ESPN College Gameday's best all-time moments

ESPN College GameDay made its return this past Saturday in Dublin, Ireland ahead of the Georgia Tech versus Florida State matchup. Hosts Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee were full-go heading into the matchup. They engaged as usual with fans, embraced the surrounding, culture and more.

Beginning in week one, they will be joined as well by Lee Corso and the famous headgear he dawns after making his selection for the premier game of the week beginning week one when GameDay is back stateside.

GameDay first became a “road show” going to college campuses in 1993 when they went to South Bend, Indiana for the match-up between #2 Notre Dame and #1 Florida State. Since then, the show has taken off with memorable moments each week.

I went back into the College GameDay archives and identified some of the best moments on set in the 21 years the show has been visiting college campuses.

Here are the best College GameDay moments of all-time

Pat McAfee jumps into the Tennessee River

In 2022, Pat McAfee jumped in the Tennessee river when GameDay came to Knoxville. On the back of one of a “Vol Navy” ship. This was definitely the first time an analyst had jumped into any body of water on set, and McAfee’s popularity took off from here catapulting him into a full-time role on the show the following season.

“Roll Tide Roll”

Analyst Pat McAfee leads Tide fans in their famous “roll tide roll” chant ahead of the Texas-Alabama game in week two of the 2023 season. The energy from the crowd was palpable and the earth must have shaken as Tide fans unleashed their passion pre-game.

“Hotty Toddy”

The Ole Miss football program was on the rise ahead of singer Katy Perry’s appearance as the celebrity guest picker for the Rebel’s game against the Crimson Tide which only happened in Oxford every two years at the time.

GameDay was held in The Grove in Oxford, which is known as one of the most famous tailgating scenes in all of college football. With Rebel fans juiced up, Perry led them in a rendition of their famous Hotty Toddy cheer with corndog in hand.

Fargo, North Dakota

The North Dakota State Bison are a dynasty at the FCS level of college football, and College Gameday made its last appearance there nearly a decade ago. For a show that until then traditionally only visited FBS campuses each week, this was quite the scene and a great idea for ESPN to bring the culture and spirit of the NDSU faithful front and center.

Muddy in Death Valley

Nine years ago in one of many visits GameDay has made to Clemson, South Carolina, a Tigers fan belly flops into the mud,

Virginia Tech Embrace

GameDay made a classy move traveling to Blacksburg, Virginia after the Virginia Tech Massacre which killed 32 on the Campus of Virginia Tech in 2007. The Hokie spirit and respect to victims lost was moving throughout the broadcast.

While there are so many more, it is always nice to go back and revisit some of the best. Here is to more GameDay memories in 2024 and beyond.