College GameDay (football TV program)
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television College GameDay (branded as ESPN College GameDay built by The Home Depot for sponsorship reasons) is a pre-game show broadcast by ESPN as part of the network's coverage of college football, broadcast on Saturday mornings during the college football season. In its current form, the program is typically broadcast from the campus of the team hosting a featured game being played that day and features news and analysis of the day's upcoming games.
The show takes on a festive tailgate party atmosphere, as thousands of fans gather behind the broadcast set, in view of the show's cameras. Many fans bring flags or hand-painted signs as well, and the school's cheerleaders and mascots often join in the celebration. Crowds at GameDay tapings are known to be quite boisterous and very spirited. Flags seen at the broadcast are not limited to those of the home team; for example, one large Washington State flag can be seen at every broadcast, regardless of the location or the teams involved. The idea began in 2003 on WSU online fan forums and has resulted in the flag, nicknamed "Ol' Crimson", being present at 320 consecutive GameDay broadcasts since 2003.[1][2][3]
The tailgate party theme also includes food brought onto the set cooked by a local business and the hosts sample the food prior to a commercial break, but the food is taken away by the time the program resumes.
The show's current main intro and theme music is performed by country music group The Cadillac Three featuring country singers Darius Rucker and Lainey Wilson, who perform the 2005 crossover hit "Comin' to Your City" by Big & Rich, which features revised lyrics which mention several top college teams. Big & Rich had performed the song, which featured a guest appearance by Cowboy Troy until 2022. Rap artist Travie McCoy (of Gym Class Heroes) appeared in the intro from the 2014 season until the 2017 season alongside Lzzy Hale, lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock group Halestorm. The 2018 through 2022 season featured rock artist ZZ Ward, replacing Hale. Additional music that has been used for the show include "Boom" by the rock group P.O.D. and God Bless Saturday by Kid Rock. The show also uses various other songs/music either side of commercial breaks, many of which appear at the same point of each program.
The show is known for its prediction segment that appears at the end of each broadcast. The predictions use the standard scoring system and do not use the spread in determining the pick. Typically there are six predictors: Lee Corso (who retired shortly after the start of the 2025 season),[4] Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, and an invited guest, usually a celebrity, prominent athlete, or radio personality associated with the host school for that week. From 1987 until his retirement in 2025, the show famously concluded with Corso's prediction for the host school's game, after which he dons the mascot's headgear of the team he predicts to win the game, usually to the ire or excitement of local fans. His first headgear pick occurred on October 5, 1996, when he correctly picked the Ohio State Buckeyes over the Penn State Nittany Lions. In 2018, Corso made his first NFL headgear pick when, as a guest on Sunday NFL Countdown, he correctly picked the New Orleans Saints to win their Week 9 game at home against the Los Angeles Rams.[5] Corso made his 400th headgear pick on September 16, 2023, for the Colorado/Colorado State rivalry game, he put on the headgear for Colorado. Corso made his 431st and final headgear pick on August 30, 2025, correctly picking Ohio State to defeat the Texas Longhorns. Corso compiled an all-time record of 287–144 in his headgear picks.
As of December 6, 2025, Ohio State–Penn State and Alabama–LSU are the most featured matchups, appearing thirteen times on College Gameday. Alabama–Georgia has been featured twelve times. Michigan–Ohio State have been featured ten times. Florida–Tennessee and Army–Navy have been featured nine times. Alabama–Auburn, Florida–Florida State, Florida State–Miami, and Oklahoma–Texas currently sit at eight appearances. Ohio State has the most hosts, appearances, and wins; Alabama is second in all three categories.[6] Template:TOClimit
Staff
Tim Brando was the original host, with Lee Corso and Beano Cook as commentators. Karie Ross soon became the first woman to join the broadcast.[7] The show underwent a radical transformation beginning in 1993, and began incorporating live broadcasts. The longest-tenured original cast member was Lee Corso,[8] whose appearances were pre-scripted after he suffered a stroke in 2009.[9] Rece Davis serves as host and Kirk Herbstreit is the longest-tenured current cast member, having joined the show in 1996. Desmond Howard was added to the cast of the show in 2008. Craig James served as an analyst from 1990 to 1995. Erin Andrews joined the GameDay crew as a co-host and contributor in 2010, replaced in 2012 by Samantha Ponder (and in 2017 by Maria Taylor after Ponder left to become host of Sunday NFL Countdown that same year). In 2015, Rece Davis (also host of the college basketball version of GameDay) replaced Chris Fowler as host of the show. In 2022, Pat McAfee joined, having previously been an analyst, and Nick Saban was added to the show in 2024. Corso retired from GameDay after the August 30, 2025 broadcast.[4] In 2010, the program started airing from 10:00am to 11:00am, with the opening hour broadcast on ESPNU until the present.
