ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot Travels to Colorado for the ‘Rocky Mountain Showdown,’ Celebrates Corso’s 400th Headgear Pick

- College football’s premier pregame show heads to Colorado for its first visit since 1996
- Legendary GameDay analyst Lee Corso makes his 400th headgear pick
- CU Coach Deion Sanders joins the show, along with Offset and guest picker The Rock, plus Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and Florida State’s Mike Norvell joins for this week’s ‘Wired’ segments
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot travels to Boulder, Colo., ahead of the in-state rivalry between No. 18 Colorado and Colorado State on Saturday, Sept. 16. The three-hour pregame show will be live from the Business Field on campus from 9 a.m. – noon ET on ESPN and ESPNU.
Host Rece Davis is joined at the desk by GameDay analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee with college football insider Pete Thamel, reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims and college football betting analyst ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin.
GameDay will make its fourth all-time visit to Boulder this week and first since 1996, while Colorado State will make its first appearance on the show. The ‘Rocky Mountain Showdown’ will finish off the day of college football action with Mark Jones, Louis Riddick and Quint Kessenich on the call for the 10 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
For onsite information, please visit College GameDay’s Hub HERE.
Counting Corso’s Historic Headgear
- Legendary GameDay analyst Lee Corso will hit a historic milestone this weekend with his 400th headgear pick. Since starting the tradition on Oct. 5, 1996 – when he donned the Brutus Buckeye mascot head, the headgear pick has become a staple that fans across the country eagerly anticipate in the closing minutes of every show.
- Corso has only picked Colorado once before, back in 1997 when the Buffs were on the road against Michigan. It was just his fifth mascot headgear selection during his GameDay
Show Highlights & Guests
- Colorado head coach Deion Sanders will join the GameDay desk live on Saturday ahead of his first ‘Rocky Mountain Showdown.’ Coach Prime is no stranger to the show, having joined the crew last year during GameDay’s stop at Jackson State and at the College Football Playoff National Championship Game after he took the coaching job with the Buffs. He’ll also make appearances on both First Take (10 a.m.) and The Pat McAfee Show (noon) on Friday when both host live shows from Boulder.
- GameDay will have behind-the-scenes audio of Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel via a ‘Wired’ segment from a Volunteers team meeting on Friday night. Florida State head coach Mike Norvell will join the show live from the field during pregame warmups ahead of the Seminoles’ noon game against Boston College on ABC. Rapper Offset will swing by the desk to talk football and the “Deion effect.”
- Guest Picker – Celebrated actor, producer and founder Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson joins the GameDay set as this week’s guest picker. The former college football player will make his first appearance at the GameDay desk following a Friday visit to The Pat McAfee Show live from Boulder.
Additional guests will be announced ahead of Saturday’s show on ESPN PR’s Twitter and College GameDay’s Twitter.
Features:
- Headgear History – It’s been 27 years and 399 times that Lee Corso has donned a mascot head at the end of College GameDay, signaling the unofficial start to our football Saturdays. Before Corso makes his 400th headgear pick, CGD offers a look back at the history of the headgear and the many memorable moments along the way.
- CU Superfan – 98-year-old Peggy Coppom has been going to Colorado Buffaloes games at Folsom Field since 1940, sitting in the same seats in section 104 since 1966. She’s seen a lot – including a National Championship in 1990, but she’s never seen the level of excitement that has accompanied Coach Prime’s arrival in Boulder. Jen Lada
- Rocky Mountain High – Colorado is a state of wonders – from Telluride to the Continental Divide, Red Rocks to the Rockies and now Prime Time. The new addition in Boulder has the Buffs believing they can climb higher than they ever have before. Wright Thompson
ESPN’s Expanded Digital Coverage
ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper, returns for the 2023 season with hosts Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr.
The show is available across ESPN on YouTube, X/Twitter, Facebook and the ESPN App at 8:30 a.m. ET weekly.
Live From Boulder
In addition to GameDay’s visit to the Rocky Mountain state, ESPN’s First Take and The Pat McAfee Show will hit the road on Friday. Both shows will be live from the Business Field on CU’s campus and are open to fans.
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