Predicting Where ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ Will Head for Each Week of 2026 Football Season

A year ago, college football fans prepared for the end of one of the greatest runs in the sport’s history—and one that didn’t involve an active player or coach. Lee Corso, the man who in many ways became the heartbeat of the sport’s media contingent, appeared on one final edition of College GameDay, ahead of one a monumental Week 1 matchup—Texas at Ohio State.

The show culminated as it always did with Corso on the panel, with the former Florida State defensive back donning the headgear of Brutus Buckeye, the same mascot head that he chose for his first-ever headgear pick in 1996. Corso posted a perfect weekend of picks, an appropriate way for him to ride off into retirement.

Of course, GameDay marches on in the post-Corso era. Host Rece Davis is joined by analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee, and it remains a Saturday morning staple for fans around the country.

So far, we already know the first three destinations for the show in 2026. GameDay will trek to Baton Rouge in Week 1, for Lane Kiffin’s debut as LSU coach against Clemson, which is desperate to get back into national title contention under Dabo Swinney after some lean years. A week later, ESPN will take the road show to Austin for a rematch of last year’s Buckeyes win over the Longhorns—once again one of the jewels of the nonconference calendar. And just over a week before the start of the regular season, ESPN confirmed that GameDay will head to Oxford, Miss., for what should be one of the rudest homecomings in recent memory … Ole Miss vs. Kiffin’s Tigers.

After that, the fun begins, as we likely won’t know the following week’s destination until after a large chunk of that Saturday’s games take place.

College GameDay will often select the following weekend’s host site less on the prior Saturday night or Sunday morning, giving ESPN ample time to choose the most compelling host. Oftentimes it is the premier SEC game in a given Saturday slate, but ESPN has been known to venture out to highlight smaller schools (going all the way down to Division III in the past). It also hasn’t been afraid to choose a Big Ten game, even though the league no longer has a business relationship with the network, and Fox often sends its rival program Big Noon Kickoff to cover those games as well.

With the season upon us, it’s time to predict where ESPN’s College GameDay will head for each week of the regular season.

Week 4: Oklahoma at Georgia

The Sooners and Bulldogs played an instant classic at the 2018 Rose Bowl, a double-overtime classic in which Georgia overcame a torrid start by Baker Mayfield & Co. to win 54–48 and advance to the national championship.

Amazingly, for two powerhouse programs that both began play in the 1890s, that was the first—and to this point, only—matchup in their series history. That changes in Week 4, as Oklahoma makes its first trip to Athens, Ga., as a member of the SEC. Both teams reached the CFP last season and should have national title aspirations in this one. This late September game could help set the tone in the SEC this fall.

Other options: Texas A&M at LSU, Texas at Tennessee, Oregon at USC

Week 5: Clemson at Miami

After four consecutive games involving SEC teams to start the season, it’s time to give the other power conference with an exclusive ESPN contract some love. The Hurricanes enter the season with massive expectations after reaching the national championship last season. The Tigers are looking to get back to the ACC mountaintop and the CFP after a very disappointing 2025.

This matchup getting the GameDay treatment may depend on how Clemson opens the season, and may not be a cakewalk, with the aforementioned LSU game followed by dates with Georgia Southern, North Carolina and Cal. If the Tigers can hold serve and the Canes don’t stub their toe, this looks like the most attractive game on a fairly light Week 5 docket.

Other options: Ohio State at Iowa, Vanderbilt at Georgia, Washington at USC, Texas Tech at Colorado, BYU at TCU, Notre Dame at North Carolina

Miami coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes will try to get back to the CFP national championship game this season, and a juicy matchup against Clemson in Week 5 looms. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Week 6: Georgia at Alabama

The last two regular-season games between these two have been absolute classics—both dramatic wins for the Crimson Tide. The choice for Week 6 is a toss-up between this and the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma, but this is the best opportunity for GameDay to head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this season, while the Longhorns are already hosting in Week 2 and we have the Sooners penciled in elsewhere.

Of course, both teams have to hold up their ends of the bargain, specifically Alabama. On paper, Kalen DeBoer’s squad should be 5–0 at this point in the season, but those five games include dates with Florida State which, while far from intimidating on paper, beat the Tide last season, as well as a talented-if-wildly inconsistent South Carolina squad that has played Bama extremely tight over the last two seasons.

Other options: Texas vs. Oklahoma (in Dallas), USC at Penn State, Iowa at Washington, Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, North Dakota State at UNLV, Texas A&M at Missouri

Week 7: Notre Dame at BYU

The Cougars have hosted College GameDay just one time: Oct. 24, 2009, ahead of a game against then–Mountain West rival TCU. Legendary former BYU coach LaVell Edwards served as guest picker on a stage set up outside the stadium that was named in his honor nine years earlier. The Cougars have traversed some hills and valleys in the years since, but a return from GameDay is overdue, and there’s no better time for ESPN to head to Provo, Utah, than this matchup, which also features a national title favorite in the Fighting Irish.

ESPN doesn’t head to South Bend too often, given Notre Dame’s long-standing contract with NBC for home games, but GameDay has broadcast from Fighting Irish road games 14 times in the last 15 seasons. BYU brings back a solid core from a team that was on the fringe of the CFP last season and that has 23 wins over the last two seasons. This should be an excellent matchup.

Other options: Alabama at Tennessee, Penn State at Michigan, Ohio State at Indiana, Auburn at Georgia, Missouri at Ole Miss, Florida at Texas, Virginia at SMU, Florida State at Miami

Week 8: Indiana at Michigan

Finally, a toe dipped in the Fox-controlled Big Ten waters. The Hoosiers, coming off of a miraculous 16–0 run to the national championship a year ago, should be right in the mix again, after Curt Cignetti reloaded his roster via the transfer portal. The Wolverines are looking to take a leap under new coach Kyle Whittingham, as Bryce Underwood—the former mega-recruit who the program made a significant NIL investment to land out of high school—enters Year 2 after a bumpy freshman season.

