- Show Originates from the Old Main Lawn in the Heart of Campus
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot – college football’s longest-running and most-celebrated pregame show – returns to State College, Pa., and the campus of Penn State for the first time since 2009 ahead of the second-ranked Nittany Lions hosting No. 19 Michigan on ABC’s Saturday Night Football.
The three-hour premier show will originate from the Old Main lawn in the heart of the Penn State campus on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 9 a.m. to noon with live SportsCenter hits from Penn State in the 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. hours leading up to GameDay. The Wolverines and Nittany Lions kick off at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
ESPN programming will begin from the GameDay set on Friday, Oct. 20, with SportsCenter hits throughout the day and an afternoon taping of College Football Live.
The seven-time Emmy Award-winning show is hosted by Rece Davis, who is joined by analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, as well as contributors Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, Jen Lada, Tom Rinaldi, Maria Taylor and Gene Wojciechowski.
College GameDay Fun Facts
Corso began making his entertaining end-of-show headgear more than 20 years ago, donning the headgear of the team who he thinks will win the game that GameDay is present at. Corso reached a headgear milestone this season during GameDay’s trip to TCU when he made his 300th headgear pick on the show. This weekend’s show will mark headgear number 302 for Corso and he currently has an all-time record of 198-103.
The phenomenon began on October 5, 1996, prior to the Penn State-Ohio State game in Columbus, Ohio, when he put on Ohio State’s “Brutus Buckeye” mascot head to show his pick to win the game – watch here.
College GameDay and Penn State
- Welcome Back: This is the fifth full College GameDay show to televise from the Penn State campus, with previous shows in 2009 (vs. Iowa), 07 (vs. Ohio State), 05 (vs. Ohio State), and 99 (vs. Arizona). In 1997, College GameDay had a presence on campus for when Penn State hosted Michigan, but the majority of programming originated from University of North Carolina that day.
- Looking for a Win: Penn State has a 2-2 record when GameDay has been in town, but has lost the last two occasions vs. the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes.
- Coach Corso’s Record: Coach Corso also sports a 2-2 headgear record in his State College head gear picks, including picking the Nittany Lions twice and going against them twice. He is 1-1 in both situations.
- History on Penn State’s Side: This is the 10th time that GameDay has been at the No. 2 ranked team’s campus when the team hosted a program outside the top 15. There has never been an upset in the previous nine occurrences.
Additional Coach Corso’s Headgear Facts:
- Knows the Wolverines: Corso is 7-3 when he picks Michigan and also 7-3 when he picks against Michigan
- Riding a Winning Streak: Corso is on a three game winning streak, which has him at 5-2 on the season
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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner
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