We’re a short 8 months from getting to wake up and watch College GameDay before a full Saturday of football.

Yeah. Eight months is a long time to wait.

But while we have 2/3 of a year to wait for the next Lee Corso big head, we don’t have to wait to predict the SEC host sites for GameDay in 2019. Now keep in mind that these predictions are done way in advance, and a lot of it is projecting who will be relevant when these matchups roll around.

To compile these rankings, I based it on a few things. Besides overall competitiveness of the game, the competition for that GameDay spot is important. If I project only a couple of other middle-of-the-pack headliner games, the likelihood obviously increases.

And let’s also remember that this is GameDay sites that would be hosted by SEC teams. That means LSU at Texas doesn’t qualify. I didn’t include neutral sites, either. Well, I did include Florida-Georgia in Jacksonville because that game is played there every year.

So here are my top 6 picks for the SEC to host GameDay in 2019:

6. Oct. 5: Auburn at Florida

The competition — Texas at West Virginia, Michigan State at Ohio State, Georgia at Tennessee.

Let’s kick off with a rather unique crossover matchup of two teams that have Atlanta dreams in 2019. Auburn and Florida will meet for the first time since 2011 in what will likely be a game of 2 ranked teams. Crazy it is that Florida hasn’t hosted GameDay since 2012.

This is the Gators’ best chance to end that drought, and given their preseason aspirations, I’d say there’s fairly decent shot at that. What could slow this down would be if Florida and Auburn both suffered a September loss. The Tigers have Oregon in the neutral site opener and they also have to travel to Texas A&M, which means a 2-loss first month would put the kibosh on that.

The good news is that the competition doesn’t look great. West Virginia is a bit of a mystery with Dana Holgorsen and Will Grier gone, though first-year coach Neal Brown combined with Oklahoma grad transfer Austin Kendall could make for a sneaky early-October matchup.

Michigan State-Ohio State only stands a chance if both teams are undefeated, and even then it might be a stretch. Georgia-Tennessee is also dependent on flawless Septembers from both teams. In other words, Tennessee would have to upset Florida in The Swamp for that to happen.

My guess, though, is that the unbeaten Gators will get a crack at hosting GameDay for the crossover matchup.

5. Oct. 12: Alabama at Texas A&M/Florida at LSU

The competition — Florida State at Clemson, Oklahoma vs. Texas (in Dallas), USC at Notre Dame.

I included both SEC games because I think their odds are about the same. Obviously if Florida hosts GameDay the week earlier, as I suggested, those chances diminish. But all 4 of these teams could be ranked in the top 15 by the time this weekend arrives.

Starting with Alabama-A&M, this could be the Crimson Tide’s toughest game of the regular season. Even if the Aggies can’t knock off Clemson, they’ll still have plenty of excitement around the midway point of the season. The whole “can a Saban disciple finally beat him” storyline will be everywhere with Jimbo Fisher expected to take a step up in Year 2.

Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

As for Florida-LSU, dare I say that both teams have potential to be in the top 6 or 7? The Gators will likely be favored in every matchup leading up to the Week 7 showdown, and LSU would obviously need to get out of Austin with a win. But even if the Tigers don’t pick up that marquee road win against Texas to earn that top-7 ranking, they’ll still have a high enough preseason ranking and a month to move past that loss.

There’s a good chance the SEC hosts GameDay this week. But man, there are some potentially huge games nationally.

Oklahoma-Texas with Jalen Hurts will have the best chance at hosting GameDay, and if Florida State actually shows signs of life early, getting to Death Valley for that one could become a priority. I’d also never rule out USC-Notre Dame, even with NBC broadcasting that one.

4. Nov. 30: Alabama at Auburn

The competition — Ohio State at Michigan.

Let’s be honest here. It’s a coin flip. Five of the past 6 years, GameDay went to the Iron Bowl or Michigan-Ohio State. The odds that at least one of those games will have major Playoff implications are high.

Obviously the last time Alabama went to Auburn, madness happened. If this game has both teams competing for a division title, my guess is that GameDay has no choice but to make the trip to The Plains. It’s so difficult to project this far out with Auburn because if 2019 follows the 2018 script or even the 2016 script, that could be all she wrote for Gus Malzahn.

