College Football’s most distinguished pregame show and maybe the best show on TV, College Gameday, has plenty of high profile matchups to choose from to host its show for the rest of the season. Here are the favorites for the rest of the season.
Week 2: Virginia Tech @ Tennessee - Bristol Motor Speedway
The appeal of this game is not the actual matchup, but rather the location, as Bristol Motor Speedway looks to host 150,000 fans, possibly setting a world record. Tennessee lost much of its momentous offseason hype last week after escaping Appalachian State in overtime, while Virginia Tech is looking to reach the top 25 for the first time this season. Week two happens to be fairly underwhelming across the NCAA, and thus a matchup featuring only one ranked team gets the nod from GameDay.
Week 3: USC @ Stanford - Stanford, California
While the non-conference matchup between Ohio State and Oklahoma surely generates most of the weekend’s interest, the game is broadcasted on FOX. That said, the best game with rights owned by ABC is the USC-Stanford game in Stanford. USC is coming off a 52-6 trouncing by Alabama while Stanford is riding momentum from a 26-13 win over Kansas State. Week three will be the second pregame show in a row hosted by a game featuring only one ranked team.
Week 4: Wisconsin @ Michigan State - East Lansing, Michigan
The conference season kicks off with a slew of exciting Big 10 and SEC matchups, but none more exciting than Wisconsin and Michigan State. Both teams should undefeated heading into that matchup, and with conference implications on the line, GameDay will jump on the opportunity to host the matchup. Wisconsin upended LSU last week at Lambeau Field.
Week 5: Wisconsin @ Michigan - Ann Arbor, Michigan
I expect Wisconsin to beat MSU in week four, and that’ll make for an exciting heavyweight battle in Ann Arbor the next week. By gametime, Michigan will be ranked within the top five while Wisconsin will be within the top ten, and while there’s a slew of exciting games that weekend, none beat the one in Ann Arbor. Michigan also faces the rest of its rivals on the road, so this is GameDay’s only opportunity to visit the Big Blue, a potential playoff competitor.
Week 6: Tennessee @ Texas A&M - College Station, Texas
It’ll take until week six for GameDay to attend an SEC conference matchup. With A&M over performing and Tennessee’s high expectations, this SEC matchup may prove to be super exciting. Texas A&M beat UCLA in overtime last week.
Week 7: Ohio State @ Wisconsin - Madison, Wisconsin
2016 is the year of the Big 10, so I expect GameDay to host a Big 10 matchup for a record third time. Ohio State-Wisconsin also may prove to be the only ranked vs ranked game hosted by ABC week seven, so this one’s a no brainer.
Week 8: Ole Miss @ LSU - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Both Ole Miss and LSU disappointed in week one as Ole Miss blew a 22 point halftime lead to Florida State and LSU lost in a nailbiter to unranked Wisconsin. While the losses certainly hurt the fun of this game, both Ole Miss and LSU have a tremendous amount of talent and should rebound by week eight. Look for a close one in Baton Rouge.
Week 9: Clemson @ Florida State - Tallahassee, Florida
Week nine features perhaps the best game of the entire season as #2 Clemson plays #3 Florida State. Both teams should be undefeated by week nine, and with this game having major conference and playoff implications, I have no doubt in my mind that College GameDay will send their set down to Tallahassee. Make sure you catch this game, it’s surely going to be a classic.
Week 10: TCU @ Baylor - Waco, Texas
While the weekend’s best game will be down in Baton Rouge for LSU-Alabama, the Big 12 is way overdue for College GameDay. Baylor had an awful offseason, losing its coach, Art Briles, and a huge amount of recruits. That said, the should still be ranked by week ten, and TCU will surely be an exciting opponent.
Week 11: USC @ Washington - Seattle, Washington
Washington is due for a magical year, and their success will be rewarded with College GameDay. USC should prove to be the Huskies toughest matchup to date as they have brought in consecutive top five recruiting classes and surely have the most talent on the field.
Week 12: USC @ UCLA - Los Angeles, California
I’m trying to find a reason to not give GameDay to the MSU-OSU game, but the only reason I could come up with is the fact that Michigan State may not be relevant come week twelve. Anyways, USC’s game against UCLA isn’t even the weekend’s second best game. Louisville visits Houston that week, however they play on Thursday night, putting the game out of contention for GameDay.
Week 13: Michigan @ Ohio State - Columbus, Ohio
“The Game” is by far the most intriguing matchup of week 13 as both Ohio State and Michigan have potential to be undefeated heading into the game. The last time both faced off as undefeateds was in 2006 when #1 Ohio State knocked off #2 Michigan to advance to the National Championships. Could we have a repeat scenario? Regardless, “The Game” features Harbaugh vs. Meyer, Maize & Blue vs. Scarlet & Grey, and Good vs. Evil (whichever way you look at it). Get excited for this one.
-Sammy Field
