ESPN College GameDay: Will Clemson make an appearance this season?

Will Clemson host its first GameDay since 2022?

David Hood · Senior Writer · Saturday, June 21 2025

Clemson might earn an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay this season, but we know it won’t be in week one. Will there be a chance later in the season? Let’s take a look and make an early prediction on where the popular show will emanate from each week in 2025.

Clemson has played in the featured contest on ESPN’s College GameDay 30 times, including 22 times since the start of the 2015 season. Clemson is 17-5 in those contests. Clemson last appeared on GameDay in 2022 when the Tigers hosted NC State, a 30-20 Clemson victory.

That appearance marked the end of a 13-year streak of appearing in at least one game featured on-site by College GameDay. The Tigers are 19-11 all-time when playing in College GameDay’s featured contest, including a 15-4 record in College GameDay appearances since the start of the 2016 season.

College GameDay made its first appearance in Clemson prior to the Tigers’ 31-7 win against Georgia Tech in 2006. Clemson is 6-1 when hosting College GameDay on-campus.

Since the preview show premiered for Notre Dame-Florida State in 1993, it has traveled around the country to the top games each week. Along with featuring traditional powers such as Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and more, the show has also visited FCS schools and even Division III schools. The preview show features Rece Davis, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit, among others, with Corso making his pick known by donning the headgear (or other related school items) of the winning team.

However, Corso’s last appearance will be the opening weekend of the 2025 season, and there was a thought that the show would come to Clemson for the LSU game. Florida State – where Corso played college football – hosts Alabama that weekend and was in the running, but the show chose to appear live from Columbus, Ohio, for the Texas Longhorns at Ohio State Buckeyes game on August 30th.

The game itself will be broadcast on FOX, kicking off at noon. The game marks the 68th appearance on GameDay for the Buckeyes, which leads all programs (Alabama is next with 60, then Florida with 42 and Oklahoma with 41). It’s also the 27th time the Buckeyes have hosted the show, also the all-time leader, ahead of Alabama (19) and Michigan (15).

Clemson is tied for 8th all-time with 19 wins, along with Notre Dame and Oregon.

WEEK ONE

Texas at Ohio St.

WEEK TWO

Michigan at Oklahoma. Two programs that have appeared on GameDay a bunch and are two historic programs with lots of fans. A chance for Brent Venables to show off his program.

WEEK THREE

Georgia at Tennessee. This weekend features Texas A&M at Notre Dame and Billy Napier and Florida at LSU. But you know where the ESPN hype train will be that weekend.

WEEK FOUR

Florida at Miami. The wheels are turning this weekend. UCF travels to UNC to take on Bill Belichick and a Tar Heel program that has hosted GameDay just once in three appearances, and there are B1G options with Illinois at Indiana and Michigan at Nebraska, but the Florida rivalry takes center stage.

WEEK FIVE

Alabama at Georgia. There are a few great games this weekend, but ESPN has showcased this game 11 times since 2002, and last year’s was an instant classic. Oregon at Penn St. is also that weekend, but I don’t see ESPN treading into Fox territory a second time this early in the season.

WEEK SIX

Clemson at UNC. I might be going out on a limb here, because Texas travels to Florida that same weekend. But Florida has a few early games that it could easily lose, and if the Gators have two losses, the execs might want to take a peek at Chapel Hill. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and Belichick have already sat down for one ESPN interview, and it was a hit. ESPN might not want to miss this one.

WEEK SEVEN

Ohio St. at Illinois. There are a number of good games that weekend. South Carolina travels to LSU, Florida is at Texas A&M, Michigan is at Southern Cal, Arizona State is at Utah, and Oklahoma is at Texas. The Red River Rivalry has chance to be this game, and maybe should be, but Luke Altmyer is back for an Illinois program that is one of just six Power Four programs to never host GameDay.

WEEK EIGHT

SMU at Clemson. Again, a good week of SEC games at the top of the slate, and if the execs decide to go to Illinois the previous weekend, the show could go to Tennessee at Alabama, Ole Miss at Georgia, and Southern Cal at Notre Dame. But the rematch between these two schools might be hard to pass up, and the loser might be on the outside looking in at a Playoff berth.

WEEK NINE

Alabama at South Carolina. This is South Carolina’s chance to make a statement. The Gamecocks have hosted GameDay as many times as Clemson (8), but have appeared just ten overall times and have a 3-7 record. This is an opportunity to exorcise many ghosts.

WEEK TEN

Penn St. at Ohio St. This is the marquee game that weekend, and all eyes will be on Columbus to see if James Franklin can finally beat the Buckeyes.

WEEK 11

LSU at Alabama. Again, ESPN isn’t going to mess with a sure thing, and this is a sure thing. It’s always high drama and good for the ratings.

WEEK 12

Texas at Georgia. Yep. This is the one. Last year, Georgia defeated the Longhorns twice, including late in the SEC Championship Game. The Longhorns and burnt orange travel to Athens for the rematch, and a berth in the SEC Championship could be on the line.

WEEK 13

Southern Cal at Oregon. Can Lincoln Riley win at Oregon and show he’s the right guy in Los Angeles? Another game that could draw interest is Arizona State at Colorado, but who knows how Colorado will do after losing its two best players and best skill players. GameDay likes to throw in a wildcard this weekend every year and go to smaller schools, so that’s on the table, but nothing in the FCS ranks jumps out.

WEEK 14

Ohio St. at Michigan. Rivalry weekend usually draws some pretty good games, but the best game on the SEC/ACC slate might just be Clemson at South Carolina. But the Buckeyes add to their lead with another appearance, and look to avenge last year’s loss to the school up North.