In 2023, ESPN laid off a large number of on-air staff, including College GameDay hosts Gene Wojciechowski and David Pollack.[10][11]
Current
- Rece Davis: (Host, 2015–present)
- Kirk Herbstreit: (Analyst, 1996–present)
- Desmond Howard: (Analyst, 2005–present)
- Pat McAfee: (Contributor, 2019–2020; Analyst, 2022–present)
- Nick Saban: (Analyst, 2024–present)[12]
- Jen Lada: (Reporter, 2016–present)
- Jess Sims: (Reporter, 2022–present)
- Pete Thamel: (Insider, 2022–present)
- Steve "Stanford Steve" Coughlin: (Sports Betting Analyst, 2023–present)[13]
- Katie Feeney: (Contributor, 2025–present)[14]
Former
- Trev Alberts: (In-Studio Analyst, 2002–2005)
- Erin Andrews: (Reporter/Contributor, 2010–2011)[15]
- Tim Brando: (Host, 1987–1988)[16]
- Bob Carpenter: (Host, 1989)[16]
- Beano Cook: (Analyst, 1987–1990)[16]
- Lee Corso: (Analyst, 1987–2025)[16][4]
- Chris "Bear" Fallica: (Researcher/Contributor, 1996–2022)
- Chris Fowler: (Host, 1990–2014)
- Robert Griffin III: (Contributor, 2021–2022)
- Craig James: (Analyst, 1990–1995)
- Rocket Ismail: (Contributor, 2003–2004)
- Nick Lachey: (Contributor, 2005)
- Norm Hitzges: (Contributor, 1992–1995)
- David Pollack: (Analyst/Contributor, 2011–2022)
- Samantha Ponder: (Reporter/Contributor, 2012–2016)
- Tom Rinaldi: (Contributor, 2011–2020)
- Maria Taylor: (Reporter/Contributor, 2017–2020)
- Gene Wojciechowski: (Contributor, 1992–2022)
History
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GameDay started on ESPN in 1987 and originally broadcast from a studio in Connecticut.
In 1993, GameDay took the show "on the road" for the first time, going to South Bend, Indiana for the match-up between #2 Notre Dame and #1 FSU on November 13.[17] (Matchups between the top two teams were rare prior to the BCS). It broadcast from the Sports Heritage Hall at the Notre Dame Joyce Center. The broadcast was such a success that they did nearly half their shows in 1994 on the road and in 1995 abandoned the studio altogether.
The format also changed from broadcasting from an indoor studio on site to live from outside a stadium hosting a big game most Saturdays. The selected stadium is usually hosting one of the biggest matchups of the day, regardless of whether the game airs on an ESPN network.
Typically, the show will end with Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit issuing their predictions for that day's key matchups, finishing with the game to be played at the stadium hosting GameDay, for which Corso signifies his prediction by donning the head piece of the mascot of his predicted winner. Starting with the 2009 season, a celebrity guest picker gives picks for the day's key games alongside the GameDay regulars (such as Bob Knight when GameDay aired from Texas Tech in 2008, NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. when GameDay aired from Bristol Motor Speedway (a NASCAR track) in 2016 and Verne Lundquist in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, since it was his final season calling college football games on CBS). Prior to 2009, this was not done on a regular basis. Herbstreit, who in 2006 became a game analyst for ABC's Saturday Night Football, is not allowed to make a pick for the game at which he is assigned due to parent company Disney's conflict-of-interest rules; however, he is allowed to give one or two keys to the game.
