'College GameDay' headed to South Bend for Ohio State-Notre Dame
COLUMBUS — ESPN’s flagship pregame show, “College GameDay,” is headed to South Bend for Ohio State-Notre Dame next week.
Notre Dame will be hosting Ohio State for the third time ever and first time since 1996. It will be a top-10 matchup between the marquee programs and a rematch of last year’s season opener, before which “GameDay” was on site in Columbus and during which the Buckeyes pulled out a 21-10 win.
Wide receiver Xavier Johnson, a former preferred walk-on for the Buckeyes, scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter of last year’s meeting.
Now, Ohio State is making the trip for the other side of the home-and-home series, as the Buckeyes play the Fighting Irish back-to-back years for the first time since 1995-96.
Notre Dame is expecting a sellout crowd for the 7:30 p.m. E.T. kickoff. The Irish revealed on St. Patrick’s Day that they will be wearing their green jerseys for the highly-anticipated showdown.
Head coach Marcus Freeman’s team also pulled out the alternate jerseys last September for a 24-17 win over California. And Notre Dame is 10-6 when wearing any sort of green in its jerseys the last 40 years, according to Tyler Horka of On3’s Blue and Gold Illustrated.
But the Irish haven’t beaten Ohio State since 1936. Both of their wins in the all-time series, which the Buckeyes lead 5-2, came in the 1930s.
Ohio State has 56 appearances on “GameDay,” hosting the show 22 times. In those featured games, the Buckeyes have a 38-18 record.
Ohio State last took part in a “GameDay”-featured matchup in the 2022 iteration of The Game — the Buckeyes, of course, lost to Michigan for the second year in a row.
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Notre Dame, on the other hand, has hosted “GameDay” 10 times. Next Saturday will mark the 11th show in South Bend and the first since the Irish shocked then-No. 1 Clemson during the 2020, COVID-19-affected season.
“GameDay” spent Week 1 in Charlotte for UNC-South Carolina; Week 2 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for Texas-Alabama; and Week 3 in Boulder, Colorado, for Colorado State-Colorado.
As soon as Ohio State wrapped up a dominant, 63-10 win over Western Kentucky this weekend, the Buckeyes staff and players immediately shifted their focus to Notre Dame.
Head coach Ryan Day said preparation for the Irish was set to start Saturday night. Ohio State normally doesn’t kick off game prep until Sunday.
“We call them matchup games, when you’re playing an opponent who’s of equal skill level as you,” Buckeyes standout receiver Emeka Egbuka said.
“So in matchup games, it comes down to effort, playing hard. It comes down to executing. … We’re gonna get on the film Tuesday, we’re gonna build up a great plan. I have full trust in the coaches and what they’re doing. We’re gonna go out there and play our hardest.”
