Ad Disclosure
I don’t want this to come off as arrogant, but I’m getting pretty good at this. Predicting SEC host sites for College GameDay isn’t necessarily something that I can turn into a down payment on my next house, but it can at least set the stage for an upcoming season.
Last year, I ranked the 7 most likely chances for an SEC team to host College GameDay, and 6 of them were spot on. The only one I whiffed on was my No. 7 choice (Georgia-Ole Miss), though that was a hedge because it was the same weekend as Alabama-LSU, which was No. 4 on my list. The only other instances of an unlisted SEC game earning a College GameDay host were Tennessee-Georgia and LSU-South Carolina.
Not too shabby.
That means this year, the goal is to nail every single pick. Since last year saw the SEC earn 8 host sites — 8 of 14 GameDay sites being SEC campuses in Year 1 of the new ESPN-SEC deal was not a coincidence — that’s the number we’re working with today as we try and map out our 2025 predictions.
Also, let’s limit this to SEC campuses. That means Texas at Ohio State wouldn’t count for this discussion. No neutral-site games, either. This list is limited to College GameDay truly coming to an SEC city.
So, these are the SEC’s 8 best chances to host College GameDay in 2025:
8. Tennessee at Florida
The Nov. 22 competition — USC at Oregon, Arizona State at Colorado
When you look at the slate, you realize why this made the cut as opposed to a game like The Iron Bowl, which faces the annual Ohio State-Michigan dilemma. The penultimate week of the regular season is known in the SEC as “Cupcake Week,” though I’m a believer it should be called “Cake Week” (nobody feasts on cupcakes like they do with cake). Tennessee hasn’t won at Florida since the George W. Bush administration (2003), which will be discussed at length until that streak ends.
As weird as it is that “The Third Saturday in September” will be played in late November, let’s not forget that when the 2001 matchup was moved to the end of the regular season after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, it yielded a classic. Perhaps this can also yield a classic for 2 teams who believe that they should have late-season Playoff relevance.
7. Alabama at South Carolina
The Oct. 25 competition — Ole Miss at Oklahoma, Texas A&M at LSU, BYU at Iowa State
Two things here. Yes, this makes the cut because it was in the “last year’s game ruled” department. We’ve also got the 15-year anniversary of the epic Stephen Garcia 2010 game, so there’s some sentimental value in a non-annual SEC matchup. You can already see those flashback clips being narrated by Rece Davis. GameDay embraced Columbia last year when it was a surprise early-season host for a noon kickoff game vs. LSU, which proved to be one of the most polarizing games of the 2024 season.
Both Alabama and South Carolina figure to start in the top 15 after narrowly missing the Playoff as 9-3 teams. Even if both teams have multiple losses, this could turn into a Playoff eliminator game with major implications. On a Saturday that isn’t loaded with a bunch of obvious headliner matchups, South Carolina could earn its second GameDay host in as many seasons.
6. Texas at Florida
The Oct. 4 competition — Boise State at Notre Dame, Clemson at North Carolina, Miami (FL) at Florida State
Arch Manning vs. DJ Lagway? Come on. Sign me up. That could be the 2 most decorated quarterbacks in the sport in 2025. That’s going to be the obvious sell for this new SEC matchup, which was a laugher in Austin last year, albeit with 2 different starting quarterbacks. Lagway likely would need to lead Florida to a 3-1 start with at least 1 win either at LSU or at Miami, which are Florida’s 2 games that precede the Texas showdown. A 2-2 team isn’t hosting College GameDay with legitimate competition in other places (don’t sleep on a trip to UNC for Bill Belichick’s first big home matchup as a college head coach).
But this game would make a ton of sense, especially if GameDay doesn’t attend Texas-Ohio State to kick off the season with Big Noon Kickoff already locked in for that. Texas has 3 Group of 5 matchups after the Ohio State opener, and you know that GameDay will be chomping at the bit (pun intended) for a full Manning experience. There might not be a better place for that than the juicy matchup in The Swamp.
5. Florida at LSU
The Sept. 13 competition — Georgia at Tennessee, Wisconsin at Alabama, Pittsburgh at West Virginia
Week 3 is my daydream Saturday this offseason. It’s a loaded slate that can get the diehards through the dry spell of the college football calendar. That’s the only reason why this game isn’t even higher. Georgia-Tennessee lurks after trips for the matchup in 2 out of the last 3 years, though it’s worth noting that GameDay hasn’t traveled to Knoxville for that matchup in 30 years. Plus, the Dawgs are riding 8 consecutive wins in that rivalry, whereas Florida just beat LSU to end a 5-year skid in the rivalry.