In past years, when no suitably important game was available, it would originate instead from the ESPN studios. In 2017, with no suitably important game available, one show aired from Times Square instead. In August 2019, College Gameday aired from parent company Disney's Magic Kingdom Park in Disney World ahead of the University of Florida-Miami game played in Orlando.
College GameDay was also a source for many arguments regarding the purported east coast bias: From 1993 until 2004, GameDay had only been to two regular season games on the entire West Coast (1998 at UCLA and 2000 at Oregon). Given the popularity of the show and the media coverage it brought to the highlighted game, teams and fans of the West Coast teams felt that the show was only magnifying the perceived problems with excess media focus on East, South and Midwest games; ESPN attributed its lack of West Coast games to the need for a very early start time (07:00 AM PST) and an alleged lack of high quality matchups.[18]
With the addition of the Saturday Night Football game on ABC in 2006, GameDay has increasingly aired from that game. This could be done for many reasons including the fact Kirk Herbstreit is on both programs, thus making it easier for him. Another reason could be to give the Saturday Night Football game added exposure.
Beginning with the show's 21st season (2007), College GameDay began broadcasting in high-definition on ESPN HD. Also the same season, California became the first (and as of 2024, only) team to decline to host College GameDay,[19] as the school believed GameDay should go to Virginia Tech after the Virginia Tech shooting earlier in the year. 17 years later, California would finally make its debut hosting College GameDay for a 2024 matchup against Miami.
College GameDay expanded to 3 hours, with the first hour being televised on ESPNU, beginning September 4, 2010. In addition, ESPN Radio simulcasts the television version from 9am-noon ET. Other changes include the addition of a female contributor—first Erin Andrews in 2010 and 2011, and then Samantha Ponder (then known by her maiden name, Samantha Steele) after Andrews left ESPN for Fox following the 2011 season. Both Andrews and Ponder have anchored several segments during the first hour on ESPNU, contributed during the ESPN portion, and also worked as a sideline reporter on the game from which College GameDay originated, if it aired on one of the ESPN family of networks (i.e. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ABC).[20]
Beginning with the 2013 season, the third hour moved to ESPN and was hosted by Fowler. Starting in 2014, the show began a now annual visit to the Army-Navy Game in mid-December. As of 2018, the entire show is simulcast on both ESPN and ESPNU.
As previously mentioned, beginning with the 29th season (2015), Rece Davis (who is also the host of the college basketball version) replaced Chris Fowler as the football version's new host. Fowler retained his play-by-play duties on ABC's Saturday Night Football.
In March 2018, ESPN announced that it would broadcast a special edition of College GameDay from Arlington, Texas, as a pre-show for its coverage of day 1 of the 2018 NFL draft. The broadcast accompanied a secondary telecast of the draft on ESPN2, which was hosted by the College GameDay panelists (barring Kirk Herbstreit, as he was involved in ESPN's main broadcast to replace the outgoing Jon Gruden).[21][22]
In the 2020 season, College GameDay underwent modifications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was broadcast without an audience, and with a modified desk to comply with social distancing rules. Corso did not travel with the remainder of the College GameDay panel due to health concerns, and instead made remote appearances from his home in Orlando, as well as in filmed sketches with appearances by team mascots.[23][24][25][26]
By 2023, the crowds of students returned, and exceeded their pre-pandemic numbers. James Madison University holds the record for the largest GameDay crowd in its 30-year history.[27]
On August 30, 2025, Corso retired from College GameDay, with the show broadcasting from Ohio State for its home opener against Texas. Corso conducted his headgear pick segment for the final time on the field of Ohio Stadium. With the game itself being televised by Fox, its competing pre-game show Big Noon Kickoff also carried the segment in tribute to Corso, as presented by the team's media department on Ohio Stadium's Jumbotron. The segment was retired afterward; the culmination of the show was replaced by Pat McAfee's selection, where he cuts a wrestling-style promo against the visiting team. The promo had been performed by McAfee in prior editions since joining the program, particularly when Corso was absent.[28][29][30][31]
Sports Emmy scandal
As of 2018, College GameDay has collected eight Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Studio Show, tied with TNT's Inside the NBA for the most wins by an analysis program. An incident happened in 2024 where ESPN admitted that for some of the Emmys it had won from 2010 to 2018, it had fraudulently received Sports Emmy Awards statuettes from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).
