For the first time this year, ESPN's "College GameDay" is making a trip outside the SEC or Big Ten for Week 7 of the 2026 college football season.
Host Rece Davis, former Alabama Crimson Tide
coach Nick Saban and fellow analysts Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit will be in Provo, Utah, for the top-10 showdown Saturday between coach Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Kalani Sitake's BYU Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium.Notre Dame (5-0) is No. 2 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. BYU (5-0) is No. 8.
It's only the second time BYU has hosted GameDay and the first since 2009. Saturday's game is billed as the biggest in the history of LaVell Edwards Stadium with the Cougars and Irish both unbeaten and having significant
College Football Playoff aspirations.
Kickoff for Notre Dame-BYU is 6:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. MT.
"College GameDay" on ESPN begins at 8 a.m. CT each week.
Social media reaction to 'College GameDay' Week 7 location differs wildly
Understandably, fans of Notre Dame and particularly BYU are thrilled by ESPN's decision. Not so much for two teams in the Big Ten.
That's because the Big Ten has its own heavyweight matchup Saturday with the Ohio State Buckeyes visiting defending national champion Indiana in a top-five matchup in Bloomington. Indiana (6-0) is No. 4 in the Coaches Poll; Ohio State (5-1) is No. 5.
The Buckeyes have already been featured twice on GameDay this season, including as recently as Week 5 when Ryan Day's team visited the Iowa Hawkeyes.
But GameDay's decision not to attend Ohio State-Indiana has rankled some fans across social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), particularly in Bloomington. Indiana has only hosted GameDay once since Curt Cignetti's first season as Hoosiers coach in 2024.
"Two of the last three national champs are meeting next week, but... instead picks the matchup for the Pop-Tarts," wrote one user.
Two of the last three national champs are meeting next week, but … instead picks the matchup for all the Pop-Tarts. https://t.co/FQpl3Os5Pu
— Andrew Smith (@crimsonace) October 10, 2026
"Honestly shocked they’re not going to Ohio State @ Indiana," one user said.
"I’m not sure how you can rationalize this," added one Hoosiers fan.
GameDay passed on Indiana vs. Ohio State, the last two national champs in a top-10 matchup. Interesting choice. https://t.co/Kkp99WN7Yo
— Mike Schumann @ The Daily Hoosier (@daily_hoosier) October 10, 2026
BYU and Notre Dame fans don't see it that way.
"No-brainer decision, really. Who cares about yet another B1G or SEC game?" said one user.
Pinch me I’m dreaming!!! 😍😍😍🔥🔥🔥
— Terrell Williams (@XRPBYU) October 10, 2026
COLLEGE GAMEDAY IN PROVO!!!! 😤💙 https://t.co/5G6v1GjtgW
Alabama football schedule 2026
ESPN reveals TV announcers for Alabama football vs. Tennessee
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) October 13, 2026
📸 Alan Poizner, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con https://t.co/cJ1MuRQjQi pic.twitter.com/RkI5u6wFrw
Alabama (5-1, 3-1 SEC) has its own top-25 clash in Week 7. The Crimson will face the Tennessee Volunteers (5-1, 2-1) at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.
Alabama is No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and No. 7 in the Coaches Poll. Tennessee is No. 14
All times Central.
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates (W, 48-10)
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats (W, 45-17)
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles (W, 50-36)
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (W, 49-18)
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs (W, 56-23)
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs (L, 20-17)
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Aggies, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, TBA
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 5-1, 3-1 SEC.
Contact us at @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: 'College GameDay' announces Week 7 location, spurning Big Ten
