Predicting College Gameday Locations

Week Zero - Notre Dame v.s. Navy in Dublin, Ireland

If College Gameday chooses to go to a site in Week 0, then Notre Dame v.s. Navy would be the obvious choice here. Notre Dame comes into the season with some hype for a better season than its 9-4 shoeing last year, with Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman coming in and taking over the starting quarterback for the new season. Navy brings back its starting quarterback Tai Lavatai and its leading rusher Daba Fofana, leaving them poised for improvement from their 4-8 season last year.

Week One- North Carolina v.s. South Carolina in Charlotte

A classic neutral site game always leads to an enticing area for which the college Gameday crew looks to start the season, especially with two seemingly ascending programs like South Carolina and North Carolina. The battle between the flagship schools in bordering states and the star power of two returning and ascending quarterbacks Spencer Rattler and Drake Maye, bring everything you want in a classic start to an exciting college football season.

Week Two- Texas at Alabama

A clash of two blue bloods and a high preseason ranking between the two programs, Texas and Alabama, bring an appealing matchup for huge college football fans and media alike. Steve Sarkisian is entering his third year at Texas with a second year of Quinn Ewers with high expectations to produce wins for the program, and this is especially true with the uncertainty of the Alabama team coming into this season. Coach Nick Saban has yet to name a starter to replace Heisman Trophy winner and number one overall pick Bryce Young. Bama has also brought one of the lowest percentages of returning talent, leaving Alabama one of the most intriguing coming into the season.

Week Three- Tennessee at Florida

There are two candidates for this week one huge non-conference rivalry (Pitt at West Virginia) and a matchup between two SEC rivals. In this particular part of the season, the Gameday crew would likely opt for a matchup between two undefeated teams. While Florida has a tough non-conference matchup at Utah, Tenessee's first few weeks against Virginia and Austin Peay likely gives the Volunteers a 2-0 record to start the season. With this in mind, gameday may choose Pitt at West Virginia, especially with it being a rivalry non-conference game. Still, Tennessee at Florida seems like the safest bet with Gameday visiting Florida as they have appeared on the show the second most ever.

Week Four- Florida St at Clemson

The two options here would be Ohio State at Notre Dame and Florida State at Clemson. With the season starting to get into conference play for all conferences, I lean toward Clemson at Florida State as the Gameday option. These two preseason College Football Playoff hopefuls play early this autumn in Death Valley, and their matchup might serve as a Round 1 preview of what we'll see later in the season to highlight the ACC title game. Coach Dabo Swinney's team hopes to begin another protracted winning streak at Memorial Stadium with the Seminoles as the first victim after the Tigers' most important home game last season ended in a loss to South Carolina. If the Seminoles defeat LSU in the season opener, this one will garner more attention.

Week Five- Georgia at Auburn

Pay close attention to the possibility of USC at Colorado in this spot if the Buffs come out of the gates hotter than everyone expects, and much of that same process lies here with Auburn and first-year coach Hugh Freeze. The Tigers' September slate is manageable outside of a trip to Texas A&M the previous week, but who knows how the Aggies will respond to 2022's five-win faceplant. This SEC rivalry is ripe for College GameDay if both teams are unblemished and ranked, which is a possibility.

Week Six- Oklahoma v.s. Texas in Dallas

This one, a lopsided Longhorns knockout in 2022, fell short of expectations. If Oklahoma and head coach Brent Venables want the Sooners to return to national prominence as a reputable top-25 club, they cannot afford it to occur again. Texas would be appearing on College GameDay for the second time in six weeks. See where this is going? We chose the Longhorns as one of the preseason New Year's Six teams going into coach Steve Sarkisian's third season. However, Oklahoma and the perception of the program may value this game more.

Week Seven- USC at Notre Dame

This weekend is College GameDay's chance to innovate and break records by visiting a non-Power Five institution. Every college football season, ESPN does that at least once. Indeed, by mid-November, the slate may be better. This might be the weekend to skip during the 2023 election. By the way, we don't support that at all. If Notre Dame is still competitive in the season, playing USC at South Bend in a must-win game for the Trojans in the playoff race is a no-brainer pick.

Week Eight- Penn State at Ohio State

During a pivotal weekend in the 2023 season, GameDay will have its pick of marquee contests. The list includes Penn State-Ohio State, Tennessee-Alabama, Utah-USC, and many more. With Michigan waiting for both teams in the final stretch, the Big Ten East will be decided by the victor of this game in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, the Nittany Lions will be a challenging opponent for the Buckeyes, considering the preseason hoopla surrounding Penn State following a Rose Bowl victory and an 11-win campaign.

Week Nine- Florida v.s. Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla

This week was probably the toughest to choose from because while it has some solid options, there is not one particular matchup that stands out to me. Ohio State at Wisconsin has the potential to be a good matchup, with Wisconsin having a new-look offense that could be firing at all cylinders at this point of the season. Oregon- Utah could also be a great choice, with two returning quarterbacks from both teams, Cam Rising and Bo Nix, potentially producing a high-scoring affair. However, I think the safe pick for this week would be Georgia- Florida in Jacksonville. Georgia will likely be undefeated, and Florida will likely pose a good record. The atmosphere in Jacksonville also enhances the choice of Gameday to pick this location over the others mentioned previously.

Week Ten- Notre Dame at Clemson or Washington at USC

There is a couple of option here, likely hiding how the teams have performed up to this point. One of the options is Alabama at LSU, a rivalry that seldom disappoints and most often will have an implication on the Collge Football playoff. But there is a possibility that Alabama has one of the most disappointing seasons in years with their lack of experience at key positions. For this reason, Notre Dame at Clemson would be the viable option for the Gameday crew. This, of course, hinges on the idea that Clemson and Notre Dame win most, if not all, their critical games up to this point, but this happens more likely than not at this point of the season.

Week Eleven- Michigan at Penn State

Another classic Big Ten matchup with Michigan is likely coming into this game with an undefeated record or something close to it. On the other hand, Penn State has the matchup with Ohio State, which could likely decide whether Gameday chooses this matchup over other matchups this week, like Miami at Florida State and USC at Oregon. A win against Ohio State for Penn State will extend the hype for Penn State ad give the Gameday crew an inevitable choice to make a trip to Happy Valley for Week Eleven.

Week Twelve- Georgia at Tennessee

Georgia will enter Neyland Stadium with the longest winning streak in the country in a contest that might determine the SEC East. That certainly is intriguing. Georgia supporters should be concerned about this game because it is the Bulldogs' only regular-season contest against a team that is less than a double-digit favorite. The club, led by coach Kirby Smart has a very favorable schedule. When Florida, Alabama, and Kentucky visited Knoxville last season, the city rocked, and it will rock even harder this time.

Week Thirteen- Ohio State at Michigan

There's a chance we see the Buckeyes and Wolverines march into 'The Game" as matching unbeaten for the second straight season. If that's the case, this one determines the Big Ten East title, with the loser likely heading to the playoff regardless. For Ohio State, which has yet to beat Michigan in a couple of years, that is different than the direction the Buckeyes want to go. Pick your nationally ranked rivalry game in this spot if one of these teams fails to meet expectations in 2023. We're not counting on it, however.

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