Predicting Every College GameDay Location for the 2025 Season

Predicting Every College GameDay Location for the 2025 Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

ESPN's flagship college football pregame show, "College GameDay," has been a Saturday morning fixture for decades. Love it or hate it, you're watching — and that’s why it remains the most-watched pregame show in college football. 

This year, however, things will look a bit different. Lee Corso, who will turn 90 on August 7, is set to retire after the Week 1 broadcast on August 30. A staple on GameDay since its debut in 1987, Corso has been the face of the show for nearly four decades.

And when Corso makes that final headgear pick in Week 1, he'll be doing so at the school that the show has visited more times than any: Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio State vs. Texas Longhorns matchup. As of now, that's the only location that's been confirmed for 2025.

Here’s my best guess at a week-by-week "College GameDay" schedule for 2025:

Week 1: Texas at Ohio State (CONFIRMED)
Location: Columbus

Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports has this one as a No. 1 vs. No. 3 matchup to open the season in "The Horseshoe," with the Texas Longhorns claiming the top spot in his preseason projections despite falling to the Buckeyes in last year's College Football Playoff.

Beyond the obvious Arch Manning hype and this being Ohio State's first game since winning it all in January, this one just feels too right for Corso’s sendoff. He debuted his first-ever headgear pick with Brutus back in 1996. And now, nearly three decades later, he’ll put on the Brutus head one final time, marking a record-breaking 46th appearance. According to NCAA.com, Ohio State has hosted "College GameDay" 25 times, more than any other school. This will mark No. 26.

Week 1 has some other big-timers, like Alabama-Florida State and LSU-Clemson.

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Week 2: Michigan at Oklahoma
Location: Norman

Lassan's got the Wolverines ranked No. 15 and the Sooners ranked No. 20, so at least we've got a likely top-25 matchup in Week 2 – an otherwise very boring week of college football.  Part of me wanted to show some love to my alma mater, the Charlotte 49ers, who’ll be hosting Bill Belichick and UNC in what might be the biggest home game in the program’s 13-year history.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore went 8-5 in his first year but closed it out with wins over OSU and Alabama. Let's see what he can do in 2025 with the nation's No. 1 freshman, quarterback Bryce Underwood.

Week 3: Georgia at Tennessee
Location: Knoxville

America seems to be split on this one. There are some really good games to choose from, like Alabama-Wisconsin, Notre Dame-Texas A&M, Florida-LSU and, of course, Georgia-Tennessee. I could see this Florida-LSU rivalry being a big-time meeting on Sept. 13 in Death Valley. I really wanted to choose that game here until I saw that Florida plays at Miami the following week, and that's got to be my Week 4 prediction. 

But give me the Dawgs vs. the Vols in a classic SEC rivalry game where Georgia's won 14 of the last 17 times they've met.

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Week 4: Florida at Miami
Location: Miami

Lassan has LSU head coach Brian Kelly and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier as the No. 7 team to open the season right now, and Billy Napier's Gators at No. 11, led by DJ Lagway under center. Both teams could very well have one loss on their record by the time Week 4 rolls around, with Miami having a tough Week 1 matchup against Notre Dame and Florida playing at LSU in Week 3. But... what if they don't... and both these teams are undefeated? 

Week 5: Alabama at Georgia
Location: Athens

Oregon plays at Penn State in Week 5, but come on... It's UGA vs. Bama. These two teams have produced some of the most thrilling matchups in the history of the game this century, with basically all going to the Tide, including last year's 41-34 win over Kirby Smart. There’s not a whole lot left to say at this point. Lassan has Georgia slotted at No. 4 and Alabama at No. 8 to start the season. If Bama rolls into Athens and hands Georgia another loss at home, UGA fans, myself included, will fall into full-blown meltdown mode.

Week 6: Clemson at North Carolina
Location: Chapel Hill

"College GameDay" just has to get in on a Bill Belichick game at some point this season, and that means skipping a big one down in Gainesville between Florida and Texas. If Florida's undefeated, then maybe this goes in another direction, but this UNC vs. Clemson game has plenty of intrigue. Lassan has Clemson at No. 5 in his preseason rankings.

Week 7: Michigan at USC
Location: Los Angeles

The other big one this week is the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas in Austin. But I have a feeling both Michigan and USC will be 5-0 when this rolls around. USC will have played Missouri State, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois. It should be undefeated. Michigan will have played New Mexico, Oklahoma, Central Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin. There's a solid chance the Wolverines are unbeaten as well.

USC ranks No. 29 in Lassan's preseason projections after a disappointing 7-6 record in 2024. Quarterback Jayden Maiava is going to need some help as he looks to improve on a subpar 2024.

Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama
Location: Tuscaloosa

Another no-brainer. This one's going to Tuscaloosa for the "Third Saturday in October." This rivalry lost all its juice for over a decade when the Tide won 15 consecutive. But then, in 2022, one of the greatest games in the history of college football occurred when the Vols stunned the Tide in a 52-49 win. Bama won the next year 34-20 before the Vols won again last year, 24-17. Bryant-Denny Stadium will be electric for this one.

Week 9: Colorado at Utah
Location: Salt Lake City

This week doesn't offer much. There's Alabama at South Carolina - and if the Gamecocks are any good, then Williams-Brice Stadium will prove why it's one of the most underrated atmospheres in all of college football.

So, on what could be a light weekend for the sport, why not pay Deion Sanders and the Buffs a visit when they travel to play Utah? Lassan has the Utes at No. 28 and says they should be one of college football's most improved teams. Colorado, though, might be in some trouble. We'll see what Liberty transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter is made of.

Week 10: Penn State at Ohio State
Location: Columbus

Penn State's loaded. Lassan has it at No. 2 in his preseason poll. Paul Finebaum, though, recently stated that there's "no way" James Franklin gets over the hump and gives the Big Ten its third-straight title. This will be OSU's 27th time hosting. The Buckeyes have also dominated the Nittany Lions, winning eight straight meetings.

Week 11: LSU at Alabama
Location: Tuscaloosa

Alabama won big last year, but if everyone's healthy by the time November gets here, we could be in for a fantastic game. Here's a game that will possibly have postseason implications. This would be the show's second visit to Tuscaloosa and would also be Alabama's third appearance in 2025 if my predictions hold true.

Week 12: Texas at Georgia
Location: Athens

The Dawgs needed overtime to take down the Longhorns in last year’s SEC Championship Game, 22–19. Now, Arch Manning returns to Athens—a place he visited as a recruit before ultimately turning down Kirby Smart and Georgia. Bulldog fans haven’t forgotten, and Sanford Stadium will be electric. If this isn’t a night game, we all lose.

Week 13: Duke at UNC
Location: Chapel Hill

Maybe USC vs. Oregon? Maybe Florida vs. Tennessee? That's probably enough SEC games for the regular season, and I have a feeling that USC-Oregon will be a lot less appealing when November gets here. Historically, the show has occasionally picked some rather obscure games to fill this weekend. Maybe I'm just hoping that Belichick has UNC rocking this late in the season and a visit to one of America's greatest college towns will offer enough intrigue.

Week 14: Ohio State at Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor

I don't think this is as much of a lock as some may think. There's Alabama-Auburn, Clemson-South Carolina and Texas-Texas A&M (though on Friday). If Michigan's not boasting an impressive enough record, maybe ESPN skips this game? Seems unlikely, but that South Carolina vs. Clemson matchup in Columbia is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Week 15: LSU vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game)
Location: Atlanta

No Georgia or Texas. Instead, give me LSU vs. Alabama in a historic SEC title game. This would be both awesome and horrible at the same time.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared.