College GameDay heads to Knoxville as No. 1 Texas visits No. 14 Tennessee
The short version
- College GameDay broadcasts from Ayres Hall and then Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, its 13th visit to Tennessee.
- The show airs 8-11 a.m. CT on ESPN, ESPNU and Disney+.
- Johnny Knoxville is the celebrity guest picker.
- No. 1 Texas plays No. 14 Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT Saturday on ESPN.
ESPN's College GameDay will originate from Ayres Hall and Neyland Stadium ahead of Saturday's Top 25 SEC matchup, with Johnny Knoxville serving as guest picker.
ESPN's College GameDay is headed to the University of Tennessee this weekend, setting up in Knoxville for the meeting between No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Tennessee. The Saturday showdown pairs a pair of programs that share the UT initials and sit inside the top 14 of the AP Top 25.
The show's broadcast location will shift during the morning. Coverage begins at Ayres Hall before moving indoors to Neyland Stadium. It marks the 13th visit by the program to Tennessee's campus.
GameDay runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. CT, ending as the day's college football slate gets underway. Fans can tune in across several ESPN outlets, including ESPN, ESPNU and Disney+.
Rece Davis hosts the program, now in its 40th season as a weekly traveling college football preview show. Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit are expected on the desk this week alongside Davis.
Over the years the show has featured a long list of well-known personalities. Lee Corso, the former Indiana coach, retired last year after more than three decades with the program. Other figures associated with the broadcast include former Alabama coach Nick Saban, former Heisman Trophy winner Howard, former Ohio State quarterback Herbstreit, former West Virginia punter McAfee and longtime host Chris Fowler.
The guest picker role this week belongs to Philip Clapp, the stunt performer widely known as Johnny Knoxville. Celebrity guests, often prominent alumni or athletes tied to the host school, join the analysts each week to make their predictions for the biggest games.
The game itself kicks off at 11 a.m. CT Saturday with television coverage on ESPN. Texas holds the top spot in the AP Top 25, while Tennessee enters ranked No. 14 nationally.
The matchup carries extra weight as SEC conference play ramps up, with some teams opening league action and others continuing it. The game also features prominent figures on both sidelines and in the lineups, including Texas quarterback Arch Manning and coach Steve Sarkisian, plus Tennessee signal-caller Faizon Brandon and coach Josh Heupel.
Beyond the football, the weekend in Knoxville is drawing high-profile attention, with the president expected to attend the game in addition to the GameDay crew.
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