Is the College GameDay curse real? Reddit user crunches the numbers to find out
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Having ESPN’s College GameDay come to your campus generally means you’re playing in one of the top games of the week, which is a great honor for any team to have.
However, throughout the SEC, some teams struggle when they play in front of the GameDay crew, while others thrive.
But, is there such a thing as a “GameDay curse” affecting teams and making them play worse when they host the show?
One Reddit user StrikerObi crunched the numbers and found that home teams are 146-108 when hosting the popular show. Below, you can see how each SEC team has fared when playing in front of the GameDay crew (including home games, road games and neutral-site games):
- Alabama — 25-14
- Arkansas — 1-1
- Auburn — 8-9
- Florida — 24-13
- Georgia — 4-13
- Kentucky — 0-1
- LSU — 16-11
- Mississippi State — 1-1
- Mizzou — 3-3
- Ole Miss — 2-1
- South Carolina — 3-5
- Tennessee — 9-12
- Texas A&M — 1-6
- Vanderbilt — 1-0
Unsurprisingly, Alabama, Florida and LSU lead the conference in appearances on the show.
The Crimson Tide, surprisingly, are only 8-8 when the show comes to Tuscaloosa. Meanwhile, though the Georgia Bulldogs re only 4-13 during GameDay weeks, they are a much more respectable 1-2 at Sanford Stadium.
So, is the GameDay curse real? For some teams, like Georgia, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. However, there’s a lot more that goes into the above records than simply hosting the ESPN show.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
