Usually at least once a year, ESPN’s College GameDay throws a curveball at its viewers and takes a detour from its typical stops of Top 25 schools across the Power Five.
Last season, Rece Davis and the gang went to Boone, North Carolina for Week 3 and did the show from Appalachian State’s campus after the Mountaineers had wild back-to-back weeks. And in Week 9, the crew went to Jackson, Mississippi for an FCS clash.
GameDay has also been to Coastal Carolina, West Point for Army-Navy, South Dakota and to James Madison’s campus in Harrisonburg, Virginia in recent years.
This season, there’s a handful of interesting Group of Five and FCS matchups that could attract a visit from GameDay. Let’s look at a few possibilities and place some make-believe odds on them.
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Week 5: Boise State at Memphis +2000
The contenders in the Power Five this week aren’t so great. Colorado is playing at USC, and while that game will feature Heisman favorite Caleb Williams, it will probably be a blowout victory for the Trojans. USC has better games on its schedule for GameDay to highlight. Another possibility could be Clemson at Syracuse. If the Orange start the season 4-0 against Colgate, Western Michigan, Purdue and Army, that game could have some buzz and bring the GameDay crew to upstate New York for the first time ever.
GameDay hasn’t been to Memphis since 2019 and this non-conference matchup with Boise State could feature two of the best teams in the Group of Five this year. Memphis starts the season with Bethune-Cookman, Arkansas State, Navy and Missouri, while Boise State begins with Washington, UCF, North Dakota and San Diego State. 4-0 starts for both teams are possible, and if that happens, so are spots for both in the Top 25 poll.
Week 6: Arkansas State at Troy +1500
GameDay has never been to Troy, Alabama, but the Trojans are deserving of a visit from the ESPN crew. Troy went 12-2 last season, winning the Sun Belt and the Cure Bowl. The start of their schedule this season isn’t easy as the Trojans have games against Kansas State and James Madison in September, but if Troy is 5-0 by the time Week 6 rolls around, they’d be a worthy contender for GameDay. The other likely choices at the Power 5 level this week is the Red River game between Texas and Oklahoma, or Minnesota versus Michigan. The latter is boring, and the former has been many times. Go to Troy, GameDay.
Week 8: North Texas at Tulane +2400
There’s plenty of competition for GameDay this week: Penn State at Ohio State, Wisconsin at Illinois, Tennessee at Alabama. But the crew has never been to Tulane’s Yulman Stadium, and the Green Wave might be the best Group of 5 team in college football this year – they’re the only ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll. Oct. 21 is also homecoming for Tulane, which could make for a big party near the GameDay set in New Orleans.
Week 9: East Carolina at UTSA +1400
UTSA has been one of the best teams in all of college football over the past two seasons, racking up a record of 23-5 with a pair of Conference USA titles, but they haven’t been on GameDay and the show hasn’t been to San Antonio since 2007 for the Big 12 title game. The Roadrunners are now in the American Athletic Conference, but are expected to be just as competitive. It’s quite possible that when Week 9 rolls around, their matchup with East Carolina in San Antonio features a pair of teams with less than five combined losses. In a week where the best Power Five matchup is probably Ohio State at Wisconsin, that could be enough to draw ESPN.
