The first Saturday in November brings a loaded college football board, and ESPN College GameDay spent the morning sorting through it all. With ranked-on-ranked matchups scattered across the day, the crew’s picks leaned heavily toward a few clear favorites - but not everywhere.
The biggest spotlight belongs to Miami and Notre Dame, who meet in South Bend in the nightcap that has everyone talking. It’s a rematch of sorts from Week 1 last year, when the Hurricanes beat the Fighting Irish, and both teams are once again part of the College Football Playoff conversation. On this week’s GameDay desk, Desmond Howard backed Miami, while the rest of the group went with Notre Dame.
There’s plenty more packed into Saturday, starting early with a rivalry game in Salt Lake City. No.
3 Utah hosts No. 9 BYU, and the panel mostly sided with the Utes to stay undefeated.
Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Jason Sudeikis and Kirk Herbstreit all picked Utah, while Pat McAfee went with BYU.
Another major SEC clash comes in Oxford, where No. 2 Georgia visits No.
10 Ole Miss. Four of the five panelists chose Georgia, with McAfee taking the Rebels.
Here’s how the rest of the crew saw the day unfolding:
Oregon vs. Ohio State
Even though the preseason hype pointed to a heavyweight showdown between two of the nation’s top teams, the rankings have shifted. Still, the Big Ten matchup drew a clean sweep from the College GameDay crew, all of whom picked Ohio State.
UCLA vs. Minnesota
UCLA arrives in Minneapolis as one of the last undefeated teams in the FBS, but the desk leaned toward an upset. The majority of the crew believes Minnesota will hand the Bruins their first loss.
Texas A&M vs. South Carolina
Desmond Howard: South Carolina
Nick Saban: South Carolina
Pat McAfee: South Carolina
Jason Sudeikis: South Carolina
Kirk Herbstreit: South Carolina
The Aggies and Gamecocks meet for the first time since Texas A&M erased a 30-point deficit last year, but this time the panel was unanimous. Every picker went with South Carolina.
Texas vs. Missouri
Texas is trying to keep its momentum going after back-to-back wins, though there are injury concerns around Steve Sarkisian’s team. Even so, the GameDay crew leaned Longhorns, with only Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit choosing Missouri.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee
Desmond Howard: Tennessee
Nick Saban: Tennessee
Pat McAfee: Kentucky
Jason Sudeikis: Tennessee
Kirk Herbstreit: Tennessee
Kentucky heads to Rocky Top coming out of the bye, but the desk mostly expects Tennessee to defend home turf. McAfee was the lone pick for the Wildcats.
Alabama vs. LSU
The rivalry game in Baton Rouge is another headline matchup on the schedule. Kirk Herbstreit is on the call for ABC and did not make a selection, while Nick Saban was the only panelist to take Alabama.
The rest of the desk’s picks made one thing clear: Saturday’s slate is loaded, and the GameDay crew sees a lot of home teams and favorites holding serve. But with this many ranked games stacked together, there’s still plenty of room for the day to get messy.
In Other News...
Kentucky Fans Just Turned Tennessees Campus Into Rivalry Fuel
The buildup to Kentucky-Tennessee always finds a way to spill beyond the field, and this week it landed on one of the most recognizable spots on the Volunteers campus. Kentucky fans painted The Rock in blue with white lettering as a prank ahead of the football matchup, turning a campus landmark into a fresh flashpoint in a rivalry that has long thrived on any edge, any slight and any chance to get under the other sides skin.
Tennessee fans moved quickly to cover it back up, and the scene briefly escalated with a confrontation at the site before the paint was removed. It was a reminder that this series still carries the kind of heat that makes even a pregame prank feel like part of the main event, with kickoff looming and both fan bases already locked into the weeks latest round of bragging rights. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDay Just Handed Kentucky Fans A Tennessee Debate
With College GameDay rolling through the Week 10 slate, the usual crew of analysts and personalities spent the morning making their picks, and Kentucky fans had reason to pay close attention. Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Kirk Herbstreit and guest Jason Sudeikis all weighed in on a busy board of matchups, turning the show into one more round of debate for fans who follow the sport as closely for the conversation as for the games themselves.
For Kentucky supporters, the most interesting part is how the discussion around Tennessee fit into the larger picture of the day. The picks came with the kind of quick reasoning and confidence that can fuel a week of back-and-forth, especially when a rival is involved and the stakes feel bigger than a single Saturday. It is still all projection, of course, but College GameDay once again gave Wildcats fans something to argue about before the results are even in. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Heads Into Knoxville With One Huge Tennessee Variable
Kentucky heads into Knoxville with plenty of momentum and a spot near the top of the rankings to protect, but this SEC matchup carries the kind of uncertainty that can change a game plan in a hurry. The Wildcats are 7-1, riding a six-game winning streak and sitting No. 6, while Tennessee comes in at 6-2 and No. 13 in a game with College Football Playoff implications on both sides.
The biggest variable, though, is still under center for the Volunteers. Josh Heupel has not named a starter, even with George MacIntyre having started recent games and dealing with turnover issues, leaving Kentucky to prepare for a Tennessee offense that could look different depending on who takes the first snap. For a Wildcats team trying to keep its surge rolling, that uncertainty is just as important as the rankings and records. [Read more 🡒]