The votes are in for the top broadcast football rules analysts. We asked Awful Announcing readers to grade nine rules analysts working on NCAA and NFL football broadcasts across a wide selection of networks, and received responses from more than 400 voters, similar to what we received for our scorebug rankings earlier this year.

As with the scorebug rankings, college football announcer rankings, and more, each analyst was graded from A to F, with readers providing many comments on individual analysts as well. We then converted the letter grades from those asked-for responses to numerical grades, with A as 4 and Fs as 0, and ranked the analysts accordingly. The average grade was 2.58, or a C+, which would be between the fourth and fifth analysts here, and is higher than the 2.45 average grade for the top 25 CFB announcers this year. (Of note, we’re planning to do a ranking for NFL TV announcers this year as well, launching that poll on Dec. 27 and closing it on Dec. 31, so keep an eye out for that.)

From these rankings, there was a clear winner as the favorite rules analyst of AA readers, a couple of less-favored analysts, and then a large group in the middle. Let’s get to the breakdown.

9. Michael Mothershed, CFB on The CW: 1.96

Rules analyst Michael Mothershed on The CW. (Liam Blutman on X.)Most common grade: C (48 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 66.9 percent

While Mothershed comes in the lowest on this chart, it’s worth noting that a 1.96 is not bad in our overall history of reader rankings of broadcast personnel or elements. Four of the top 25 CFB announcing teams we asked readers to rate placed below that this year, with the lowest (Paul Burmeister and Colt McCoy on NBC/Peacock) notching a 1.57 and 53.5 percent passing grades, and five local MLB announcing teams placed below that, with the lowest recording a 1.15.

And while the 35 F votes Mothershed received were the second-highest in this poll, five analysts received more than 30 Fs. So he came in closer to a passing grade than most lowest-ranked things in these polls. (It should also be noted that Mothershed only got 263 votes of any kind, the lowest in this poll and one of only two analysts to receive less than 300 responses, so many decided not to weigh in on him.)

The most common comment for Mothershed was “Who?”, suggesting many weren’t watching the CW CFB broadcasts (mostly ACC, with some Pac-2 games) this year (or, at least, weren’t watching on the occasions Mothershed was asked to chime in). Of the more substantiative comments, several respondents brought up disliking his work as an on-field official, with some saying that carried through here and others saying he was better on broadcasts than on the field. One reader had high praise for Mothershed, saying they really liked him and he was unafraid to give his opinion.

8. Reggie Smith, CFB on NBC/Peacock: 2.02

Reggie Smith during a Feb. 2020 XFL game. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports.)Most common grade: C (53.3 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 74.9 percent

Smith had less people who really liked him compared to Mothershed (two A votes compared to 11), but made up for that with more B and C votes and fewer F votes (28 to 35). He was the only analyst other than Mothershed to receive less than 300 votes of any kind (287), and that makes sense given that he’s NBC’s secondary rules analyst behind Terry McAulay.

There weren’t many useful comments on Smith, with the main one being “Who?” The most praiseworthy one might be “What NBC would define as “a safe pair of hands.’” The most critical one might be “The Colt Mccoy [sic] of rules analysis. that is not a complement [sic].” But, hey, Smith’s grade was significantly higher than the 1.57 McCoy and Burmeister got.

7. Russell Yurk, NFL on ESPN/ABC (primarily Monday Night Football): 2.14

ESPN NFL rules analyst Russell Yurk. (ESPN Press Room.)Most common grade: C (43.7 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 75.8 percent

Yurk’s placement here is perhaps a bit of a surprise. Less-prominent broadcasters often fill out the bottom of these polls, but Yurk’s Monday Night Football appearances are certainly high-profile, and arguably higher-profile than some of the broadcasts people above him work on. However, Yurk’s 318 votes were the fourth-fewest in this poll, so many respondents didn’t express an opinion on him. Of those who did weigh in, he received more Fs (37) than anyone else, but also 19 As and 83 Bs.

A main theme with the comments on Yurk is that he’s understated and efficient with his comments. One respondent described him as “cut-and-dry, not wordy, which makes him good,” with another saying “Very precise and quick with his comments. A real upgrade over [previous ESPN MNF rules analyst John] Parry.” However, another commenter called him “wooden” and “still too close to the league to actually say they were wrong.” And maybe the most interesting comment contrasted his style with MNF broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman: “Bless him, I know he’s only doing his job, but he is so overshadowed by Buck and Aikman, it’s like sending the national spelling bee champion to address the UN General Assembly.”

6. Bill LeMonnier, CFB on ABC/ESPN: 2.43

ESPN CFB rules analyst Bill LeMonnier (MIBT.)Most common grade: C (31.6 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 78.0 percent

LeMonnier is typically featured on the higher-profile ABC/ESPN CFB games, but he comes in here slightly below colleague Matt Austin (who’s more usually featured on the ESPN or SEC Network games). However, both are quite close in the rankings, and quite a ways above the three analysts below them. A big part of what led to that for LeMonnier was his 97 B votes, almost as high as his 102 C votes.

A lot of the comments on LeMonnier were criticizing his previous work as an on-field official and saying that carried over to his broadcasting. But many are higher on him, saying things like “Good, solid explanations” and “Fair and impartial.” (The latter comment may be particularly of note considering the constant discussions of bias with ESPN and college football, whether those are deserved or not. It’s not every day they get comments praising their impartiality.)

5. Matt Austin, CFB on ESPN/SEC Network: 2.47

ESPN CFB rules analyst Matt Austin. (ESPN Press Room.)Most common grade: B (35.0 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C votes: 79.5 percent

As noted, it’s interesting to see Austin come in above LeMonnier given that LeMonnier seems to get the higher-profile assignments, including ABC’s Saturday Night Football primetime game. A .04 divide is small, of course, but it is notable, and Austin pulled off the higher rank thanks to his high number (111) of B grades. He’s the first in this ranking not to have a C as his most-common grade.

When it came to the comments, some found Austin too forgiving to on-field officials. One respondent described Austin with “An absolute coward. Has never seen an official make a mistake in his life,” while another specifically discussed the Pitt-Clemson broadcast, where play-by-play voice Sean McDonough went in on the officials’ actions much harder than Austin did. Another said Austin showed “remarkable consistency in being wrong.”

However, others liked what they saw from Austin. Some of those commenters described him with lines like “Straight shooter, not afraid to say they got it wrong” and “Solid, dependable, adds the right balance.” One even called him the “best of all of them.” So that goes to show again that perspectives on anyone on a broadcast often radically vary, as do even opinions on a particular aspect of their broadcasting (in this case, criticism or lack thereof of officials).

Read on for the top four analysts!