• College football’s premier pregame show travels to Nashville, Tenn. ahead of the No. 15 Missouri-No. 10 Vanderbilt showdown
• Comedian, Nashville native and Vanderbilt super fan Nate Bargatze will serve as this week’s celebrity guest picker
• Special live performances by Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee Kenny Chesney and CMA Award Winner and Vanderbilt grad Dierks Bentley

ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will be live from Nashville, Tenn., ahead of the Week 9 top 15 SEC battle between No. 15 Missouri and No. 10 Vanderbilt. The premier college football pregame show will originate from Wyatt Lawn on Vanderbilt’s campus 9 a.m. – noon ET on ESPN, ESPNU and Disney+.

Saturday’s visit will mark just the second time the Commodores have hosted GameDay, with the last visit coming in 2008. Vanderbilt is off to its greatest start in 75 years, with coach Clark Lea leading the ‘Dores to their highest AP ranking since 1947. The Tigers will make their seventh all-time appearance on GameDay and first since the 2014 campaign.

Host Rece Davis is at the helm for his 11th season, joined at the desk 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 for the 2025 college football season.

Show Highlights & Guests

• Special Performances from Music City – Nashville musical forces Kenny Chesney and Dierks Bentley are set to perform live from Wyatt Lawn during Saturday’s show.
  • With over 204 major stadium shows and eight Entertainer of the Year Awards, Chesney brings his energy to GameDay for a special performance of his No. 1 hit “Get Along.” Having produced multiple documentaries with ESPN, Chesney celebrates his 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame induction and Nov. 4 release of HEART LIFE MUSIC with an appearance on the premiere college football pregame show.
  • Multi-CMA Award Winner, 15x Grammy nominated artist and Vanderbilt grad Bentley joins the show to perform two songs on Saturday morning. He’ll lead off with his award-winning No. 1 hit “What Was I Thinkin,” along with newly released “IYKYK” to GameDay viewers across the nation.
• Comedian, Nashville native and Commodores super fan Nate Bargatze will serve as Week 9’s guest picker – his second time at the desk (Nov. 4, 2023).
• Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea joins the cast live ahead of the showdown against the Tigers (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King will be live from the field in Atlanta ahead of the Yellow Jackets’ noon kick against the Syracuse Orange (ESPN).
• Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest – Back for its third season, the fan-favorite Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest will offer an exclusive competition during the live show. 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. McAfee has given out more than $3 million of his own money in prizes and charity donations across his time on the show. Full details, including official rules, can be found here.
• Coach’s Film Room – Nick Saban, the seven-time National Champion and legendary college football head coach, takes fans inside his film room to break down the chess match that will play out between the Marcel Reed-led Texas A&M passing attack and the LSU defense.
• Dakota Marker – Ahead of the storied Dakota Marker rivalry, College GameDay goes all-access with North Dakota State and South Dakota State during their preparations ahead of the clash between the top 2 teams in the FCS.

The show and offerings are free for fans and early arrival is suggested for these exclusive offers. For onsite information, please visit College GameDay’s Hub HERE.

Features:

• The Guardian – Michigan State’s Armorion Smith saw his life change in an instant when his mother Gala Gilliam passed away in 2024. Her death led to the defensive back taking on all the responsibilities she left behind – including caring for four of Armorion’s siblings.Over the last year, the 22-year-old has learned to balance the demands of a Division I athlete, a student, and a legal guardian – all to honor the memory of his mother. Jen Lada reports. 
• Big Man On Campus – As College GameDay makes its way to the Music City, Marty Smith spends a day in the life with one of the faces of college football, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.  A year ago, the transfer quarterback from New Mexico State put the Commodores on the map with an iconic win over top ranked Alabama. A year later, Pavia continues to impress – leading Vandy into the Top 10 of the AP poll for the first time since 1947. The once unknown prospect is now anything but, as GameDay explores just how big a presence the man under center is on campus.
• Secret History of Vandy Football – A century ago, the story of southern football was written by Vanderbilt. Literally. Grantland Rice, the greatest sportswriter to ever put fingers to keys. His alma mater? Vanderbilt. Over far too many of the 100 seasons since, the Dores have been the doormatof the SEC. But thanks to a fullback-turned-coach and a hero from the high desert of New Mexico, 2025 feels an awful lot like 1925. Ryan McGee reports. 

ESPN’s Expansive Digital Coverage
Back for their fourth season together, Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr. co-host ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper. Countdown kicks off college football Saturdays with fun, fresh insights into the full weekend slate of games. The show is available across ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App at 8:20 a.m. weekly.

A Look Back at Last Week
College GameDay’s Week 8 trip to Athens scored the fourth-most watched regular season episode ever to add to the season’s strong start with the top seven regular season shows of all time. Last week’s show had the second-best final hour+ ever, with 3.6 million viewers and averaged 2.7 million for the whole show. The Athens episode also boasted the second-highest female audience ever for a regular season show (35%).

All of ESPN. All in One Place.
ESPN offers its full suite of networks and services directly to fans within the ESPN App. Designed to give fans more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, the ESPN App provides a unique viewing experience that includes integrated game stats, multiview options, a synchronized two-screen feature, a vertical video feature called Verts and a personalized SportsCenter For You, as well as ESPN BET information, ESPN Fantasy sports, commerce, and more. These new features are available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a traditional pay TV package. Bundling options available for fans include a limited time offer for the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months. For more visit stream.espn.com.