Indiana narrowly beat Michigan in 2024, but the two did not meet during the Hoosiers’ title march a year ago. IU’s last win at the Big House came in 1967. This one could certainly fall off the map if the Wolverines falter during a rough first half of the season, which features games against Oklahoma, Iowa, Minnesota and Penn State before the game against the Hoosiers. If they pass those tests, however, it should be a game between prime CFP contenders.

Other options: Texas A&M at Alabama, Ole Miss at Texas, LSU at Auburn, Oregon at Illinois, Texas Tech at Cincinnati, Houston at Utah

Week 9: Ohio State at USC

We have ESPN penciled in for back-to-back Big Ten trips. This will be the first matchup between the Buckeyes and Trojans as conference opponents, and the first regular-season game between these two powerhouse programs since 2009.

Ohio State enters the season at No. 1, and it would be a massive upset if the Buckeyes aren’t Big Ten and CFP contenders this year. USC hopes to crash the party for the first time. If it doesn’t, Lincoln Riley’s future in Los Angeles will be in real jeopardy. Knocking off the league’s top team would be a great way to make a statement.

Other options: Florida vs. Georgia (in Atlanta), Auburn at Ole Miss, Miami at North Carolina, Notre Dame vs. Navy (in Foxborough, Mass.), Arizona State at BYU, Arizona at Texas Tech

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) and the Trojans host Ohio State in one of the top games of Week 9. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Week 10: Miami at Notre Dame

One of the most difficult choices of the entire season, with games like Alabama at LSU, Georgia at Ole Miss and Oregon at Ohio State on the schedule, but the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish played one of the most consequential games of the entire 2025 season in Week 1 a year ago. Despite some serious drama injected by Miami’s midseason swoon and the weekly CFP selection committee rankings, the Canes’ 27–24 win on Aug. 31 ultimately helped give them the nod over Notre Dame for a playoff spot. They’d prove the committee wise with a run all the way to the national championship game.

Both teams should be among the nation’s elite this season, the storylines write themselves—between the impact of last year’s game and the long history between these two programs—and GameDay hasn’t been to South Bend for a regular-season game since 2023. This one could go in numerous directions, but if both of these teams remain in championship contention, I see ESPN eschewing yet another SEC game (or a third straight Big Ten contest) for this big rematch.

Other options: Alabama at LSU, Georgia at Ole Miss, Oregon at Ohio State, Oklahoma at Florida, Texas at Missouri, Michigan State at Michigan, Penn State at Washington, BYU at Utah

Week 11: Texas at LSU

Back to the conference where it just means more. Kiffin is guaranteed to be one of the main characters of this college football season. Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning will likely be the same—especially if he takes the momentum built from a strong second half of last season into 2026. This will mark Manning’s first college game in his native Louisiana and against the Tigers, one of the many teams after his services as an elite recruit. (Kiffin, while at Ole Miss where Arch’s grandfather Archie and uncle Eli starred, was also in that number.)

The starpower probably makes this one too attractive to avoid, even if ESPN is opening the season in Baton Rouge for LSU-Clemson. Should one of these sides fall off, there are other great options, especially in the Big Ten, but it is hard to see the Worldwide Leader passing on this one.

Other options: Ole Miss at Oklahoma, Tennessee at Texas A&M, USC at Indiana, Michigan at Oregon, Missouri at Georgia, Alabama at Vanderbilt, Duke at Miami, Utah at Arizona

Week 12: Texas A&M at Oklahoma

The 2026 season marks the return of another old conference rivalry, this one that hasn’t been played since the 2013 Cotton Bowl. The Aggies and Sooners don’t share the same history as each do with Texas, but it will be fun to see them back on the same field for the first time in well over a decade, especially with both teams seeking returns to the playoff.

Oklahoma has a 19–12 all-time edge in the series and won the last game played between the two sides as Big 12 rivals, though Texas A&M got their revenge the very next season, taking that Cotton Bowl 41–13 behind 516 total yards and four touchdowns from Johnny Manziel.

Other options: LSU at Tennessee, Indiana at Washington, Ohio State at Nebraska, Iowa at Illinois, SMU at Notre Dame, Utah at TCU, Memphis at Navy

Week 13: Michigan at Ohio State

Rivalry week is always abound with great GameDay options, though a number of them, like Texas at Texas A&M, have been bumped up to Friday over the last few years. Above the rest, however, the final Saturday of the regular season is defined by the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn and The Game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines. And because the Tigers have been on the outside looking in of true national contention for some time, Ohio State–Michigan has been the option for GameDay more often than not.

The Game has drawn ESPN in four of the last five seasons (the exception being a Saturday Longhorns-Aggies matchup in 2024, the first year the two shared as SEC rivals). Barring a huge surge by first-year Auburn coach Alex Golesh, or a major crash and burn by the Buckeyes or Wolverines, the Big Ten game should make it five of six this year. Ohio State coach Ryan Day finally got back over the hump against Michigan last season, but this year he’ll face the ever-experienced Kyle Whittingham, who will make his rivalry debut as he looks to return the Wolverines to solid footing.

Whittingham has done his best to reduce the temperature of the rivalry this summer. That will only go so far once his team runs out onto the field at Ohio Stadium and draws a deafening chorus of boos on Nov. 28.

Other options: Auburn at Alabama, Washington at Oregon, Oklahoma at Missouri, Georgia Tech at Georgia, Tennessee at Vanderbilt, USC at UCLA

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