If you love college football, Matt Barrie is a familiar face. The ESPN studio host will work throughout the College Football Playoff. He also will be on the call for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl when Minnesota faces Virgina Tech on Friday. Barrie, an Arizona State alum will take a break from broadcasting on New Year’s Day to see his alma mater in person face Texas in the CFP quarterfinals at the Peach Bowl.

In addition to his football duties, Barrie is starting something new in January as a play-by-play voice for the TGL, the tech-infused 3-on-3 golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s joint venture TMRW Sports. The inaugural season starts Jan. 7 and will air on ESPN and ESPN2 in primetime between January and March. We recently caught up with Barrie to talk about the CFP and the TGL.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Awful Announcing: What CFP quarterfinal interests you the most?

Matt Barrie: “It’s interesting because we’ve seen Oregon and Ohio State play in Week 7, a one-point game. Based on what we saw out of Ohio State against Tennessee, I don’t think there’s anyone who could argue that if that Ohio State team shows up, they could beat anybody in the country. It’s an old Pac-12-Big Ten-Rose Bowl look. But the one I’m keeping my eye on the most: Notre Dame and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, the nightcap, simply because of Gunner Stockton, a highly recruited quarterback. Does he have enough to come in for Carson Beck and take down a Notre Dame team that’s playing as good as anybody in the country?”

Which school has the best chance to pull off an upset?

“Notre Dame probably has the best chance for the upset. I think Oregon and Ohio State are two of the top three teams in the country, so any one of them winning wouldn’t be an upset in my mind. Arizona State, they’ve played well. Texas has a little bit more than they have. I don’t know if ASU’s dream season continues. Boise State vs. Penn State, that’s a good story for Boise State.”

How did you feel about the criticism of the first-round coverage?

“College football fans and all of us, we love the sport. I think everyone was so excited for the 12-team playoff. And everybody remains excited that it was a 12-team playoff. When you build it up for an entire offseason, it’s all we’re talking about. We’re talking about 12 teams and excited for 12 teams, and then to have the games as lopsided as they were, I don’t even want to use (the word) disappointing. You were looking forward to something because it was a first of its kind, the home playoff sites. So I think it merely stems from people loving college football. All of us are looking forward now to seeing what these quarterfinals can bring from a competitive standpoint because we didn’t get that in the first round.”

What are your thoughts on watching your alma mater play?

“I grew up in Scottsdale, went to Arizona State, grew up watching ASU football. So, to be able to be there as a fan for someone who works at ESPN, I called one of their games Week 3, it’s kind of the perfect culmination of what’s already been a great season. When I saw the schedule and saw that I wasn’t going to be working, I made the quick arrangement to be able to get out there and watch the game.”

Is it tough talking about Arizona State games since you are an alum?

“I was very careful when I called their game Week 3 (at Texas State) because people do their research. They know that I went to Arizona State. If anything, I was probably harsh on Arizona State. I probably went too far the other way, just to be fair to the viewer. I mean, look, here’s the foundation of what we do. All of us got into this because we’re sports fans. All of us came from somewhere. All of us are proud of where we came from. I think we can separate the two when it’s a professional situation. If ASU had a good game, and one of their players earned a helmet sticker, we gave them a helmet sticker. But if they didn’t, we talked about that as well.”

Why should someone tune in for the TGL?

“It’s a team sport. It’s no longer an individual sport. It’s in primetime under the lights, and it moves quickly. We’re doing these rehearsals and these practice matches last an hour and 40 minutes. There’s a shot clock. There are certain elements to enhance the match to make holes worth more points. It is fascinating to see these world-class golfers come off a course, come indoors, switch to a team format, and then do so against another team. It’s like any other sport. Two teams will go into the arena, and then one will leave a winner.”

Is there a particular team or golfer best suited for this format?

“It’s a great question because a lot of these guys live in that area, so they’ve been in there practicing and getting ready for it. I know Rickie Fowler’s been in there a lot. He’s looking forward to it. Billy Horschel was out there a couple of weeks ago. He understands the game and how it’s different. Here’s what I’m interested to see: Jupiter Links, the Tiger (Woods) team. They have a lot of talent. But for me, it’s going to be interesting which player or players are going to emerge as a television star because at the end of the day, it’s a television show.”

How do you see your role in this?

“I will be navigating the viewer through each hole, just normal play-by-play golf. But I’m almost the ringmaster of what’s going to be an incredibly entertaining, chaotic circus. All six players’ mics are on. They have an earpiece. They’ll be able to hear me. I think for me, picking the right spot to talk with the player, hear about what they just did, but also staying out of it to hear them break down the putt or hear them react to a shot or hear them give the strategy. It’s a delicate balance being a play-by-play voice in this format of informing the viewer, entertaining the viewer, but letting the golfers be the stars of the broadcast.”

Are you the most famous Arizona State sports broadcasting alum?

“No, sir. Al Michaels sets the standard for Arizona State alums in broadcasting. He’s the guy I grew up idolizing, just knowing his connection to the university. He’s the preeminent voice of our generation. Even though he and I are in the same Hall of Fame at ASU, he’s the guy. I’ll chase him for the rest of my career.”

What would be the dream scenario if you could work with Al Michaels?

“A dream scenario would be him doing the play-by-play and me doing the studio coverage in and around it. So, I get to toss it to the great Al Michaels to start the broadcast, and then he gets to toss it to me for the halftime show.”