- College football’s premier pregame show will be live from the Dr Pepper SEC FanFare for the ninth all-time visit to the SEC Championship
- Week 15 Special Guests: Head coaches Kirby Smart (Georgia) and Steve Sarkisian (Texas) join live in Atlanta while Oregon HC Dan Lanning joins remotely; actor Timothée Chalamet joins for Pat’s Kicking Contest and as the celebrity guest picker
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot travels to Atlanta for the SEC Championship showdown between No. 5 Georgia and No. 2 Texas on Saturday, Dec. 7. The premier pregame show will be live from the Dr Pepper SEC FanFare inside the Georgia World Congress Center from 9 a.m. – noon ET on ESPN & ESPNU.
The Champ Week trip to Atlanta will mark the ninth time College GameDay is originating from the SEC Championship and second straight season.
Overall, this will be Georgia’s 39th appearance on the show and Texas’s 26th. Both teams will be making their fourth appearances on GameDay this season. This week will also be the second matchup between Georgia and Texas featured on the program this season, including a Top 5 showdown in Austin, Texas, in Week 8 when the Bulldogs knocked off the top-ranked Longhorns. Saturday will also be the sixth AP Top 5 matchup featured on College GameDay this season.
Host Rece Davis is at the helm for his 10th season, joined at the desk this week by GameDay analysts 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.
Following the pregame show, Herbstreit joins Chris Fowler and Holly Rowe as part of ESPN’s top commentary team for the SEC Championship on ABC Presented by Dr Pepper game call 4 p.m. ET on ABC. There are two alternate telecasts for the Georgia/Texas rematch: on ESPN, a Field Pass presentation will feature Cole Cubelic, Harry Douglas, Ryan McGee and Marty Smith, and on SEC Network, a SkyCast viewing option will be available.
For onsite information, please visit College GameDay’s Hub HERE.
Last week’s Rivalry Week trip to Texas A&M marked College GameDay’s ninth most-watched regular season episode of all time – the third time this season the show has earned a top-10 all-time viewed show. The episode average 2.4 million viewers with 3.1 million in the final hour and a peak of 3.8 million viewers. Heading into Champ Week, this is GameDay’s best season ever, up 6% over 2023.
Show Highlights & Guests
- Coaches and Guests on GameDay – Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will both join the show live in Atlanta, while Oregon head coach Dan Lanning will be live from Indianapolis ahead of the Ducks’ first bid at a Big Ten Championship. CFP Committee Chairman Warde Manuel will join the show remotely on the eve of the final CFP Rankings Reveal. Clemson HC Dabo Swinney and SMU HC Rhett Lashlee provide the show with all-access inside team meetings ahead of the ACC Champ game (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
- SEC Preview – ESPN ace CFB reporters Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge will talk all things SEC Champ with Sims during the pregame show.
- Coach’s Film Room – Saban takes fans inside his film room to break down Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo ahead of the Sun Devils’ Big 12 Championship battle.
- Guest picker – Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-nominated actor
Timothée Chalamet will join the show in Atlanta as the Champ Week guest picker. This will be Chalamet’s first time on GameDay and will include an appearance during Pat’s Kicking Contest as well. - Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest – Returning for its second season, GameDaywill offer 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, they will be awarded $200,000 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.
Features:
- Time Well Spent – Ducks’ quarterback Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon for his final season of college football less than one year ago, so he has had to fast track building the necessary rapport with his new teammates to achieve the program’s goals. Now, with an undefeated record and sights set on a Big Ten title, Gabriel reflects on the connections he has made this year and how his home state of Hawaii helped influence those bonds. Jen Lada reports.
- Dillingham’s Dream – Despite being only 34 years old, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham has been coaching for half of his life. After a childhood spent attending Sun Devil games, he has returned to his “dream job.” By activating the Valley and turning around a team that won just three games in his first season last year, Dillingham is on the cusp of the College Football Playoff. Ryan McGee reports.
- First Time/Long Time – Thanks to conference realignment, each of the major conference championship games this weekend will feature a team that is brand new to their conference. But to win their leagues, each will have to take down the old guard in this new world of college football. Ryan McGee reports.
ESPN’s Expansive Digital Coverage
ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper, heads to Atlanta with hosts Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr. live from the SEC Championship for Champ Week. The show is available across ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App at 8:20 a.m. weekly.
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Media Contact:
Julie McKay, ESPN Communications – Julie.McKay@espn.com, @McKay_Julie
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