College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will travel to Columbus, Ohio for the 20th time this Saturday, Nov. 20 (9 a.m. – noon ET), as No. 7 Michigan State faces No. 4 Ohio State in a pivotal matchup with both Big Ten and College Football Playoff implications. The premier three-hour traveling pregame show will air on ESPN, highlighting key storylines and offering news, analysis and predictions as the Buckeyes host the Spartans. GameDay will originate from outside St. John Arena on the Ohio State University campus for the first two hours before moving inside Ohio Stadium for the final hour.
Rece Davis hosts the 12-time Emmy Award-winning show with analysts Lee Corso, former Buckeyes captain and quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, research producer and sports betting analyst Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, and reporters Jen Lada and Gene Wojciechowski.
GameDay’s last trip to Columbus was November 2019, when the Buckeyes hosted Penn State. Ohio State leads all schools with 51 appearances all-time on GameDay.
College GameDay precedes a full slate of games across ESPN networks on Saturday. At noon on ABC Chris Fowler, Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will call the Spartans at Buckeyes. Other key games include: SMU at No. 5 Cincinnati (3:30 p.m., ESPN) with Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky and Kris Budden; and a primetime matchup of Pac-12 division leaders – No. 3 Oregon at No. 23 Utah (7:30 p.m., ABC), with Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge and Molly McGrath.
College GameDay Highlights:
- Living Proof: Caden Cox has always been more interested in making kicks than making history. But earlier this season, he did both, becoming the first player with Down Syndrome to play, and score a point, in a college football game for Nelsonville, Ohio’s Hocking College. Reporter: Gene Wojciechowski.
- Buckeyes Big 3: Kirk Herbstreit sits with Ohio State’s “Big 3” wide receivers – Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson. They talk chemistry, competitiveness, and the culture established in the Buckeyes receivers room.
- The Walk-On’s Walk-Off: Before last Saturday, Kansas walk-on fullback Jared Casey had never played an offensive snap. So when the kid from a small Kansas town of 1,800 made the game-winning catch against Texas, he cemented his legacy in Jayhawks football lore. Reporter: Jen Lada.
- Ryan Day On-Set: The Ohio State head coach will join GameDay on-set in Columbus around 9:20 a.m. to preview the Spartans-Buckeyes game.
- “Brawl of the Wild” Essay: ESPN senior writer Kevin Van Valkenburg, who played college football at the University of Montana, will highlight Saturday’s 120th meeting between Big Sky rivals Montana State and Montana.
- Sideline Pass: From the set inside Ohio Stadium during the final hour, GameDay will offer live looks at the Spartans and Buckeyes warm-ups and capture all the pregame pageantry before kickoff, including the famous ‘dotting of the i” by The Ohio State University Marching Band.
Stats from ‘The Bear’/Corso Facts:
- This is GameDay’s 20th visit to Columbus – most of any city. The Buckeyes are 14-5 at home with GameDay in town. Coach Corso is 12-7 in headgear picks in Columbus.
- GameDay is originating from the Michigan State-Ohio State game for the fifth time. The underdog has won each of the previous four, including 2015 when the Spartans won in Columbus as a 14-point underdog.
- Corso has donned the Ohio State headgear 33 times, one fewer than Alabama (34). He’s 23-10 when picking the Buckeyes. Picking against Ohio State, he’s 6-11 and has lost each of the last five times he’s picked against OSU.
- Corso is 3-0 when picking Michigan State and 5-5 when picking against the Spartans.(At the Michigan-Michigan State game in East Lansing on Oct. 30, Corso picked against the Spartans.)
- The underdog has won the last three Power Five games from which GameDay has originated.
- This is the ninth time GameDay has been to the site of a Top 8 matchup with a spread greater than 14 points. The only underdog to win outright was Tennessee over Florida in 2001. Six of the previous eight were decided by at least 19 points and four were decided by at least 25 points.
- This is GameDay’s 415th road show and headgear pick No. 378.
- Flashback: Saturday is 11 years to the day of GameDay visiting Wrigley Field in Chicago. Video.
ESPN Social and Digital
Countdown to GameDay Live is College GameDay’s pregame show, before the pregame show. Each week, hosts Christine Williamson and Harry Douglas will usher fans into the show and the Saturday college football lineup throughout the season at 8:30 a.m. Countdown to GameDay is available on Saturday across Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and the ESPN App.
Additionally, College GameDay: All Access on Snapchat debuted this season, with Williamson taking fans behind the scenes of the legendary pregame show College GameDay. From interviews with players and coaches to experiencing local traditions to the best GameDay signs, she will give fans everyone a look at why Saturdays are so special – even before the games start.
Fans call follow and engage in all the action each and every Saturday across College GameDay’s social platforms (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok).
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