College GameDay Returns to Tuscaloosa for an SEC Showdown: No. 15 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Alabama

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College GameDay Returns to Tuscaloosa for an SEC Showdown: No. 15 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Alabama

ESPN College GameDay Built by The Home Depot – college football’s longest running and most celebrated pregame show – returns to Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama for the 11th time on Saturday, Sept. 19. The Emmy Award-winning show – airing Saturday from 9 a.m.-Noon on ESPN – is the precursor for No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 2 Alabama (9:15 p.m. on ESPN).

H­ost Rece Davis – in his first season at the College GameDay desk – is joined by analysts Lee CorsoKirk HerbstreitDesmond Howard and David Pollack, as well as contributors Samantha PonderTom RinaldiGeorge Whitfield and Gene Wojciechowski. In her second season as resident DJ, Cait “Babi Mac” McMahan, continues to provide entertainment for fans on site.

College Football Live will originate from the College GameDay set on Friday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 with Ponder, Howard and Pollack at the desk. Chris Fowler and Herbstreit will be on the call of the Rebels-Crimson Tide matchup, along with reporter Heather Cox.

Features for College GameDay include:

  • Tanner Mangum: After spending 22 months as a missionary in Chile, the 22-year old freshman quarterback has become an unlikely hero at BYU. Reporter: Gene Wojciechowski
  • “Sincerely” Lawrence Phillips: Through letters written to loved ones, former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips discusses his tumultuous life since leading the Cornhuskers to back-to-back titles two decades ago. Reporter: Tom Rinaldi
  • Laquon Treadwell’s Comeback: The Ole Miss receiver returns to the field after suffering a horrific broken leg last season. Reporter: Kaylee Hartung

College GameDay Fun Facts:

  • This will be headgear pick No. 261 for Lee Corso and road show No. 294.
  • This is the second straight week (Oregon-Michigan State) College GameDay will visit a game it was at last year – both at the opposite site from 2014.
  • Coach Corso is 16-7 when picking Alabama, including a victory in Week 1 (vs. Wisconsin) this season.
  • The 23 times Coach Corso has picked Alabama represents the most times he has put on a team’s headgear. Lee has picked against a Nick Saban-coached Alabama team five times, with a 1-4 record in those games.
  • This is the third time in the last 12 months College GameDay will originate from the site of an Ole Miss game — after never originating from one prior to it.
  • Coach Corso picked against the Rebels both times in the previous 12 months, including when the Rebels upset the Crimson Tide in Oxford and when LSU beat Ole Miss 10-7 in Baton Rouge.

 

Derek Volner

I currently lead ESPN’s NFL Communications, including Monday Night Football, NFL Draft and studio programming. Previously, I did the same for ESPN’s vast college football portfolio. I have been with ESPN since 2013.
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