Beginning in at least 2010 and possibly going back as far as 1997, ESPN had listed fake names in the credit list for its College GameDay program. These names were similar to the names of actual ESPN employees who were ineligible to receive the awards—for example, "Lee Clark" and "Kirk Henry" were listed as "associate producers" on the show, which has Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit as on-air personalities. After receiving the statuettes, ESPN would then have them re-engraved with the actual names of the individuals and presented to them.
The Sports Emmy Awards are awards given in recognition of artistic and technical merit in sports television.Template:Sfn They are administered by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), which also administers Emmy Awards in other categories of television broadcasting.Template:Sfn ESPN, an American broadcast sports network, has been well-represented in the awards, with the channel's programming having won a total of 246 awards as of 2024.Template:Sfn
On January 11, 2024, The Athletic—the sports journalism department of The New York TimesTemplate:Sfn—became the first news source to report on a scandal concerning ESPN fabricating information in order to win Emmy awards that they would have otherwise been ineligible for.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Per Katie Strang of The Athletic, in 2022, NATAS revamped their process for verifying the credit lists for shows nominated for Sports Emmy Awards.Template:Sfn The academy subsequently reached out to ESPN to verify certain names that had been listed in the credits of shows aired by the network.Template:Sfn ESPN informed the academy that some names were fake, and both organizations proceeded to launch investigations into the matter.Template:Sfn
The scandal primarily concerned College GameDay, a popular program on ESPN that had won eight awards for Outstanding Studio Show, Weekly from 2008 to 2018.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to Strang, during that time period, fake names were included in the credit list for the show under the title of "associate producers".Template:Sfn These names were similar to and bore the same initials as the names of several of the show's on-air personalities, who were ineligible for receiving an award won by the show by the academy's "double-dipping" rules.Template:Sfn For example, the show's credit list for several seasons had "Lee Clark", "Chris Fulton", "Kirk Henry", and "Tim Richard" listed as executive producers, while the show's on-air personalities included Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Tom Rinaldi.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to Strang, awards won by these fictitious people were received by ESPN, who would then have the statuettes re-engraved with the names of the actual people, who would then receive the awards.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
There is no evidence that the on-air personalities were aware that the awards had been obtained in this manner.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In a May 2024 interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit told Pat McAfee,Template:Sfn
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I was naive to the whole thing. I thought obviously the people on the set would get an Emmy. So, all these years I didn't know that, I didn't know what was going on. I was not privy to that information. I just thought, 'Hey it finally came. Where's it been?' I stuck it on the mantle and we kind of move on.
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While ESPN did not publicly disclose the parties responsible for the scandal, several employees, including vice presidents Lee Fitting and Craig Lazarus, were deemed ineligible to participate in future Emmys events.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Additionally, NATAS imposed a one-year eligibility ban on the senior leadership of College GameDay.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Several employees who had been involved received disciplinary action from ESPN.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn On January 12, 2024, ESPN said that the scandal went back to at least 2010 and may have started as early as 1997,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn while multiple sources reported that the scandal went back to at least 2007.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Following the discovery of the scandal, NATAS requested that ESPN return several awards that had been obtained in this manner.Template:Sfn Shelley Smith, who had been an on-air reporter for ESPN since 1997, was asked to return two statuettes,Template:Sfn while Herbstreit said that eight of the 13 statuettes he owned were returned.Template:Sfn In August of that year, Fitting was fired by ESPN after 25 years of employment at the company.Template:Sfn Sports journalist Andrew Marchand later reported that the scandal had been "a factor" in Fitting's firing.Template:Sfn By January 2024, ESPN had returned 37 improperly-won statuettes to the academy.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Per Sports Illustrated, these 37 awards were all received by College GameDay.Template:Sfn
