You’ll never believe this, but ESPN’s College GameDay is opening the 2026 college football season with back-to-back trips to SEC country.
You certainly can’t blame the show for picking Baton Rouge on Sept. 5, considering it will be Lane Kiffin’s first game as head coach of the LSU Tigers.
As our Sam Neumann noted earlier, while broadcast details have not been confirmed, it’s difficult to envision this not being a night game with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call for ABC. ESPN’s top announcing duo called last year’s Week 1 game in Clemson after spending the morning in Columbus for Lee Corso’s final show.
This will be GameDay’s first game back in Baton Rouge since November 9, 2024, for an Alabama-LSU rivalry showdown.
It’s worth noting that the Clemson-LSU game marks GameDay’s 500th show on the road in its 40-year history (33 of which have included on-site broadcasts). ESPN said in a release that additional details about that celebration will be shared.
College GameDay announces the first 2 stops of its 40th season!
🏈 Sept. 5 – Clemson at LSU (500th show on the road!)
🏈 Sept. 12 – Ohio State at TexasMore: bit.ly/4wk0Hrf
— ESPN PR (@espnpr.bsky.social) May 12, 2026 at 2:23 PM
The following week, GameDay will cover a familiar match as it descends on Austin, Texas, ahead of the rematch between Ohio State and Texas, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. ESPN’s college football roadshow opened the 2025 season at that game last year, in which the Buckeyes throttled Arch Manning and the Longhorns. They’ll absolutely be looking for payback in this Sept. 12 showdown.
GameDay last visited Austin on October 19, 2024, for a Texas-Georgia SEC showdown.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.