Dillon CaderThe eyes of the college football world will be focused on Oxford this Saturday when ESPN’s College GameDay visits the Ole Miss campus for the second time ever.
Every Saturday, ESPN’s College GameDay travels to what school they believe is hosting the most significant game that week. Each week, millions of fans tune in, making it one of the most popular shows in sports.
The analysts on the show, Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, David Pollack and Chris Fallica, discuss the slate of games to be played that day and pick who they think will win.
GameDay’s last trip to Oxford made for one of the most memorable days in the history of Ole Miss football. Finally hosting College GameDay after years of waiting, the team upset a top-ranked Alabama team to cap off the historical day.
Fast-forward seven years and Ole Miss fans have been gifted the opportunity of seeing the beloved show on their home turf once again. This weekend will be a monumental one for Oxford, and the town is sure to be as crowded as ever.
“We are expecting around 200,000 people in town,” said Kinney Ferris from Visit Oxford.
Ferris added that all security measures and plans will be the same as a normal game.
It will also be a huge weekend for the Ole Miss football program. The show will bring a lot of exposure and attention towards the program, which is having its best season since College GameDay’s last trip to Oxford.
One segment of the show, in particular, brings a lot of attention to the hosting school.
At the end of the show, the analysts invite one guest to join them in picking the winner of all the games for that day. The guest pickers are usually famous or notable people who have a connection to the host school.
The last time Oxford hosted College GameDay, pop artist Katy Perry was selected to represent Ole Miss as the guest picker. Her time on set is remembered as one of the more entertaining moments of the show’s history.
While the guest picker for this Saturday will be announced later on in the week, fans can speculate who it will be until then.
Head Coach Lane Kiffin said in his press conference Monday that he wanted Katy Perry to return. “I’ve seen this script before, this movie, where Katy Perry shows up and Ole Miss wins. Worked before. Let’s do it again,” Kiffin said.
If Katy Perry doesn’t make her own return to Oxford this Saturday, Ole Miss has plenty of big names to choose to represent them.
Morgan Freeman frequently attends Ole Miss basketball games, Eli Manning recently became just the third player in team history to have his number retired and Charlie Day, best known for his role of Charlie Kelly in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” claims to be an Ole Miss fan, has attended games in the past, and once started the “Are you Ready” call before a game.
There are several other potential candidates who Ole Miss could pick to represent them on the show, but one has to think that these names will be at the top of that list. Regardless of who gets the gig, Saturday is set to be a memorable day in Oxford.
College GameDay will begin their set-up throughout the day on Thursday and the show will air live from the Grove on Saturday, Nov. 13 on ESPN from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. CST.
