ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot Heads West for Oklahoma’s First SEC Conference Clash

• College football’s premier pregame to preview the Sooners’ first SEC matchup as they host No. 6 Tennessee (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
• Special on-site guests: OU’s head coach Brent Venables, actor and former Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth join the show; American singer, songwriter and Oklahoma native Blake Shelton is the Week 4 guest picker

ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot returns to the University of Oklahoma for the show’s ninth visit to Norman, Okla., all time. The premier college football pregame program makes the Week 4 stop ahead of the Sooners’ debut SEC conference matchup with No. 6 Tennessee, which the lead team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will call on ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One (7:30 p.m. ET). College GameDay will be live from the South Oval on OU’s campus from 9 a.m. – noon ET on ESPN & ESPNU.

For onsite information, please visit College GameDay’s Hub HERE.

Host Rece Davis is at the helm for his 10th season, joined at the desk by GameDay analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban. College football insider Pete Thamel, college football betting analyst ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin and reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims round out the GameDay cast.

College GameDay is off to its best three-episode season start since 2010, and second best start ever. The Week 3 show at South Carolina brought in an average of 2.0 million viewers and peaked at 2.6 million in the final hour.

Show Highlights & Guests

• Oklahoma’s head coach Brent Venables will join GameDay live on Saturday ahead of the Sooners’ SEC debut, along with former OU linebacker and actor Brian ‘The Boz’ Bosworth joining the show.
• Oklahoma’s four-time defending national championship softball team gives GameDay a run for its money at the Sooners’ batting practice, while head coach Patty Gasso and players will join the show on Saturday to breakdown the GameDay crew’s swings.
• Coach’s Film Room – Saban takes viewers inside his film room to deep dive into the Texas Longhorns’ quarterback situation and the highly anticipated arrival of Arch Manning.
• Guest picker – American singer, songwriter and television personality Blake Shelton returns to his native Oklahoma this weekend to appear as College GameDay’s Week 4 guest picker.
• Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest – Back for its second season, GameDay is offering an exclusive contest during the live show, Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest. Fans who arrive early will have a chance to be chosen from the ‘pit’ onsite with the opportunity to attempt a 33-yard field goal. If the contestant successfully completes the kick, he/she will be awarded $55,000 from McAfee. Full details, including official rules, can be found here.

Additional guests will be announced ahead of Saturday’s show on ESPN PR’s Twitter and College GameDay’s Twitter.

Corso’s Count

• Coach Corso will be making his 417th mascot headgear selection this week at Oklahoma. So far this season his picks have gone 3-0, with road teams winning each matchup.
• This will be Oklahoma’s ninth time hosting GameDay in school history and 42nd overall appearance on the show – the third most by any school in the history of the show. Corso has picked the Sooners 18 previous times going 11-7 with his picks.
• Corso has chosen Tennessee’s headgear seven previous times with a 5-2 record when selecting the Vols. This will be Tennessee’s 25th appearance on the show and fourth under head coach Josh Heupel.

Features:

• Heupel’s Homecoming – From Oklahoma’s national-champion quarterback to its fired offensive coordinator, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is set to return to Norman for the first time since his alma mater fired him nine years ago. Before his return, Heupel sits down with Rece Davis to share his feelings on Oklahoma, how his experiences as a Sooner changed his path and what it will be like walking back into the stadium he once called home.
• Coach Payton – Thirteen-year-old Payton Gibbs was diagnosed with autism as a toddler and at nine years old, she fell in love with the game of football. In 2023, she was living her dream: helping her dad coach high school football until a decision was made that took her off the sidelines. That’s when NC State head coach Dave Doeren, whose son is also on the autism spectrum, decided to step in and stand up for Payton and others like her. Marty Smith reports.
• The Danny Stutsman Experience – The Oklahoma linebacker sits down with Jen Lada to talk about his decision to return to the Sooners, giving NIL money to walk-ons, comparisons to The Boz and offers a one-of-a-kind tour of his car. It’s the full Danny Stutsman Experience.
• A Rose by Any Other Name – Michigan versus USC instantly conjures up Rose Bowl recollections and New Year’s Day memories, but this isn’t New Year’s, it’s a new age. Ryan McGee reports.

ESPN’s Expansive Digital Coverage
ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper, hits the road for Week 4 with hosts Christine Williamson and Harry Lyles Jr. in Oklahoma. Regular co-host Harry Douglas, who rounds out the trio, won’t be onsite this week as the former Louisville standout will be celebrated with his jersey added to the Cardinals’ Ring of Honor. Jen Lada and ‘Stanford Steve’ will join the show to talk Week 4 matchups live from Norman.

The show is available across ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App at 8:20 a.m. ET weekly.

-30-