In a statement released on January 12, 2024, ESPN said, "Some members of our team were clearly wrong in submitting certain names" and that "This was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team".Template:Sfn ESPN also stated that they had worked with NATAS to overhaul their submissions process to avoid something similar from happening in the future.Template:Sfn NATAS stated that, after alerting ESPN to the scandal, "the network took steps to take responsibility for the actions of its personnel, to investigate thoroughly, and to course correct".Template:Sfn Multiple individuals who had to return their Emmy statuettes expressed disappointment in the situation. Smith said that the actions of the producers in fraudulently gaining the statuettes for her and her colleagues had been "really crummy".Template:Sfn Speaking a few days after the story became public, Desmond Howard—a College GameDay host who also received fraudulent statuettes—expressed frustration over the fact that Corso had to return his statuettes, saying, "They're taking that old man's Emmy's? If they're going to take his, you can have all of mine. I'll break these damn things. ... I said 'How could y'all even let this happen to him?' I was fucked up over that. I'll break all of them. Take 'em in pieces. That's how much they mean to me."Template:Sfn
Locations
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Appearances by school
Appearances through January 1, 2026.[32]
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| School | Appearances | Hosted | Record | Win Pct | Last hosted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 68 | 26 | 48–20 | Template:Winning percentage | August 30, 2025 |
| Alabama | 64 | 20 | 41–22 | Template:Winning percentage | October 4, 2025 |
| Florida | 43 | 13 | 26–17 | Template:Winning percentage | October 5, 2019 |
| Georgia | 43 | 11 | 23–20 | Template:Winning percentage | October 18, 2025 |
| Oklahoma | 43 | 11 | 28–15 | Template:Winning percentage | December 19, 2025 |
| Michigan | 42 | 16 | 21–21 | Template:Winning percentage | November 29, 2025 |
| Notre Dame | 41 | 12 | 20–21 | Template:Winning percentage | December 20, 2024 |
| Florida State | 36 | 11 | 17–19 | Template:Winning percentage | October 18, 2014 |
| LSU | 36 | 14 | 22–14 | Template:Winning percentage | November 9, 2024 |
| Oregon | 35 | 14 | 21–14 | Template:Winning percentage | November 22, 2025 |
| Clemson | 30 | 8 | 19–11 | Template:Winning percentage | October 1, 2022 |
| Penn State | 28 | 11 | 10–18 | Template:Winning percentage | September 27, 2025 |
| Tennessee | 28 | 12 | 12–16 | Template:Winning percentage | September 13, 2025 |
| Texas | 28 | 10 | 13–15 | Template:Winning percentage | October 19, 2024 |
| Miami | 27 | 8 | 18–9 | Template:Winning percentage | September 20, 2025 |
| USC | 25 | 10 | 18–7 | Template:Winning percentage | November 16, 2013 |
| Auburn | 23 | 9 | 10–13 | Template:Winning percentage | November 25, 2017 |
| Wisconsin | 20 | 8 | 7–13 | Template:Winning percentage | November 18, 2017 |
| Nebraska | 17 | 7 | 9–8 | Template:Winning percentage | September 28, 2019 |
| Michigan State | 16 | 8 | 9–7 | Template:Winning percentage | October 30, 2021 |
| Virginia Tech | 14 | 6 | 4–10 | Template:Winning percentage | September 30, 2017 |
| Army | 12 | 2 | 5–7 | Template:Winning percentage | December 12, 2020 |
| Texas A&M | 12 | 9 | 1–11 | Template:Winning percentage | December 20, 2025 |
| Stanford | 11 | 1 | 6–5 | Template:Winning percentage | November 12, 2011 |
| TCU | 11 | 3 | 8–3 | Template:Winning percentage | September 15, 2018 |
| Navy | 10 | 0 | 4–6 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| South Carolina | 10 | 8 | 3–7 | Template:Winning percentage | September 14, 2024 |
| UCLA | 10 | 2 | 3–7 | Template:Winning percentage | October 23, 2021 |
| Washington | 10 | 3 | 2–8 | Template:Winning percentage | October 14, 2023 |
| Iowa | 9 | 2 | 3–6 | Template:Winning percentage | September 30, 2006 |
| Oklahoma State | 9 | 6 | 1–8 | Template:Winning percentage | November 4, 2017 |
| Utah | 9 | 6 | 3–6 | Template:Winning percentage | November 1, 2025 |
| Colorado | 7 | 4 | 3–4 | Template:Winning percentage | September 16, 2023 |
| Kansas State | 7 | 2 | 2–5 | Template:Winning percentage | October 14, 2000 |
| Missouri | 7 | 1 | 3–4 | Template:Winning percentage | October 23, 2010 |
| Georgia Tech | 6 | 2 | 1–5 | Template:Winning percentage | September 2, 2006 |
| Indiana | 6 | 2 | 2–3 | Template:Winning percentage | October 26, 2024 |
| Ole Miss | 6 | 2 | 3–3 | Template:Winning percentage | November 13, 2021 |
| Louisville | 5 | 3 | 2–3 | Template:Winning percentage | September 19, 2020 |
| Texas Tech | 5 | 2 | 2–3 | Template:Winning percentage | November 8, 2025 |
| West Virginia | 5 | 2 | 1–4 | Template:Winning percentage | November 1, 2014 |
| Baylor | 4 | 3 | 1–3 | Template:Winning percentage | November 16, 2019 |
| BYU | 4 | 1 | 0–4 | Template:Winning percentage | October 24, 2009 |
| California | 4 | 1 | 1–3 | Template:Winning percentage | October 5, 2024 |
| Pittsburgh | 4 | 4 | 2–2 | Template:Winning percentage | November 15, 2025 |
| Air Force | 3 | 3 | 2–1 | Template:Winning percentage | November 7, 2009 |
| Arizona | 3 | 2 | 0–3 | Template:Winning percentage | September 26, 2015 |
