ESPN's College Gameday set to air from Penn State for Top 5 showdown against Ohio State
All eyes will be on State College next weekend for Penn State’s massive showdown with Ohio State inside Beaver Stadium. In addition to FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show, which was announced Saturday evening, Happy Valley will also be the location for ESPN’s College Gameday this upcoming Saturday. Penn State confirmed in a press release that ESPN’s stage will be outside of Gate C of the Bryce Jordan Center, while Big Noon Kickoff will have its stage outside of Gate B of the BJC.
It marks the eighth consecutive year that College Gameday has aired from the site of at least one of Penn State’s games, whether it be home, away or a bowl game. However, when it comes to home games specifically, this is the first time that Penn State will host ESPN’s pregame show since Sept. 18, 2021, when the Nittany Lions beat Auburn at home, 28-20. College Gameday was in Columbus, Ohio, last year for this same matchup between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes.
This is the 38th season of ESPN’s College Gameday and the 31st season that the show has traveled across the country from the location of that week’s marquee game. Rece Davis hosts the three-hour show with a handful of the game’s top analysts, including Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. The show also now features former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, as well as media personality Pat McAfee.
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It’s no secret that Penn State has struggled against the Buckeyes under James Franklin’s tenure, but on paper, many believe this could be the Nittany Lions’ best shot at beating Ohio State in quite some time. The Buckeyes were named 3.5-point favorites earlier this week. Some sportsbooks have held firm at that number, while others have climbed to 4.5 points.
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Polls still haven’t been released following this past weekend’s slate of games, but this will likely be the first time that Penn State is ranked ahead of Ohio State since 2017. That year’s game isn’t one that Nittany Lion fans will remember fondly, as PSU blew a fourth quarter lead on the road, losing 39-38.
As for this year’s game, there’s no shortage of storylines, beginning with Ohio State quarterback Will Howard. A native of Downingtown, Pa., Howard camped and visited Penn State multiple times as a high school prospect but never received an offer from the Nittany Lions. He went on to find success at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State this past offseason.
Now, Howard will get the opportunity to play in the stadium he once dreamed of playing in.
“Stoked. Stoked. I cannot wait,” Howard said. “It’s going to be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough — but I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”
