Predicting Where 'College GameDay' Should Go for Rest of 2015 Season
ESPN's College GameDay remains the gold standard of college football pregame shows, and where it goes each week is almost as big a deal as the game it's there to preview.
The decision to send the show to Harrisonburg, Virginia, to highlight the FCS rivalry between the Richmond Spiders and the James Madison Dukes continues the trend the last few years of making an occasional foray away off the beaten path to highlight lesser-known schools. In 2014 the show went to North Dakota State and Harvard, and this season's trips to Salt Lake City and Tucson have added to the normal rotation of ACC and SEC schools.
Where will GameDay end up the rest of this season? Some weeks have several great potential locales, and it's likely going to come down to how the teams are playing right before then to determine where it goes.
We've weighed in with our predictions for the rest of the year, along with a list of the other possible candidates each week.
Oct. 31: Philadelphia
1 of 9
Matchup: Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Temple Owls
Off to its best start in program history and ranked for the first time since 1979, Temple is having a dream season. It's already ended a 74-year drought against Penn State, and the visit from Notre Dame on Halloween will mark the first time since 1976 the school has sold out two home games.
"The energy and buzz surrounding our football program has never been greater," Owls athletic director Patrick Kraft said, per the team's Web site.
If Temple were to host GameDay as well, that would already add to what's likely one of the biggest home games in school history. The Owls play at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, but the show's set would work best on campus and would further add merit to Temple's best year ever.
All that might stand in the way of this happening is Temple's game Thursday night at East Carolina, where a loss there would probably knock it out of contention.
Other possible locales: Berkeley, California (USC at California); Jacksonville, Florida (Florida vs. Georgia); Pullman, Washington (Stanford at Washington State)
Nov. 7: Clemson, South Carolina
2 of 9
Matchup: Florida State Seminoles at Clemson Tigers
There's a good chance the Week 10 schedule will feature two matchups of unbeaten teams, assuming there are no upsets between now and then. That will make for a tough decision for the GameDay folks, unless you take history into account.
The Clemson/Florida State game has been the backdrop for a GameDay stop each of the previous three seasons, much like the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn is a regular for where the show goes in late November. This would mean GameDay would be making its second visit to Clemson in 2015, choosing a repeat spot over going to Stillwater, Oklahoma (for TCU/Oklahoma State).
Either of those venues will be great, and the Big 12 is deserving of getting some attention with the strength at the top of its league, but there will be other opportunities to head there. This could be the last big game in the ACC.
Other possible locales: Pittsburgh (Notre Dame at Pittsburgh); Stillwater, Oklahoma (TCU at Oklahoma State); Tuscaloosa, Alabama (LSU at Alabama)
Nov. 14: Houston
3 of 9
Matchup: Memphis Tigers at Houston Cougars
The American Athletic Conference used to be considered a power league, though not in its current form. Before losing Louisville to the ACC, Rutgers to the Big Ten and West Virginia to the Big 12, the league formerly known as the Big East was on par with the other big conferences back in the old BCS system.
Now the best that teams from the AAC can realistically hope for is to get the special "Group of Five" bowl bid offered to the highest-rated conference champion from among the second tier of FBS leagues. Such an invite could be on the line when two of the AAC's three currently unbeaten teams square off on Nov. 14.
Memphis made its presence known Oct. 17 when it beat Ole Miss at home, while Houston has gone mostly under the radar despite having one of the most balanced offenses in the country. The Cougars are coached by Tom Herman, who is in his first season there after serving as Ohio State's offensive coordinator during its national title run in 2014-15.
Other possible locales: Durham, North Carolina (Pittsburgh at Duke); Starkville, Mississippi (Alabama at Mississippi State); Waco, Texas (Oklahoma at Baylor)
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Nov. 21: Stillwater, Oklahoma
4 of 9
Matchup: Baylor Bears at Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Big 12 was the conference that got left out of the playoff party last season, despite having a pair of 11-1 teams in Baylor and TCU, which were widely considered among the best five or six teams in the country. The league could be in the same situation this season, depending on how things play out, since its lack of a conference championship game gives its best teams an extra chance to boost their profiles.
