ESPN College GameDay makes its 12th trip to Knoxville and will originate live from the lawn of Ayres Hall. The pit for fans opens at 6:30 a.m. ET. The show airs live from 9 a.m. to noon on ESPN, ESPNU and Disney+ and will feature “Saturday Selections” from legendary LVFL Candace Parker, who serves as the celebrity guest picker. Head coach Josh Heupel will make a live appearance on the show at approximately 9:20 a.m. Saturday.
ESPN College Football’s digital show Countdown To GameDay airs from 8:20 to 9 a.m. on the ESPN College Football YouTube page and will feature guests.
Rece Davis is at the helm of the show for his 11th season, joined at the desk by GameDay analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban. College football insider Pete Thamel, ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin and reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims round out the GameDay cast.
Back for its third season, the fan-favorite Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest will offer an exclusive contest during the live show. Fans who arrive early will have a chance to be chosen from the pit onsite with the opportunity to attempt a 33-yard field goal. McAfee has given out more than $2 million of his own money in prizes and charity donations across his time on the show. Full details, including official rules, can be found here.
Following GameDay, Herbstreit will join Chris Fowler and Holly Rowe as part of ESPN’s lead game team to call the top 15 conference clash on ABC for the 3:30 p.m. kick inside a Checker Neyland Stadium.
The weekend kicks off with a Friday afternoon of programming on campus. The Pat McAfee Show will originate from inside Neyland Stadium from noon to 2 p.m. Friday It is closed to the public but can be watched live on ESPN. The last hour of the show from 2 to 3 p.m. airs on The Pat McAfee Show YouTube channel. Heupel will make a live appearance at approximately 1:45 p.m.
ESPN College Football Live records on the set from Ayres Hall at 4 p.m. and airs at 5 p.m. Friday on ESPN2.
ESPN Radio’s College Football Campus Tour will also be on location in Knoxville, airing from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday from Calhoun’s On The River.
Neyland Stadium is sold out for a 22nd straight game with Checker Neyland presented by Pilot taking center stage. Fans are encouraged to wear orange or white, depending on their seat location. To find out if your seat section is orange or white, go to CheckerNeyland.com and enter your section/row/seat number as it appears on your digital ticket.
Saturday will serve as the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute for VFL legend John Henderson. Henderson, a two-time first-team All-American and 2000 Outland Trophy winner, will be officially inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame at the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas. He will be recognized at halftime.
