Notre Dame, BYU and the Downfall of ESPN’s College GameDay

ESPN College GameDay was a national treasure for years, now its just kind of there

Oct. 10, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; ESPN’s College GameDay show airs from inside Coleman Coliseum to avoid the weather caused by Hurricane Isaias. Co-host Pat McAfee talks to a member of the crew before the show goes live. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Notre Dame's schedule difficulty takes a significant step up this week as it heads to Provo, Utah to take on No. 8 BYU in what should be an exciting game.

The two were supposed to meet for what would have been a glorified exhibition game in the Pop-Tarts Bowl last year before Notre Dame declined the invitation.

Instead, the college football world gets treated to this big-time matchup on Saturday night on ABC.

Also joining the teams in Provo will be the institution that is ESPN College GameDay, or at least that shell of itself that still remains.

If we're being honest - Notre Dame and BYU really have no business being the featured teams for College GameDay this week.

Yes, it's great to see the show move outside its comfort zone in SEC country and I like that BYU gets to be featured, but the show should be at the battle of the last two national champions: Ohio State at Indiana.

It's only in Provo to promote a game that is airing on ABC, and because of the anti-Big Ten agenda ESPN wants to push.

The Peak of College GameDay

For years, getting up on a Saturday morning in the fall meant one thing:

College GameDay.

After ESPN took the show on the road starting with the classic 1993 battle between No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, the excitement around it blossomed.

Not long after, Lee Corso was putting on mascot heads, fans started getting incredibly creative with signs, and Tom Rinaldi was presenting a story that inevitably made you cry, no matter how many times he previously presented you with something similar.

Yes, nothing beats the games as a college football fan, but when you were unable to be in attendance for a big game, GameDay did one heckuva job putting you on campus each week, getting you prepared for the Saturday of action that was about to come.

I know I'm not alone when I say that fall Saturdays in high school went like this for me:

8 a.m.: Lifting and films after Friday night game
10:30ish a.m.: Team breakfast, usually at someone's house
10:50 a.m.: Make sure you're in front of a TV to see Lee Corso's headgear pick
11 a.m.-on: Absorb as much college football as humanly possible

While again, it didn't beat being at the actual game, getting to stand behind the GameDay set the morning of the 2005 Notre Dame vs. USC game, which wound up being the "Bush Push" classic, played a significant part into what made that day so special.

It remained that way for years for me, through college and into adulthood, but ever since the SEC and ESPN agreed to the megadeal that might as well be a merger, the show has become a joke.

The Fall of College GameDay

Lee Corso becoming less and less of the show was inevitable, and an unfortunate sign of trouble to come.

However, the beginning of the end of College GameDay came was when the Big Ten and ESPN lost all television deals with one another.

That's when the SEC stepped in, made ESPN nothing more than a mouthpiece for the conference, and the likes of Kirk Herbstreit and company followed like the well-paid sheep they are.

As great of a hire as Nick Saban could have been, he's like getting your information from The Kremlin.

All the show is now is a way for ESPN to promote whatever game is on its network, usually an SEC hosted event, and pumping out propaganda for the conference for three hours week.

But hey, at least Pat McAfee might take his shirt off or roll on the ground barking like a dog, while usually yelling out complete generalities.

And for good measure, Kirk Herbstreit will bring his dog to distract you from the ridiculous propaganda he spews.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts

The days of watching College GameDay for me are almost entirely over.

The Rece Davis intro is still something to cherish, but I can see that when it gets posted to social media, I don't need to be watching my TV at 8:00 a.m. to catch it live.

There will still be the feel-good story done by Jen Lada that pops up on my X feed and gets my attention, but in terms of actually watching the show?

Those days have up and vanished like a fart in the wind.

While doing this piece, I remembered Notre Dame being a featured team on GameDay during the CFP run in 2024-2025, but I had entirely forgotten about it being featured during the trip to Pittsburgh last year.

That's how far the once great show has fallen.

Notre Dame will be featured along with BYU starting at 8 a.m. CT this Saturday, but my TV will be far from ESPN at that time.

And I'm guessing the majority of the country that doesn't live in the Southeastern United States, or Provo, Utah (who hasn't hosted the show in years) will say the exact same thing.