| Arizona State | 3 | 1 | 0–3 | Template:Winning percentage | October 1, 2005 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 1 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | November 11, 2006 |
| Boston College | 3 | 3 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | November 10, 2018 |
| Cincinnati | 3 | 1 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | November 6, 2021 |
| James Madison | 3 | 3 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | November 18, 2023 |
| North Carolina | 3 | 1 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | November 8, 1997 |
| North Dakota State | 3 | 2 | 3–0 | Template:Winning percentage | September 13, 2014 |
| Northwestern | 3 | 2 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | October 5, 2013 |
| Oregon State | 3 | 1 | 0–3 | Template:Winning percentage | December 4, 2010 |
| Purdue | 3 | 1 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | October 16, 2004 |
| Vanderbilt | 3 | 2 | 2–1 | Template:Winning percentage | October 25, 2025 |
| Washington State | 3 | 1 | 1–2 | Template:Winning percentage | October 20, 2018 |
| Appalachian State | 2 | 1 | 2–0 | Template:Winning percentage | September 17, 2022 |
| Harvard | 2 | 1 | 1–1 | Template:Winning percentage | November 22, 2014 |
| Illinois | 2 | 0 | 1–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Iowa State | 2 | 2 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | September 11, 2021 |
| Kansas | 2 | 1 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | October 8, 2022 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 1 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | October 20, 2007 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | October 24, 2020 |
| Mississippi State | 2 | 1 | 1–1 | Template:Winning percentage | October 11, 2014 |
| NC State | 2 | 1 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | October 23, 2004 |
| SMU | 2 | 0 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Southern | 2 | 0 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Syracuse | 2 | 0 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Troy | 2 | 0 | 1–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| UCF | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 17, 2018 |
| Boise State | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | September 25, 2010 |
| Bowling Green | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | October 25, 2003 |
| Coastal Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | December 5, 2020 |
| Duke | 1 | 1 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | September 30, 2023 |
| Florida A&M | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 15, 2008 |
| Houston | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 19, 2011 |
| Jackson State | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | October 29, 2022 |
| Memphis | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 2, 2019 |
| Montana State | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 19, 2022 |
| Penn | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 16, 2002 |
| South Dakota State | 1 | 1 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | October 26, 2019 |
| Temple | 1 | 1 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | October 31, 2015 |
| Wake Forest | 1 | 1 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | September 12, 2020 |
| Western Michigan | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 19, 2016 |
| Williams | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | November 10, 2007 |
| Alcorn State | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Amherst | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Buffalo | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Colorado State | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Delaware State | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| East Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Grambling State | 1 | 0 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Hampton | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Incarnate Word | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Montana | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| North Carolina Central | 1 | 0 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Northern Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Richmond | 1 | 0 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| South Florida | 1 | 0 | 1–0 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Tulsa | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Villanova | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
| Yale | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Template:Winning percentage | N/A |
Power Four schools who have not yet hosted
Appearances through November 22, 2025
| School | Appearances | Record | Win Pct | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 2 | 1–1 | Template:Winning percentage | |
| SMU | 2 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | |
| Syracuse | 2 | 0–2 | Template:Winning percentage | |
| Maryland | 0 | 0–0 | Template:Winning percentage | |
| Rutgers | 0 | 0–0 | Template:Winning percentage | |
| Virginia | 0 | 0–0 | Template:Winning percentage |
Frequent matchups
College GameDay matchups with at least 5 games played.
