College GameDay's Week 6 location announcement leaves fans confused

Most college football fans thought ESPN would take in the Miami-Florida State game this coming weekend, but College GameDay will return to SEC country instead.

College GameDay is heading back into SEC country, to the confusion of some college football fans. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN’s flagship college football program hits the road again this coming weekend, but the chosen site for the next edition of College GameDay has left fans a little surprised.

Tuscaloosa will play host to College GameDay this Saturday, as ESPN will be on site to watch Alabama host Vanderbilt in the upcoming Week 6 action, the network announced.

WEEK 6: TUSCALOOSA 👏

We’re heading down to Alabama as the Crimson Tide take on the undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores 😤@AlabamaFTBL | @VandyFootball pic.twitter.com/ZrGqZhAR2D

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 28, 2025

That decision was greeted with some confusion, as most fans expected the program would instead broadcast from Tallahassee, where Florida State and Miami are poised to renew their historic series in a head-to-head clash of ranked rivals next Saturday.

But there’s plenty of intrigue around the Alabama-Vanderbilt matchup, too, especially after what transpired in Nashville last season.

The last time Vandy and Bama met was historic

Alabama was a perfect 4-0 and on a high note as the No. 1 team in the nation after a thrilling upset over Georgia the week prior, but instead walked into a trap, getting upset by then-unranked Vandy on the road in a stunning 40-35 result.

Vanderbilt had won just two games in SEC play since the 2020 season prior to that day, losing the other 32 conference games, but it had all the answers in a shocking victory that put Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer under tremendous early criticism.

Last season’s upset saw Vanderbilt snap a 23-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide dating back to 1984 and was the first-ever win for the Commodores against an AP No. 1 opponent.

Vandy was 0-60 against top-five ranked teams going into that game, and was 0-10 against No. 1 teams until that remarkable day in Music City.

Saturday’s meeting in Tuscaloosa will be the first time Alabama and Vanderbilt square off against each other as top 25 ranked opponents since the 1937 season.

Alabama, then ranked No. 4, defeated No. 12 Vanderbilt by a 9-7 count at Dudley Field in Nashville.

That year, the Crimson Tide finished as SEC champions at 9-1, while Vanderbilt placed 7-2 in a year they beat their first-ever ranked opponent, then-No. 6 LSU.

Back to the present

This week, Vanderbilt will be a perfect 5-0 for the first time since 2008, and is off to one of the best single-team starts in SEC football history.

Vandy’s 245 points scored through the first 5 games are the most for the school since the SEC first started play in 1933, and are the ninth-most points scored by an SEC team in its first five games in the history of the conference.

Alabama is sitting at 3-1 after an impressive, signature victory at then-No. 5 Georgia, taking some of that pressure off DeBoer and showcasing an efficient offense with quarterback Ty Simpson accounting for 3 all-purpose touchdowns.

For the first time in a long time, what happens between Alabama and Vanderbilt could go a long way in determining what happens in the SEC, and College GameDay will be there to take it in.

More: Alabama star on Vanderbilt rematch: 'Kill an ant with a sledgehammer'

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