UCF to host ESPN College GameDay
UCF will host ESPN College GameDay, stepping into the national spotlight as the No. 12 Knights push to extend the nation’s longest win streak spanning 22 games during a showdown with potent Cincinnati.
The Knights’ (9-0, 6-0) matchup with Cincinnati (9-1, 5-1) is set to kick off at 8 p.m. Saturday and air nationally on ABC, a prestigious prime-time television window. The game will determine the winner of the American Athletic Conference’s East Division title.
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who has irked UCF fans with his criticism of the team’s ability to compete for a College Football Playoff semifinal bid, helped announced the decision via video posted on the College GameDay Twitter account.
“If you look at the slate of games, there’s one game that really stands out. And this fan base has been waiting for the last two years to recognize their program and bring College GameDay to Orlando. And this is the week that it happens,” Herbstreit said before touting the accomplishments of UCF and Cincinnati.
“... Looking forward to seeing everybody Saturday in Orlando.”
UCF is coming off a 35-24 win over Navy.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, earned a 35-23 win over USF. The Bearcats entered the USF game ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll.
It marks the first time College GameDay has hosted a show in Orlando. The threehour pregame show features Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Maria Taylor and Herbstreit.
The show typically features a celebrity picker to offer partisan takes on a slate of games leading up to the hometown matchup. UCF alum and comedian Daniel Tosh has been among the favorites fans have suggested so far on social media.
Corso, an FSU alum and Orlando resident who has been a mainstay of the show despite suffering a stroke in 2009, caps the final picks segment by donning headgear of the team he expects to win the main game featured in the host city. He has long spoken in favor of hometown UCF, and it’d be a surprise if he didn’t don a Knightro mask to close the show.
Others on the panel, however, have argued UCF lacks the strength of schedule to ever be considered a candidate for a College Football Playoff semifinal bid.
A few weeks ago, Herbstreit was especially irritated that UCF athletics director Danny White and fans lobbied so hard in favor of the Knights. He suggested other teams such as Appalachian State and Fresno State were more worthy of higher playoff rankings.
Every team he has touted has since lost while the Knights remain undefeated. Teams UCF has beaten, including Pitt, also are on the rise as they continue conference play.
After White made his case on social media for a change in the system and GameDay was greeted by vocal UCF fans in Jacksonville ahead of the Florida-Georgia game, the GameDay analysts’ tone has softened a bit, but they still have argued there is no way UCF could reach the playoff semifinals this year.
Now the debate will continue, with the GameDay team accepting a chance to hold a discussion on UCF’s home turf.
Traffic will be a challenge in and around downtown Orlando, with the Magic also set to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday at 7 p.m.