Sports are great because anything can happen and they’re hard to predict. Sometimes, though, there are things that are easy to predict.
For example, where will ESPN’s College GameDay be on September 19? The popular Saturday morning kickoff show recently announced its first two stops next season. The show will open the season at LSU for Lane Kiffin’s debut as the Tigers’ new coach.
The next week it’ll be in Austin, Texas for what should be a top five matchup between Texas and Ohio State. After that, though, remains to be seen.
But Pat McAfee, who is part of the GameDay panel, just the obvious part out loud.
“There was a time in my life yesterday where I thought we were definitely announcing only that we were going to LSU-Ole Miss,” McAfee said on The Pat McAfee Show the day after ESPN’s announcement. “When I heard we were going to be announcing game days, I was like, all right, let’s just do the one. Let’s just go ahead and announce that we’re going to go to that. Week three too, we can all schedule ahead a little bit.”
@patmcafeeshowofficial The first two stops of the College GameDay season have been announced.. 🔘Week 1 will be at LSU 🔘Week 2 will be at Texas Week 3 is gonna be at Ole Miss 😂😂 @College GameDay @Ole Miss Football @LSU Football #collegegameday #lsufootball #olemissfootball #patmcafee #thepatmcafeeshow
The much-anticipated return of Kiffin to Ole Miss on September 19 is already set to be a night game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. From the moment Kiffin decided to leave the Rebels for LSU, that game became a must-see game.
It’s obvious that’s the biggest game of the weekend and millions will tune in to see the reactions Kiffin gets from the Oxford crowd. But ESPN chose not to ride the wave of headlines surrounding Kiffin, LSU and Ole Miss this week.
“Why aren’t we talking about that?” McAfee said. “Like ‘just right now is probably not the right time because of how hot it is’ or whatever. Now is the time.”
He also talked about some of the backstage conversations about GameDay being in Oxford on September 19.
“They’re like, we’re not announcing week three. Ten minutes before we go up there and Herbie goes, you’re not going to say that, right? And I go, nope, I’m not saying anything. I look at Coach Saban, I go, don’t say anything about week three. And coach goes, ‘that’s the only one anybody wants, right? Isn’t it?’ And I’m like, don’t say it up there on stage. We’ve been told strictly, do not say it.”
GameDay can wait to make it official, but the sport already knows where the spotlight is headed. Kiffin’s return is the biggest story of September, and Oxford is going to feel like the center of college football long before the crew ever sets foot on campus.