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Matchups | Record | Last Appearance | Last Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | Penn State | 13 | Ohio State leads 11–2 | November 2, 2024 | Ohio State 20–13 |
| Alabama | LSU | 13 | Alabama leads 10–3 | November 9, 2024 | Alabama 42–13 |
| Alabama | Georgia | 12 | Alabama leads 8–4 | December 6, 2025 | Georgia 28–7 |
| Michigan | Ohio State | 10 | Ohio State leads 6–4 | November 29, 2025 | Ohio State 27–9 |
| Florida | Tennessee | 9 | Florida leads 6–3 | September 24, 2022 | Tennessee 38–33 |
| Army | Navy | 9 | Army leads 5–4 | December 9, 2023 | Army 17–11 |
| Alabama | Auburn | 8 | Alabama leads 5–3 | November 28, 2020 | Alabama 42–13 |
| Florida | Florida State | 8 | Tied 4–4 | November 28, 2009 | Florida 37–10 |
| Florida State | Miami | 8 | Miami leads 5–3 | September 26, 2020 | Miami 52–10 |
| Oklahoma | Texas | 8 | Oklahoma leads 5–3 | October 7, 2023 | Oklahoma 34–30 |
| Michigan | Notre Dame | 7 | Michigan leads 5–2 | September 1, 2018 | Notre Dame 24–17 |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | 7 | Oklahoma leads 7–0 | November 21, 2020 | Oklahoma 41–13 |
| Florida | LSU | 5 | LSU leads 3–2 | October 12, 2019 | LSU 42–28 |
| Georgia | LSU | 5 | LSU leads 4–1 | December 7, 2019 | LSU 37–10 |
| Georgia | Tennessee | 5 | Georgia leads 3–2 | September 13, 2025 | Georgia 44–41OT |
| Michigan State | Ohio State | 5 | Ohio State leads 3–2 | November 20, 2021 | Ohio State 56–7 |
| Notre Dame | USC | 5 | USC leads 3–2 | November 24, 2012 | Notre Dame 22–13 |
| Oregon | UCLA | 5 | Oregon leads 4–1 | October 22, 2022 | Oregon 45–30 |
No. 1 vs No. 2 matchups
College Gameday has featured an No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup (in either the AP or CFP polls) 26 times.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| * | National championship game |
| Date | No. 1 | No. 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 13, 1993 | Florida State | 24 | Notre Dame | 31 |
| January 2, 1996* | Nebraska | 62 | Florida | 24 |
| November 30, 1996 | Florida | 21 | Florida State | 24 |
| January 4, 1999* | Tennessee | 23 | Florida State | 16 |
| January 4, 2000* | Florida State | 46 | Virginia Tech | 29 |
| January 3, 2003* | Miami | 24 | Ohio State | 312OT |
| January 4, 2005* | USC | 55 | Oklahoma | 19 |
| January 4, 2006* | USC | 38 | Texas | 41 |
| September 9, 2006 | Ohio State | 24 | Texas | 7 |
| November 18, 2006 | Ohio State | 42 | Michigan | 39 |
| January 8, 2007* | Ohio State | 14 | Florida | 41 |
| January 7, 2008* | Ohio State | 24 | LSU | 38 |
| December 5, 2008 | Alabama | 20 | Florida | 31 |
| January 8, 2009* | Florida | 24 | Oklahoma | 14 |
| December 5, 2009 | Florida | 13 | Alabama | 32 |
| January 7, 2010* | Alabama | 37 | Texas | 21 |
| January 10, 2011* | Auburn | 22 | Oregon | 19 |
| November 5, 2011 | LSU | 9OT | Alabama | 6 |
| January 9, 2012* | LSU | 0 | Alabama | 21 |
| January 7, 2013* | Notre Dame | 14 | Alabama | 42 |
| January 6, 2014* | Florida State | 34 | Auburn | 31 |
| January 11, 2016* | Clemson | 40 | Alabama | 45 |
| January 7, 2019* | Alabama | 16 | Clemson | 44 |
| November 9, 2019 | LSU | 46 | Alabama | 41 |
| November 5, 2022 | Georgia | 27 | Tennessee | 13 |
| January 8, 2024* | Michigan | 34 | Washington | 13 |
Lee Corso headgear picks
Lee Corso made his first headgear pick on October 5, 1996, when he correctly picked the Ohio State Buckeyes over the Penn State Nittany Lions. His final headgear pick came on August 30, 2025, where he also correctly picked the Ohio State Buckeyes to defeat the Texas Longhorns. Ohio State has the most selections with 46 picks and also has the most wins with 32. USC holds the highest win percentage, winning all 17 games in which they were picked by Corso.