Maybe Malzahn is still fighting for his job in the Iron Bowl with Auburn still possibly in the hunt for a New Year’s 6 Bowl. To do that, they’d likely have to get past Georgia. Some might be wondering why that game didn’t make the list. GameDay actually hasn’t hosted that matchup since 2004. Why? Because if there’s a chance of the Iron Bowl having major stakes, visiting Auburn 2 weeks earlier doesn’t make much sense.

Never rule out the possibility of GameDay heading to the Iron Bowl, but treat it as more of a 50-50 shot than a sure thing.

3. Nov. 9: LSU at Alabama

The competition — Iowa State at Oklahoma, Iowa at Wisconsin, Clemson at N.C. State.

I know, I know. Another Alabama game. Pick something else, right? GameDay actually did that in recent memory more times than you’d think. In fact, GameDay didn’t go to Tuscaloosa once in each of the past 2 seasons. But if LSU is sitting there in the top 10 in November, I wouldn’t be surprised if that streak ended.

Even though this matchup has been so lopsided in recent memory, this is still the Crimson Tide’s biggest home game of the season. The chance to get a potential Heisman Trophy moment from Tua Tagovailoa will be a major storyline, too. And for what it’s worth, 3 of the past 4 times this game was played in Tuscaloosa, GameDay was in the house for it. That doesn’t include last year when GameDay made the trip to Baton Rouge.

Needless to say, it didn’t work out as well as the home team hoped:

https://twitter.com/Coach_EdOrgeron/status/1058715703816151040

Yeah …

Given how weak the competition is, it wouldn’t be surprising if GameDay made it 4-of-5. Clemson at N.C. State might be the best second option, though we’ll see what the Wolfpack look like without Ryan Finley. And GameDay has been to Madison 4 times since 2010, so if Iowa-Wisconsin decides a Big Ten West champion, that’ll be on the table.

But in a year in which LSU looks plenty talented, a trip to Tuscaloosa seems like a favorable choice.

2. Nov. 2: Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville)

The competition — Utah at Washington, Oregon at USC, Miami at Florida State.

GameDay ended the World’s Largest, um, SEC East Showdown, drought in 2018, so why not head back to Jacksonville? Florida and Georgia are expected to be preseason top-10 teams with a high probability of deciding the East. Despite the lopsided second half, this rivalry felt like it took an important step in the right direction last year. Even though it’s a neutral-site game, the atmosphere is about as SEC as it gets.

This is an obvious front-runner for GameDay, even if Florida stumbles during that brutal 3-game stretch leading up to Georgia.

They have some competition, albeit not a ton. Utah-Washington could be interesting with Jacob Eason taking over Chris Petersen’s offense, and a pair of reigning division champs squaring off in Seattle. Miami-Florida State would only happen if both teams surpass some rather pedestrian preseason expectations, and Oregon-USC would involve the Trojans looking twice as good as last year’s 5-win squad.

Florida-Georgia sounds much more promising than all of that. Nobody will have to talk the GameDay crew into a November trip to Jacksonville, either.

1. Sept. 21: Notre Dame at Georgia

The competition — Michigan at Wisconsin, Tennessee at Florida.

Mark it down. Today. Etch it in stone. GameDay will make its first trip to Athens since 2013 for this massive nonconference showdown.

Want to know a crazy thought? GameDay has only been to Athens 3 times, yet Georgia has played in a total of 21 games that the pregame show was at. That’s wild.

GameDay will want to watch a pair of likely preseason top-10 teams with talented returning starting quarterbacks face off. The fact that GameDay has yet to make the trip to Athens since Kirby Smart’s rise began will provide all the more reason to be in attendance for Part II of the nonconference matchup. Both teams will likely be undefeated, too (Georgia has to beat Vanderbilt, Murray State and Arkansas State while Notre Dame just has Louisville and New Mexico).

It’s hard to imagine the 2 other possible competition games generating enough early-season buzz to warrant a selection ahead of Notre Dame-Georgia. The only thing worth mentioning is that GameDay was on hand for Michigan-Wisconsin in 2017, and both teams should both be ranked, undefeated teams come Week 4.

Still, though. GameDay going to Notre Dame-Georgia might be the safest bet you can make this offseason.