- College football’s premier pregame show travels to Week 0’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic Featuring ACC Rivals Florida State and Georgia Tech
- Renowned Alabama head coach Nick Saban begins his first season at the GameDay desk
- Guests to include head coaches Mike Norvell and Brent Key live from Aviva Stadium, WWE star and Irish wrestling legend Sheamus joins as guest picker and more
The Week 0 trip marks College GameDay’s 456th road show all-time – and joins a long list of historic milestones with its first-ever visit abroad.
The premier college football pregame show leads into the 2024 Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium on Saturday with Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and Katie George on the call (ESPN, noon ET).
College GameDay is coming off a Sports Emmy Award-winning campaign where it finished the 2023 season averaging 2.0 million viewers, on par with 2022’s record-setting season and 8% above 2021. The show marked its most-watched October ever with 2.1 million viewers across four episodes and third-best November ever with 2.2 million viewers. Last season featured a GameDay-record six telecasts surpassing 2.2 million viewers and reaching a total 30.0 million viewers on the season.
Familiar Faces Return to GameDay
Host Rece Davis returns to the helm for his 10th season joined at the desk by GameDay analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit who is back for his 28th season, Michigan Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Desmond Howard in his 19th season, and former West Virginia kicker and punter Pat McAfee who enters his third season as a full-time analyst for the pregame show. Renowned Alabama head coach Nick Saban will make his debut appearance on the show after his addition to the desk was announced earlier this year.
College football insider Pete Thamel (third season), college football betting analyst ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin (second season) and reporters Jen Lada (ninth season) and Jess Sims (third season) are all back for the 2024 season to round out the GameDay cast. Legendary GameDay analyst Lee Corso, who has been a part of the premier pregame show since its inception in 1987, will return to the stage to don his famed headgear pick next week when the show returns stateside for its Week 1 show at Texas A&M.
Show Highlights & Guests
- Florida State head coach Mike Norvell and Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key will both join the show from their game prep at Aviva Stadium while the Yellow Jackets’ quarterback Haynes King will talk to Katie George live from the field ahead of the ACC showdown.
- Sims chats with a Florida State couple that brought their nuptials to the Emerald Isle ahead of their team’s Week 0 game, and the GameDay crew dives into local eats with traditional Irish food during the show.
Additional guests will be announced ahead of Saturday’s show on ESPN PR’s Twitter and College GameDay’s Twitter.
Features:
- DJ Breaks It Down – This offseason, Florida State lost its Heisman Trophy candidate QB Jordan Travis to the NFL and quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was looking for the best situation to put his skills on full display in his final year of eligibility. On Saturday, the two will combine forces as Florida State kicks off its season against Georgia Tech in Ireland with recently transferred Uiagalelei as the Seminoles QB1. DJ sat down with former Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel to discuss how FSU’s offense under Mike Norvell could be the best fit for him yet and breaks down his progression since leaving Clemson. EJ Manuel reports.
- Gaelic Games – In Ireland, hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origins. Jess Sims, Desmond Howard and ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin meet up with hurling coach Naoise Waldron and other hurling athletes to learn how to play one of Ireland’s oldest and most popular field games.
- Homecoming Game – On a typical fall Saturday, a home game for Georgia Tech punter David Shanahan is about 4,000 miles from his home. This week the Irish native will be kicking in front of a true home crowd, not far from where he honed his skills kicking towards cows on his uncle’s dairy farm. Jen Lada reports.
ESPN’s Expanded Digital Coverage
ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper, returns for the 2024 season ahead of Week 0’s international GameDay in Dublin with hosts Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr., back for their third season together. The season’s inaugural episode showcases Williamson visiting the famed Guinness Storehouse, while ‘Stanford Steve’ will join the show live to preview this week’s season openers. The show is available across ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App at 8:30 a.m. ET weekly.
Live From Dublin
In addition to GameDay’s visit to the Emerald Isle, The Pat McAfee Show will host a live edition of the show on Friday. Open to fans beginning at noon ET/5 p.m. IST, McAfee and his team will broadcast the afternoon show from J.R. Mahon’s. The show airs from noon – 2 p.m. ET on ESPN and The Pat McAfee YouTube channel from noon to approximately 3 p.m. ET
For onsite information, please visit College GameDay’s Hub HERE.
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