notre Dame tries to put something together here before halftime.  In talking with Brian Kelly he hinted they might try to grab some points in this type of situation using Golson's arm.

Golson drops back to pass and hits Fuller. Twists around! Still running. And pushed out of bounds inside Northwestern territory.

Do you know what kind of player Fuller is, Dan?

First and 10 from the 42-yard line. The clock starts to run after they move the chains.

Don't say it, Mike.

I'm just so impressed with Fuller's progress this year. Fuller is a dude.

Under 50 seconds left now. Here comes the snap. Golson looking around. Squirts through a crowd.

Look out!

Fires the ball down the sideline. And just too far out of bounds.

What'd you see on that play, Doug?

Good coverage down field by Northwestern.

I thought so too. But down here on the field I also thought Golson had the big tight end coming across the field. It looked like that opened up at the last moment.

Thirty two seconds left in the half. Here's a hand-off to Folston and he breaks through for seven yards. The clock is ticking and the Irish are out of timeouts.

Gotta hurry up and get a play off here.

Here's a quick snap. Seventeen seconds left. Golson quickly surveys and fires the ball. Touchdown! He found Robinson down the seam for the score!

Cut to David Robinson!

Wow, tremendous throw.

Great drive to finish the half.

Now another shot of David Robinson!

Notre Dame takes the twenty to three lead with eight seconds left in the half.

Wow, I saw Robinson cutting towards the goal posts and from down here on the field I wasn't sure the window was big enough to fit the ball through.

Golson did it.

This is fun! Isn't this fun!?