ESPN announces College GameDay location for Week 5

ESPN has revealed College GameDay will be on site for a marquee Big Ten matchup as college football's Week 5 action gets underway next Saturday.

Kirk Herbstreit and the College GameDay gang will take their show on the road to Big Ten country in Week 5. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

College football’s forthcoming Week 5 slate will be action-packed with consequential games across the country, but ESPN has revealed that College GameDay will be taking in the big matchup in Big Ten country next weekend.

College GameDay will be on site in Happy Valley next Saturday as they showcase the marquee Oregon vs. Penn State game between the two teams that played for the Big Ten Championship last season.

NEXT STOP: HAPPY VALLEY 👀

See you next Saturday for a top-10 matchup between Oregon and Penn State 🍿 pic.twitter.com/e4Gf5RFKka

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 20, 2025

The decision by ESPN comes as some fans expected the network would bring its act down south in anticipation of another SEC matchup between Alabama and Georgia from Athens.

And while that game will undoubtedly have College Football Playoff implications of its own, ESPN elected to go with another hugely-impactful game on the national stage between the reigning Big Ten champion and the runner-up.

Both these teams will be firmly ensconced in the top 10 of the college football rankings, and while the Ducks are already up a game in the Big Ten standings, this will mark the Nittany Lions’ conference debut this season.

Oregon has pummeled everything in its wake so far, ranking fourth nationally by averaging 54.7 points per game, and is coming off a 41-7 drubbing against winless rival Oregon State this past weekend.

But the Ducks’ potent offense will be challenged by Penn State’s domineering defense, a rotation under the leadership of new coordinator Jim Knowles that ranks third in the nation by surrendering just 5.7 points to opponents on average.

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