College GameDay Built by The Home Depot to Originate from Charlotte Ahead of ACC Championship Game Between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Clemson

ESPN Front Row: CGD’s 400^th show

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot is set for its 15th and final regular season show of 2020 – and its 400^th road show all-time, originating from Charlotte, N.C., ahead of the ACC Championship Game featuring No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Clemson. The three-hour traveling pregame show (9 a.m. – noon ET) will be live from Bank of America Stadium, airing on ESPN and ESPNU as it does every Saturday throughout the season.

The 11-time Emmy Award-winning show is hosted by Rece Davis, who is joined by Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Maria Taylor and Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, with Lee Corso joining the show live from his home. Additional contributors throughout the season include Jen Lada, Pat McAfee, Tom Rinaldi and Gene Wojciechowski.

The show precedes a full slate of action across ESPN networks, as the regular season comes to a close and conference championships lead into Sunday’s College Football Playoff Selection Day. The Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship between No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 7 Iowa State begins at noon on ABC, with Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Todd McShay and Allison Williams on the call from Arlington, Texas. Chris Fowler, Herbstreit and Taylor will call the ACC Championship Game (4 p.m., ABC), followed by the American Championship between No. 23 Tulsa and No. 9 Cincinnati at 8 p.m., as Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Holly Rowe call the action.

With nearly 20 hours of programming dedicated to Selection Day, ESPN’s coverage will shift into full gear with the College Football Playoff Selection Show Presented by AT&T 5G at noon ET on Sunday, Dec. 20. During the four-hour show, the four College Football Playoff teams, the CFP committee’s final rankings and all the matchups of the New Year’s Six will be revealed.

Show Highlights

• The Next Peak: Second and 16 – it’s a play that will forever be part of Alabama lore. The overtime pass from Tua Tagovailoa to DeVonta Smith, to win the National Championship. Smith doesn’t like to talk about the moment, despite its glory. To him, it’s a play, not a peak. Instead, he has continued to climb higher, to find the next peak, on his way to becoming one of the greatest receivers in SEC history. Reporter Tom Rinaldi
• Herbstreit with Ian Book and Trevor Lawrence: Kirk Herbstreit sits with the Notre Dame and Clemson quarterbacks ahead of their matchup in Saturday’s ACC Championship Game to discuss their seasons, the differing perspectives on the first time their teams played, and why they both enter this game with a chip on their shoulder.
• Ryan Day Conversation: Rece Davis sits with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day to discuss the challenges of leading his team in the Covid era, the criticism the Buckeyes have faced for the limited number of games they have played, and what it would mean to raise a Big Ten Championship trophy.
• The Game Changer: Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins has been a gymnast, a valedictorian and perhaps the best defensive player in college football this season.
• The Finish Line: There has been nothing regular about the 2020 college football regular season, but here we are approaching the finish line. Gene Wojciechowski reflects on the stops and starts, the ups and downs, and everything that made this season one to remember, and also forget.
• Coaches Corner: Ahead of Selection Day, head coaches Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Nick Saban (Alabama) and Luke Fickell (Cincinnati) will join the show
• Who’s In?: Davis will interview College Football Playoff Committee Chair Gary Barta entering the final weekend of deliberation

Corso Facts

• Corso has picked Clemson 12 times and is 10-2 with those headgear picks, including nine straight wins
  • He has picked against Clemson 13 times and is 6-7 with those 13 picks
  • He correctly picked against the Tigers in the first meeting between Notre Dame and Clemson
• Corso is 7-4 when picking Notre Dame
  • He is 10-5 when picking against Notre Dame
  • He’s won five of the last six times he’s picked against Notre Dame
• The 15 times Corso has picked against Notre Dame represents the second-most number of times he has picked against a team (picked against Oklahoma 19 times)
• Since starting 11-0 this year in headgear picks, Corso has lost his last two headgear picks.

Stats from ‘The Bear’

• This is road show No. 400 for College GameDay: In 34 seasons, the show has traveled to 77 different schools and 92 different cities
• GameDay has originated from Charlotte once, prior to the 2017 ACC Championship Game (Clemson vs. Miami)
• This is the first time since 2011, and sixth total, the show has originated from a matchup of the same two teams twice in the same season (2011 – Alabama-LSU, 2007 – Oklahoma vs. Missouri, 2004 – Auburn vs. Tennessee, 2000 – Oklahoma vs. Kansas State, 1996 – Florida vs. Florida State)
• This is the 19^th time since the start of the 2015 season Clemson has played at the site of College GameDay; the most appearances for any team

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