ESPN College GameDay surprised fans with an unexpected visit to New York City in Week 4. They're headed back to campus in Week 5.
After making the show's first-ever visit to a non-game site in 25 years of travels, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and their friends are going back to a familiar site, albeit one they haven't visited in a decade.
ESPN College GameDay is headed to Virginia Tech, where they'll feature an ACC matchup for the second time in three weeks.
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Location: Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, Va.
Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC)
at
Virginia Tech (4-0, 0-0 ACC)
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History
This is College GameDay's seventh all-time trip to Blacksburg, where they visited six times between 1999 and 2007 but none since Sept 1, 2007, when Virginia Tech beat East Carolina, 17-7.
It's also the first time Virginia Tech will make appearances in back-to-back years (Battle at Bristol last September) since 2010-11. Clemson, however, is making their second appearance in three weeks after they were featured during Week 3's trip to Louisville. It's also the Tigers' eighth appearance since 2015, tied for the most in the FBS with Alabama.
This is Clemson and Virginia's first-ever GameDay meeting.
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Guest Picker Predictions
Last week in Times Square was a crapshoot for GameDay guest picker predictions, and while it was surprising they invited Keegan-Michael Key to the set for the second time in nine months (Dec. 3, 2016), ESPN could've grabbed anyone.
It's been so long since Virginia Tech's last appearance that the Hokies don't have a guest picker history. GameDay didn't begin regularly inviting guest pickers until the 2009 season. As a result, we're betting the farm on ESPN welcoming someone with strong Virginia Tech ties.
Here are a few guesses:
Bruce Smith
Bruce Smith is a Virginia native, played at Virgina Tech and for the nearby Washington Redskins. A two-time First-Team All-American and 11-time Pro Bowler, Smith is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
His playing career is long behind him (retired after the 2003 season) but he remains a well-known name who'd be a popular pick.
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Frank Beamer
ESPN surprisingly tapped Rick Pitino two weeks ago when they could've gone many other directions. Might they do the same with former Hokies' coach Frank Beamer?
The living legend won 238 games and seven conference titles in 29 seasons.
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Michael Vick
The top pick in the 2000 NFL Draft after a sensational career at Virginia Tech, Michael Vick is still not the most popular athlete but he appears to have regained enough equity to make an appearance like this.
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NEXT: Best College Football Videos, Tweets and More From Week 4
