ESPN College Gameday broadcasted from 15 locations (not including the playoff) during the 2018 season.
Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and the crew visited 11 campuses, a few NFL stadiums and, for the first time, UCF. Including road teams, the show featured 22 teams from six conferences (and two Independents).
Where will College GameDay visit in 2019?
Predictions for each week of the 2019 season:
Note: Predictions are updated as schedules are released.
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Week 1
Oregon vs. Auburn – Arlington, Texas
Oregon-Auburn at AT&T Stadium isn't as delectable as last year's Michigan-Notre Dame in South Bend but it's still the best option by a mile.
Other options: Duke vs. Alabama (Atlanta), Miami vs. Florida (Orlando), Florida State vs. Boise State (Jacksonville)
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Week 2
Texas hosted GameDay five times between 2003-08 (and another in 1999) but hasn't hosted in the last decade. Is this game big enough for ESPN to pass on Texas A&M at Clemson?
Other options: Stanford at USC, Texas A&M at Clemson
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Week 3
Stanford at UCF – Orlando, Fla.
GameDay made their first-ever visit to UCF last year. With a weak Week 3 slate, they could make their second-ever visit to UCF this year. If not, Iowa at Iowa State is a fantastic option.
Other options: Iowa at Iowa State, Oklahoma at UCLA, Pittsburgh at Penn State, Arizona State at Michigan State
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Week 4
Notre Dame at Georgia – Athens, Ga.
Incredibly, Georgia hasn't hosted GameDay since 2013, one of only two visits in the last 20 years. Barring early-season losses for both Notre Dame and the Bulldogs, this is an easy pick.
Other options: Oregon at Stanford, Auburn at Texas A&M, Michigan at Wisconsin
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Week 5
Ohio State at Nebraska – Lincoln, Neb.
Only if both Ohio State and Nebraska are undefeated. Even then, ESPN might pick USC at Washington if both the Trojans and Huskies are undefeated, too.
Other options: USC at Washington, Houston at North Texas
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Week 6
Auburn at Florida – Gainesville, Fla.
This is the safe bet. And probably the right bet, especially if both the Tigers and Gators are undefeated
If they're not undefeated and ESPN passes on Gainesville, it depends what they pick in Week 5. If they go to Lincoln, they won't feature Ohio State (at Michigan State) on the road in back-to-back weeks, especially in non-blockbuster matchups. Or if they go to Seattle, they won't go to Palo Alto for Washington at Stanford in Week 6.
Other options: Washington at Stanford, Ohio State vs. Michigan State, Texas at West Virginia.
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Week 7
Alabama at Texas A&M – College Station, Texas
Texas A&M has hosted GameDay in two of the last three years, including Week 2 last year (vs. Clemson). ESPN picked Alabama-A&M in College Station in 2013, too.
Other options: USC at Notre Dame, Florida at LSU, Oklahoma vs. Texas (Dallas)
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Week 8
Oregon at Washington – Seattle, Wash.
GameDay visited Seattle in 2016 but passed in both 2017 and 2018. They could return in Week 8 when Oregon is in town for, presumably, a game that should decide the Pac-12 North.
Other options: Michigan at Penn State, Boise State at BYU, Missouri State at North Dakota State.
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Week 9
Notre Dame at Michigan – Ann Arbor, Mich.
The only thing that would prevent a Week 9 trip to Ann Arbor is potential concern of two visits to Michigan in five weeks (vs. Ohio State, Week 13). This game is too big to worry about repeat visits.
Other options: Washington State at Oregon, North Dakota State at South Dakota State, Eastern Washington at Montana.
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Week 10
Auburn at LSU – Baton Rouge, La.
LSU has been a frequent host of GameDay: Thirteen visits in the last 23 years, including two in the last three years. If ESPN doesn't opt for an FCS game (e.g. Eastern Washington at Montana) or the World's Largest Cocktail Party, this is the right pick for Week 9.
Other options: Florida vs. Georgia, Eastern Washington at Montana, Oregon at USC, Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, Wisconsin at Ohio State
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Week 11
LSU at Alabama – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
World's Largest Cocktail Party for the second year in a row? Or another Alabama demolition of LSU?
Other options: Iowa State at Oklahoma, Penn State at Minnesota, Iowa at Wisconsin
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Week 12
Texas at Iowa State – Ames, Iowa
Let's take a shot.
"I'd love to go to Ames," Kirk Herbstreit said on my podcast in October. Iowa State is one of 11 Power Five schools who've never hosted GameDay.
Other options: Stanford at Washington State, Alabama at Mississippi State, Auburn vs. Georgia, Penn State at Ohio State, Western Illinois at North Dakota State
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Week 13
South Dakota at North Dakota State – Fargo, N.D.
GameDay has done four FCS games in the last six years, including back-to-back trips to North Dakota State in 2013 and 2014. After James Madison hosted in both 2015 and 2017, the Bison are the heavy favorites to land the next FCS GameDay.
Other options: UCLA at USC, Texas at Baylor, TCU at Oklahoma
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Week 14
Ohio State at Michigan – Ann Arbor, Mich.
ESPN broadcasted from the Iron Bowl in the same week in both 2013 and 2014, so clearly, there's no unwritten rule about picking the same game in the same week in consecutive years.
Other options: Notre Dame at Stanford, Alabama at Auburn
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Week 15
Conference Championship – TBD
For what it's worth: For conference championship weekend over the last 10 years, GameDay has picked the SEC four times, the Big Ten three times and the ACC once. They opted for regular season games in 2010 (Oregon at Oregon State) and 2014 (Kansas State at Baylor).
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Week 16
Army vs. Navy – Philadelphia, Pa.
GameDay has done the Army-Navy Game in five consecutive years. Why stop now?