Celebrity guest pickers
Auburn and NBA basketball player Charles Barkley was the first celebrity guest picker on the October 2, 2004, show and has made the most show appearances with six, with his most recent appearance on December 14, 2019. Olympian and Arizona swimmer Amanda Beard was the first female celebrity guest picker on November 21, 2009. Georgia golfer Bubba Watson became the first celebrity picker to pick all games correctly on September 28, 2013. Oklahoma State and NBA player Marcus Smart became the first ever student athlete guest picker on November 23, 2013. The Oregon Duck became the first school mascot to be the guest picker on September 6, 2014. Guests have included athletes, coaches, military veterans, Make-A-Wish Foundation kids, school mascots, professional sports owners, CEOs, singers, actors and celebrity personalities.
Appearances through December 20, 2025:
International broadcasts
In the UK, College GameDay was shown in full during BT Sport's decade on air (2013–2023), unless live sport was being aired on all of its channels. In July 2023, BT Sport was relaunched as TNT Sports following the sale of BT Sport to Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA.[36] This saw the cessation of ESPN programming, and College Gameday stopped being shown in the UK.[37]Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The program returned to UK screens on 18 November 2023 following an agreement between Sky Sports and ESPN which sees Sky Sports broadcasting College Gameday and three College Football games each week for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.[38]
From 2025, DAZN has secured a deal with ESPN which includes the broadcasting of College Gameday in the UK, Continental Europe, and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) regions, where there is no conflict.[39]
College Gameday is broadcast fully in Australia and New Zealand from 11pm-2am AEST on Sunday mornings, before carrying at least 3 college football games across the ESPN Australia networks through Foxtel or Fetch TV and streaming service Kayo Sports on Sunday mornings.
See also
- College GameDay (basketball) (2005–present)
- ESPN Radio College GameDay (2000–present)
- SEC Nation (2014–present)
- Big Noon Kickoff (2019–present)
References
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- ↑ Stewart Mandel, Burning questions about BCS, a few candidates for Tennessee and more, SI.com, November 12, 2008, Accessed November 12, 2008.
- ↑ Michael Hiestand, "GameDay" flag relay is worth a salute, USA Today, October 30, 2008, Accessed November 12, 2008.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ @ESPN: "Who did Lee Corso choose in his first-ever NFL headgear pick? Let's just say the crowd fired up the "WHO DAT!?" chant" ESPN on Twitter
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- ↑ a b c d [2] Template:Webarchive
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- ↑ As Mark Gross, coordinating producer of GameDay, noted: "You're asking a thousand people to show up 12 hours before the game starts ... By no means are we ignoring (USC). We always discuss the possibility. But the time is something to think about." Patrick Kinmartin, What time is it? Time for "College GameDay" to make its way to L.A., The Daily Trojan, April 8, 2004.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Digital Spy forum - TNT Sport Channels Page 23
- ↑ [4]
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Further reading
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External links
Template:ESPN Template:ESPN original programming Template:ESPN College Football Template:Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show Template:College football on television
- Pages with script errors
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