A Saturday institution since 1987, ESPN’s “College GameDay” has become a tradition ingrained within college football, a roving CFB circus “Comin’ to your City” for three hours every game-day morning, and it’s back for the 2024 college campaign.
Not only is the flagship ESPN college football program back for the upcoming season, but the popular show will break new ground on Aug. 24. Here’s all the information on the College GameDay location and guest picker for Week 0 of the 2024 college football season.
ESPN College GameDay Location for Week 0
- Location
College Green, Dublin, Ireland - Matchup
Georgia Tech vs. Florida State - Show time
9 a.m. ET - TV Channel
ESPN/ESPNU
For the first time in the history of the ESPN flagship, the Saturday morning college football show will come from overseas. ESPN announced back in December 2023 that the College GameDay location for Week 0 would be Dublin, Ireland. The show will be set up in College Green, in the heart of the city’s bustling tourism hotspot near the famous Temple Bar area.
College GameDay will serve as the warmup act to the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, an event founded in 2016 to bring regular competitive college football to the Emerald Isle. This year sees an all-ACC encounter to open the 2024 campaign, as the Florida State Seminoles face the de facto “home” team, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
MORE: Florida State Seminoles Top 10 Returning Players in 2024
It’s an anniversary of sorts for the Yellow Jackets, who were part of the very first matchup to come under the Aer Lingus College Football Classic moniker. Georgia Tech beat the Boston College Eagles in front of 40,562 fans in 2016, continuing a tradition of the Ireland game attracting over 40,000 for the past five editions.
While it’s the first time the College GameDay location is away from American soil, it’s not the first time this Georgia Tech vs. Florida State matchup has been the main event. ESPN’s flagship show traveled to Atlanta in 1998 when the 20th-ranked Yellow Jackets lost to the sixth-ranked Seminoles — their only ACC loss in a season where they were named co-conference champions.
Florida State has made 35 previous appearances on College GameDay, compiling a 17-18 record. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has been featured as the main event on five previous occasions and has never won a game when the ESPN flagship has been in attendance. The Yellow Jackets haven’t been a part of the production since the 2019 college football season.
Could that change this season? Under Brent Key, Georgia Tech has become an improved team and recorded its most ACC wins (five) since 2018 during a return to bowl eligibility last fall. They bring back talented QB Haynes King, two CFN Freshman All-Americans on offense, while several productive defensive pieces remain from a unit that showed promise a year ago.
KEEP READING: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Top 10 Returning Players in 2024
And what of Florida State? The Seminoles are still smarting from their snub at the hands of the College Football Playoff Committee and are hell-bent on national revenge and a repeat ACC title.
Mike Norvell’s team lost talent to the NFL, but the head coach worked his magic in the transfer portal once again, bringing in former Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei back to the ACC as his starter.
What should be a phenomenal all-conference clash in Aviva Stadium will play out in front of a sold-out crowd. Dublin was originally set to be the College GameDay location for the Notre Dame vs. Navy game in 2020. While there might not be the same mass migration of Americans as for that fixture last year, there should be an electric atmosphere for the show in Dublin.
ESPN College GameDay Guest Picker for Week 0
Professional wrestler and actor Sheamus will join the ESPN College GameDay crew in Dublin, Ireland, as a guest picker. The Dublin native is a four-time WWE world champion with a storied career in the ring. He has also appeared in several films, including The Escapist and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. His appearance was confirmed on social media.
Big announcement 🚨🚨🚨!! You’re looking at one of ESPN’s College GameDay Celebrity Guest Pickers live from my hometown of Dublin! 🇮🇪🍀Tune into @espn this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET where I’ll make my picks fella! pic.twitter.com/fPUU5Y00Df
— Sheamus (@WWESheamus) August 20, 2024
List of 2024 College GameDay Guest Pickers:
- Week 0: Sheamus
- Week 1: To be confirmed
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