BYU is getting the College GameDay spotlight in Provo for just the second time in program history, and the scene will look a little different than it did in 2009.
The headliner this time is former Cougar star Steve Young, who will serve as the celebrity guest picker. The Pat McAfee show announced that news on Thursday, and Young now becomes the second celebrity guest picker in BYU history. The other was legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards, who famously wore Cosmo headgear in 2009 after Lee Corso picked the Horned Frogs to beat BYU.
“Steve Young is headed back to Provo as our guest picker‼️Join us live from the lawn at Heritage Halls on BYU’s campus Saturday morning 🍿”
This year’s setup moves away from the west parking lot at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Instead, College GameDay will be staged on the lawn at Heritage Halls on BYU’s campus. Fans planning to attend are being directed to park in the Marriott Center parking lot and then walk to the set.
The BYU website says students were told to begin lining up Friday at 3:00 PM, though some had already started camping out before then. The site also notes that “Campus security will ask students to leave before 3 PM on Friday.”
If you want the best possible spot - including a place in “The Pitt” - the line officially opens at 3:00 PM on Friday. The Pitt itself is scheduled to open between 3:30-4:30 AM on Saturday morning.
College GameDay will air from 7:00 AM Mountain Time to 10:00 AM Mountain time. Fans can watch on ESPN, ESPNU, The ESPN App, and Disney+. The show comes before BYU’s matchup with Notre Dame, which kicks off at 5:30 PM local time and will be televised on ABC.
BYU has hosted College GameDay four times, and the Cougars are still looking for their first win in those games. The first visit came in 2004 for BYU vs Utah, when the Utes were chasing an undefeated season.
In 2009, BYU fell to TCU, 38-7, in the program’s first time hosting the show. In 2020, GameDay was on hand for BYU-Coastal Carolina, a game the Cougars lost by one yard.
And in 2026, the show was in Lubbock for BYU vs Texas Tech, a game the Red Raiders won in what was a preview of the Big 12 title game.
Saturday night gives BYU another shot to break the pattern against Notre Dame.
In Other News...
BYU Faces A Program Defining Test In A Brutal Top 10 Showdown
Brigham Young steps into one of its biggest regular-season stages in years Saturday night, hosting Notre Dame in a clash between two unbeaten teams at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The setting alone gives it weight, but the matchup adds even more intrigue: the Irish arrive with the nations top total defense, while BYU is trying to keep rolling in front of a national audience on ABC.
The Cougars will have to navigate the game without their top running back because of injury, a challenge that makes the offensive approach even more important against a defense like Notre Dames. For BYU, this is the kind of top-10 measuring stick that can shape how the season is viewed long after Saturday night ends. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Fans Should Hate Where This Playoff Debate Is Headed
Nick Sabans latest College Football Playoff idea is the kind of proposal that gets plenty of attention because of who is saying it, not necessarily because of where the sport seems headed. He has floated a 16-team field instead of 24, and for BYU fans, the debate matters because the size of the playoff will help determine whether programs outside the traditional Power Four can realistically keep breaking through or whether the safest path stays mostly inside the same familiar lanes.
The bigger issue is that playoff expansion is no longer just about competitive balance, it is about money and leverage, and those forces usually push the conversation beyond the tidy version of the sport that coaches prefer. A 24-team format would create more openings for teams like BYU and would reshape the value of conference championship games across the country, but the push and pull around the final number says plenty about how college football is choosing to organize its future. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Faces A Tougher Notre Dame Test If Two Defenders Return
Notre Dame may look a little closer to whole when it meets BYU, and that matters for a Cougars offense that has to navigate a defense still built around speed and depth even after injuries. Head coach Marcus Freeman said cornerback Leonard Moore and defensive lineman Jason Onye have taken practice reps and are trending toward playing, which puts both players in position to be available after missing significant time.
Moore sat out the previous game with a concussion, while Onye has been sidelined since the season opener with an ankle injury. If both are back on the field, it gives Notre Dame a welcome boost on the back end and up front, and it raises the degree of difficulty for BYU in a game that already figures to demand clean execution. [Read more 🡒]