That means it all comes down to the regular-season results, but unfortunately the most highly anticipated game of 2015—Baylor at TCU—is set for a Friday, during Week 13. Otherwise it would probably be guaranteed a visit from GameDay, regardless of what else was on the schedule that week.
There's a major competitor for the Big 12 in Week 12, though, in that Michigan State and Ohio State will likely be playing for the Big Ten's East Division title on the same Saturday. MSU has already been featured twice this year, however, at home against Oregon and at Michigan, so we're hoping ESPN takes this into account and opts to make its first trip to Stillwater since 2013.
For those who don't remember, that last visit saw OK State beat an unbeaten Baylor team by 32 points.
Other possible locales: Columbus, Ohio (Michigan State at Ohio State); Oxford, Mississippi (LSU at Ole Miss); Palo Alto, California (California at Stanford)
Nov. 28: Ann Arbor, Michigan
5 of 9
Matchup: Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Wolverines
GameDay has already gone to Ann Arbor this season, having just been there last weekend for the crazy finish between Michigan and Michigan State. But the last time it was at The Big House for the Ohio State game was in 2007.
The time element is only a small piece of the reason ESPN probably already has this location marked in ink on the calendar. The strength of the teams will factor into this as well, but nothing has more of an impact on the choice to return to Ann Arbor than Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh.
Since Harbaugh was hired by his alma mater in the winter, this has been the game that has been most anticipated. The Wolverines have lost the last 10 of 11 in the series, the lone victory coming in the first season of Brady Hoke's unsuccessful tenure and right before Meyer took over Ohio State and began its run of 45 wins in 48 games with a national title.
Other possible locales: Auburn, Alabama (Alabama at Auburn); Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Texas A&M at LSU); Gainesville, Florida (Florida State at Florida); Palo Alto, California (Notre Dame at Stanford); Stillwater, Oklahoma (Oklahoma at Oklahoma State)
Dec. 5: Indianapolis
6 of 9
Matchup: Big Ten championship game
As it stands, the only power conference that is able to have a pair of unbeaten teams in its title game is the Big Ten. And for that we can thank Iowa, which other than Utah might be the most surprising of the teams in the power leagues yet to have lost a game.
The Hawkeyes, 7-0 and on a bye this week, play three of their final five at home, and the only game that might prevent them from being perfect would be Nov. 27 at Nebraska. By then, though, they'll have likely locked up the Big Ten's West Division and then would probably play an unbeaten Michigan State or Ohio State.
Other possible locales: Atlanta (SEC championship game); Charlotte, North Carolina (ACC championship game); Santa Clara, California (Pac-12 championship game); Waco, Texas (Texas at Baylor)
Dec. 12: Philadelphia
7 of 9
Matchup: Army vs. Navy
Last season marked the first time College GameDay attended the Army-Navy game, when it was held in Philadelphia. If ESPN wants to squeeze in an extra show again this season, this would be the only game on the schedule in between conference title weekend and the start of bowl play.
Considering the 2015 season is one week shorter than most years and GameDay had 18 shows last season, expect it to make another stop at this storied rivalry.
Dec. 31: Arlington, Texas
8 of 9
Matchup: Cotton Bowl (national semifinal)
With the playoffs being held on New Year's Eve instead of Jan. 1 this season, this will mark the first time the national championship hasn't originated from the site of a New Year's Day bowl game since 2012 (when the holiday fell on a Sunday and thus was left dark to avoid competing with the NFL).
The pairings won't be determined until Dec. 6, but this figures to be the site that will host the No. 1 seed. If an ACC team were to end up landing that top spot, it would likely play in the Orange Bowl in Miami, as could a No. 1 seed from Big Ten.
However, since GameDay began the 2015 season in Arlington (for the Alabama/Wisconsin game) the show already has a good spot picked out.
Jan. 11, 2016: Glendale, Arizona
9 of 9
Matchup: College Football Playoff National Championship
As long as college football has a predetermined site for its national title game, which it has since 1998, that is where College GameDay will end each season.
This will mark the third time the show has been held outside University of Phoenix Stadium, the others being for the BCS championship games following the 2006 and 2010 seasons.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
