ESPN College GameDay had a big decision to make in Week 3. Do they go to the Los Angeles for USC–Texas or Louisville for Clemson–Louisville?
Despite the Longhorns' Week 1 loss to Maryland, their matchup with the Trojans is still being dubbed a premier, can't-miss rematch of the 2006 national championship — even though the only thing these teams have in common with those 2006 teams is the jerseys. The other option is showcasing the Heisman frontrunner and two potential playoff teams.
They're going to Louisville. They made the right decision.
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Location: University of Louisville – Louisville, Ky.
Clemson (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
at
Louisville (2-0, 1-0 ACC)
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History
Louisville didn't host GameDay during the show's first 33 season. Now they've hosted in each of the last two seasons.
The Cardinals also hosted in Week 3 last year when they dismantled Florida State. It was one of their two appearances on the season. The other was in Clemson, making this also the second-straight year Louisville-Clemson has made the cut.
This will be the first appearance of the season for both teams after they combined for five appearances last year. In addition to the Louisville game, Clemson was also featured on GameDay for the Orange Bowl and national championship.
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GameDay Guest Picker Predictions
GameDay visited Louisville last September, three months after Muhammad Ali passed away. They invited the boxing legend and Louisville native's daughter, Laila Ali to the show. While her picks didn't turn out well (5-4), it was a terrific decision by ESPN and one that was widely applauded.
Here are a few predictions for this week's guest picker:
Todd Pletcher
Horse racing is far from most sports fans' minds in mid-September, but ESPN invited Bob Baffert to the set in Tucson in 2015. Could they do the same with Todd Pletcher?
He is a seven-time Eclipse Award winner (Trainer of the Year), trainer of 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and has strong Kentucky ties.
Pervis Ellison
ESPN routinely taps non-football athletes, doing so most recently with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2016 and Rickie Fowler in 2015.
Pervis Ellison was a three-time all-conference selection and First-Team All-American at Louisville. He helped the Cardinals win the 1986 national championship.
Michael Keaton
Recycling predictions is frowned up. Frown away folks because there's always a chance ESPN opt for a movie or music star, in this case Michael Keaton.
Also mentioned as an option for Week 2 at Ohio State, Keaton is crushing Hollywood and has a new movie coming out this month, American Assassin.
