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Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit reveal what makes Knoxville special for College GameDay

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•09/24/22•

BarkleyTruax

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Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.

Good morning, sweetheart. Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit are in Rocky Top for Saturday’s huge SEC clash between Tennessee and Florida.

For both Corso and Herbstreit, Knoxville has a special place in their hearts. For Herbie, his first ever GameDay was at Tennessee in 1996 while Peyton Manning was still under center, and Corso loves the atmosphere Vol fans bring every time College GameDay rolls around Rocky Top.

“The people. Passion. 102,000 people, all for Tennessee,” Corso said. “16 out of 17 games Tennessee has lost to Florida. 16 out of the last 17. That’s why all the Florida fans are saying, ‘you’ve got two chances, slim and none.'”

Corso is also a fan of Tennessee mascot Smoky, a Bluetick Coonhound, who he is requesting to be on the College GameDay broadcast. That will certainly be a crowd-pleaser for those in attendance during Saturday morning’s festivities.

Tennessee and Florida kickoff live from Neyland Stadium at 3:30 p.m. ET live on CBS.

ESPN’s College GameDay announces it is SEC-bound for Florida at Tennessee

The SEC East showdown between Florida and Tennessee will have a ton of energy behind it, and now College GameDay will be joining the fracas. 

On Sunday, it was revealed on Twitter that the party is headed from Appalachian State to Knoxville, Kirk Herbstreit and the crew will be live in front of raucous Volunteers fans next Saturday morning.

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“You ready, Tennessee?!” tweeted College GameDay. “For the first time since 2016, we are headed to Knoxville to see @Vol_Football take on @GatorsFB.”

Both squads are coming off big victories, with Tennessee defeating Akron in Week 3, while Florida got a win over South Florida in a big rebound after a loss to Kentucky. The Volunteers are looking to crash the College Football Playoff, and a victory over the Gators will help their chances.