Florida-LSU already got the primetime treatment by ESPN/ABC, which means we’re getting Death Valley at night. Florida should be 2-0, and even if LSU loses to Clemson in the opener, it’ll still likely be riding a bounce-back win vs. Louisiana Tech to stay in the Top 25. LSU has only had GameDay in town for a Florida game once in the post-Tim Tebow era. With perhaps Florida’s best quarterback since Tebow, don’t be surprised if Florida-LSU’s earliest game in 41 years covets a GameDay visit.
4. Michigan at Oklahoma
The Sept. 6 competition — Iowa at Iowa State
If we exclude the COVID season, GameDay has been to an elite nonconference matchup in Week 2 in each of the last 11 normal seasons. The last time that didn’t happen was in 2012, though it was Florida-Texas A&M in the Aggies’ first year in the SEC, so it felt like an elite nonconference matchup even though it wasn’t. Most recently, that Week 2 trip was for Texas-Michigan in Ann Arbor. A year later, I’d be stunned if GameDay didn’t pick another elite Michigan nonconference game in Week 2.
It’s a unique nonconference matchup that might lack preseason top-10 teams, but you’ve already got storylines galore. Sherrone Moore will return to his alma mater ahead of his 2-game suspension. It could also be the first career road start for true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood after his well-documented recruitment. With such a light surrounding slate — Week 1 and Week 3 don’t have that problem — it’s hard to envision a scenario in which GameDay opts for another matchup, especially after ABC already has it slated for a 7:30 ET kickoff in Norman.
3. Texas at Georgia
The Nov. 15 competition — South Carolina at Texas A&M, Florida at Ole Miss, Oklahoma at Alabama
Part III of this matchup would make a ton of sense after GameDay was in Austin for Part I last year. Texas and Georgia are the 2 preseason favorites to win the conference after they met in Atlanta for Part II last year. This will be Georgia’s final SEC game, so it could have monumental implications for getting to the SEC Championship for the 8th time in 9 years. And for Texas, this is the 3rd massive road showdown (at Ohio State in Week 1 and at Florida in Week 6). Will the Longhorns have any more losses to give for their Playoff hopes?
There’s also Manning, who considered Georgia but ultimately opted for Texas. Can he do what Quinn Ewers couldn’t and beat Georgia? UGA could still be riding a home winning streak that dates back to 2019. UGA hasn’t lost a home game at night since 2009, either. Of course, that could be put to the test against Alabama, who’ll come to Athens in Week 5 (more on that in a minute). UGA will be in prime position to earn its second GameDay host of the season, which it also did during the 2021 season. Given how SEC-focused the competition is, it would have to take a total collapse from 1 of these teams for GameDay to bypass this one. I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.
2. LSU at Alabama
The Nov. 8 competition — Indiana at Penn State, BYU at Texas Tech, Florida State at Clemson
I’ll be stunned if Nov. 8 rolls around and one of these teams lacks Playoff relevance. That might not be saying much, but when you consider the competition, that feels particularly noteworthy. Of course, the other obvious factor is the fact that GameDay has been to Alabama-LSU a whopping 12 times (excluding the BCS National Championship at the end of the 2011 season). Just for a little perspective, Michigan-Ohio State has only hosted GameDay 9 times in its history. There’s clearly a desire to highlight that rivalry, especially if both teams are in contention. That’s obviously been the case for the vast majority of the 21st century, and it should be the case again in 2025.
You could also argue that this rivalry is more competitive when it’s in Tuscaloosa. That’s where LSU won 6 times in the 21st century. This game could be monumental for both Brian Kelly and Kalen DeBoer, both of whom will be desperate to reach the 12-team Playoff after squandering that path last November. For the 3rd time in as many seasons, GameDay will be on hand for LSU-Alabama.
1. Alabama at Georgia
The Sept. 27 competition — Oregon at Penn State, LSU at Ole Miss, Ohio State at Washington
Before you tell me that this is foolish to put at No. 1 because of the Oregon-Penn State showdown, ask yourself this. Do you believe that ESPN will bypass its biggest SEC regular season game in favor of a Big Ten game that Big Noon Kickoff will also likely be at? Not in this era. And while Oregon-Penn State could be a matchup of top-5 teams, don’t convince yourself that GameDay will pass up an opportunity to be at Georgia’s first time hosting Alabama in a decade. Perhaps with the exception of 2022 Tennessee, this could be the biggest game in Sanford Stadium of the Kirby Smart era.
It’s also fairly likely that both of these teams are undefeated for the late-September matchup, just as they were last year when they played in one of the best games of the Playoff era. Even if Alabama stumbles in nonconference play or Georgia finally loses to Tennessee, there’s still going to be a ton on the line. Georgia hasn’t lost at home in the 2020s, and Smart is 1-6 in his career against the Tide. What gives? I don’t know. All I know is that GameDay won’t look elsewhere in Week 5.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
