• College Football’s premier pregame show heads to Bloomington, Ind., for the first Saturday show at IU with a homecoming show for Corso and a home game for McAfee
• Week 9 special guests: Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti joins the set, while Navy QB Blake Horvath joins in remotely, Week 9 guest selector former IU baseball player Kyle Schwarber
• Fans who arrive early will have the chance to enter to be chosen for Pat McAfee’s kicking contest and the chance to win $100,000 of Pat’s money

ESPNs College GameDay Built by The Home Depot heads to Bloomington, Ind., for a homecoming show Lee Corso prior to the undefeated Hoosiers’ Big Ten matchup with Washington. College football’s premier pregame show will take place on the South Lawn of Memorial Stadium on campus from 9 a.m. to noon ET on ESPN and ESPNU.

Host Rec Daviswho is in his 10th season at the helm, is accompanied at the desk by Game day analysts incl Lee Corso – IU’s head coach from 1973-82Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond HowardIndianapolis resident and former Colts All-Pro punter Pat McAfee And Nick Saban. College football insider Piet Thamel, college football betting analyst “Stanford Steve” Coughlin and reporters Jen Lada And Jess Sims round off Game day form.

College GameDay remains on track for best season ever, averaging 2.2 million viewers and up 10% from the 2023 season. Last weekend in Texas was the best week 8 episode ever, with an average of 2, 3 million viewers and 3.1 million viewers in the final hour with a peak of 3.8 million viewers.

Show highlights and guests

• Coaches and players Game day – Indiana head coach Short Cignetti will be live from the set prior to the Hoosiers’ Big Ten game while the Navy quarterback Blake Horvath will compete from the field at MetLife Stadium during warmups prior to the showdown with Notre Dame. Former Washington State and Center Grove cornerback, current chief of Indiana State Police Ray Jackson will wave the Ol’ Crimson flag for his son Saturday in Bloomington, Tayven Jackson gets his first start at QB for the Hoosiers.
• Coach’s film room – Saban talks about the play of Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel and how he led the Ducks to the No. 1 ranking.
• Guest selector – Former Hoosier baseball player and member of the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series championship team Kyle Schwarber joins College GameDay as Week 9’s guest selector. The current Philadelphia Phillies left fielder and first-round 2014 MLB draft pick returns to his alma mater for the undefeated Hoosiers showdown with Washington.
• Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest – Returning for its second season, Game daywill offer an exclusive competition, Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest, during the live show. Fans who arrive early will have the opportunity to be chosen from the on-site ‘pit’ with the opportunity to score a 33-yard field goal. If the participant successfully completes the kick, they will receive $100,000 from McAfee. Full details, including official rules, can be found here.

The show and offerings are free to fans and early arrival is encouraged for these exclusive offers.

For information on site, please visit College GameDay‘s Hub HERE.

Additional guests will be announced prior to Saturday’s show Twitter from ESPN PR And College GameDay‘t Twitter.

Corso’s count

• Coach Corso will make his 420th mascot headgear selection during his return to Indiana. The legendary coach was at the helm for ten seasons from 1973 to 1982. His best season with the Hoosiers was 1979, when he led IU to an 8-4 record and a victory in the Holiday Bowl. In 2010, Corso was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.
• Indiana will host Game day for the second time in program history. The first show was a special Thursday night edition as the Hoosiers opened the 2017 season against Ohio State.
• Washington makes his 10th appearance on the show and has gone 2-7 in their previous appearances. Corso has picked the Huskies four times before with a 2-2 record in those games.

Features:

• Burden is proof – Luther Burden III’s decision to stay close to home and attend the University of Missouri changed the course of the Tigers’ football program. Playing two hours outside of his hometown of St. Louis also gave the wide receiver the opportunity to be a role model for the community in which he was raised. College GameDay joined Burden at his free children’s camp at East St. Louis High School, an example of how he gives back. Piet Thamel reports.
• Google him – Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti says he is often called cocky, abrasive and arrogant. But that confidence is exactly what the 63-year-old head coach needed when he decided to leave his job as an assistant at Alabama to land a head coaching gig at Division II IUP. How did that decision 13 years ago work out for Cignetti? Google him. He wins. Jen Lada reports.
• Round table discussion Coach Corso – Long before he joined College GameDayLee Corso was the head coach at Indiana for ten years and influenced countless players and coaches during his time leading the Hoosiers. As Corso returns to Bloomington, his former players and staff share stories, memories and messages with the man who meant so much to so many. Rec Davis reports.

ESPN’s extensive digital coverage

ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepperwill be live from Indiana with hosts Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas And Harry Lyles Jr. for the week 9 stop. The show is available weekly at 8:20 a.m. via ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN app.

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Media contact:
Julie McKay, ESPN communications – (email protected), @McKay_Julie