- College football’s premier pregame to preview the game of the week on ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
- Special on-site guests: Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer, UGA HC Kirby Smart and comedian Druski will be live from Tuscaloosa, Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin joins from the field in Oxford, Miss.
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot heads to Alabama for the show’s 19th visit all time to Tuscaloosa, Ala., ahead of the top five ranked matchup between SEC foes No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama. College GameDay will be live from Denny Chimes on Alabama’s campus from 9 a.m. – noon ET on ESPN & ESPNU.
Host and Alabama alum Rece Davis is at the helm for his 10th season, joined at the desk by GameDay analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban who will be making his first visit as a member of the College GameDay crew to Tuscaloosa. College football insider Pete Thamel, college football betting analyst ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin and reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims round out the GameDay cast.
Following the pregame show, the lead game team of Chris Fowler, Herbstreit, Holly Rowe (Georgia sideline) and Laura Rutledge (Alabama sideline) will be on the call on ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC). GameDay’s presence will expand Saturday to include pregame and halftime studio wraps of the heavyweight SEC bout on ABC.
College GameDay is off to its best four-episode season start ever, averaging 2.2 million viewers per episode. The Week 4 show at Oklahoma brought in an average of 2.1 million viewers and peaked at 2.9 million in the final hour, for College GameDay’s third most-watched Week 4 episode ever.
Show Highlights & Guests
- Coaches & Guests – Alabama’s first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer will join GameDay live at the desk on Saturday while Georgia head coach Kirby Smart will join remotely ahead of the SEC matchup. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin will talk to the crew live from the field ahead of the Rebels’ game against Kentucky. Comedian Druski will join the show as a special guest in Tuscaloosa.
- Coach’s Film Room – Saban takes viewers inside his film room to analyze how running quarterbacks are impacting the game, including the Crimson Tide’s Jalen Milroe.
- Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest – Back for its second season, GameDay is offering an exclusive contest during the live show, Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest. Fans who arrive early will have a chance to be chosen from the ‘pit’ onsite with the opportunity to attempt a 33-yard field goal. If the contestant successfully completes the kick, he/she will be awarded $65,000 from McAfee. Full details, including official rules, can be found here.
Additional guests will be announced ahead of Saturday’s show on ESPN PR’s Twitter and College GameDay’s Twitter.
Corso’s Count
- Coach Corso will be making his 418th mascot headgear selection this week at Alabama. So far this season his picks have gone 4-0, with road teams winning each matchup.
- This will be Alabama’s 20th time hosting GameDay, and 19th time the show will originate from Tuscaloosa, as the Crimson Tide hosted the show from Birmingham in 1995. Alabama joins Ohio State as the only school to host GameDay 20 times. This is the 59th show appearance by the Crimson Tide, tied with OSU for most by any school.
- Corso has picked Big Al’s headgear 37 times going 27-10 with his picks of the show.
- Georgia will make its 36th appearance on College GameDay this weekend. Corso has chosen the Bulldogs 13 times going 8-5 in those picks, but 8-1 when picking UGA under head coach Kirby Smart.
Features:
- Tommy and the Tide – Alabama super fan Tommy Ray first learned about college football listening to Crimson Tide games on his radio at 15 years old. Years later, he was able to witness the crimson and white uniforms that he never thought he’d see in color outside of a dream, after his brother surprised him with tickets to a game. Now, after 53 straight years of games, loads of memorabilia, game programs and memories, Ray is ready for game number 664 on Saturday against Georgia. Jen Lada reports.
- Georgia – Bama Through the Years – When it comes to Georgia versus Alabama, it’s a match-up that has meaning and usually a championship on the line. In a series of essays, Ryan McGee reflects on the many memorable and meaningful battles between the Dawgs and the Tide.
ESPN’s Expansive Digital Coverage
ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper, hits the road for Week 5 with hosts Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr., live from Tuscaloosa. ‘Stanford Steve’ will join the trio to preview all the top matchups of the week. The show is available across ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App at 8:20 a.m. ET weekly.
Disney’s Mickey & Friends On Site in Tuscaloosa
Fans at the College GameDay set on Saturday will have the opportunity to snap photos at an immersive Disney’s Mickey & Friends themed photo opportunity and receive Mickey & Friends-inspired giveaways including game day buttons, megaphones, flags, temporary tattoos and socks.
The offerings are free for fans and early arrival is encouraged for these exclusive offers. Limited quantities offered or first-come, first-served.
For onsite information, please visit College GameDay’s Hub HERE.
-30-
-
-
-
-
-
