‘ESPN College GameDay’ coming to Eugene on Saturday for show’s 13th visit

If it’s the second Saturday in October, then “ESPN College GameDay” must be coming to town.

For the second straight season, college football’s premiere pregame show is coming to Eugene on that day, this time before No. 2 Oregon hosts No. 8 Indiana Saturday, Oct. 11.

The show announced on X that it was packing up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama — after being there for Vanderbilt at Alabama — and heading for Eugene.

“Next stop: Eugene, Oregon (duck emoji),” the post reads. “See you soon for a top 10 matchup between the Hoosiers and the Ducks (popcorn emoji).”

It will be the show’s 13th visit to Eugene since its first visit Sept. 23, 2000, when the unranked Ducks upset No. 6 UCLA, 29-10.

The last visit was Oct. 12, 2024, for No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon, a game that more than lived up to the hype, with the Ducks winning a 32-31 thriller in what many say was the greatest game in Autzen Stadium history. 

The three-hour show will air on ESPN from the University of Oregon’s Memorial Quad at 6 a.m. 

Oregon (5-0) and Indiana (5-0) kick off at 12:30 p.m. at Autzen, televised by CBS.

Thirteen visits put the UO in a tie with Florida for fifth-most visits by the show, according to NCAA.com. 

Only Ohio State (26), Alabama (20), Michigan (15) and LSU (14) have been visited more times.

And the show’s crew loves Eugene.

Oregon has appeared on 33 of the show’s telecasts, including home, away and bowl games. 

Oregon’s home record with the show in town is 9-3.

“We come all over the country, and we get asked all the time, ‘Where’s your favorite place to take ‘College GameDay?’ analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on the set of the show during a previous visit to Eugene.

“And I say, every time, Eugene, Oregon.”

It was also the favorite stop for the show’s legendary analyst Lee Corso, who retired from the show Aug. 30 at age 90.

“My favorite is Oregon,” Corso said in a 2018 interview. “The Ducks. My favorite mascot is the Duck. He’s really funny. I enjoy being with the Duck when I go out there.”

Corso won’t be there to put the mascot’s headgear on, as he did virtually every time he visited Eugene.

All of this, of course, leads to the question: Who will be the celebrity guest picker Saturday?

Would 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota have time to swing out West before his Washington Commanders visit Chicago for a clash with the Bears on “Monday Night Football” Oct. 15?

Not likely. 

But maybe South Eugene High School graduate and avid Ducks fan Mat Kearney (of “Coming Home (Oregon)” fame) will be in town?

Maybe actor Sam Elliott (who attended UO part of his freshman year of 1962-63) is at his Linn County property outside of Eugene this time of year?

Maybe Big Boi, the rapper who’s half the hip-hop duo Outkast (and whose son, Cross Patton, played for the Ducks from 2019 to 2021), will fly in? 

Or maybe Sabrina Ionescu, Phil Knight, Ty Burrell, Ashton Eaton or even 18-year-old Braden Pape will get another shot?

Hard-core Ducks fans certainly remember when a 4-year-old Pape, a 2025 Sheldon High School graduate who’s now a student recruiting analyst for University of Tennessee football, sang the show’s theme song, “Comin’ to Your City,” on the set of the Oct. 15, 2011 show in Eugene, when No. 18 Arizona State was in town to play the No. 9 Ducks.

Herbstreit and his fellow hosts and analysts Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard and Nick Saban might just be wondering who will feed them on set?

Last year, it was Newman’s Fish Company, a Eugene staple since 1890, that provided a “Seafood Tailgate Extravaganza” while Beppe & Gianni’s Trattoria served a giant tiramisu.

Let the competition begin.

“Long’s Meat Market would love to feed you our pulled pork or brisket for lunch!!” someone posted on the GoDucks Facebook page Saturday. 

A look at College GameDay’s previous 12 visits to Eugene:

Oct. 12, 2024: No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon; Ducks won 32-31.

Oct. 22, 2022: No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon; Ducks won 45-30

Sept. 22, 2018: No. 7 Stanford at No. 20 Oregon; the Cardinal won 38-31 in overtime.

Sept. 6, 2014: No. 7 Michigan State at No. 3 Oregon; Ducks won 46-27.

Oct. 26, 2013: No. 12 UCLA at No. 2 Oregon; Ducks won 42-13

Nov. 17, 2012: No. 14 Stanford at No. 1 Oregon; the Cardinal won 17-14 in overtime.

Oct. 15, 2011: No. 18 Arizona State at No. 9 Oregon; Ducks won 41-27.

Oct 2, 2010: No. 9 Stanford at No. 4 Oregon; Ducks won 52-31.

Oct. 31, 2009: No. 4 USC at No. 10 Oregon; Ducks won 47-20.

Nov. 3, 2007: No. 6 Arizona State at No. 4 Oregon; Ducks won 35-23.

Sept. 26, 2007: No. 6 California at No. 11 Oregon; Golden Bears won 31-24

Sept. 23, 2000: No. 6 UCLA at Oregon; Ducks won 29-10.