After going to SEC locations for the first four weeks of the 2026 college football season, ESPN’s College GameDay will go to a Big Ten home in Week 5. And it’s somewhere the pregame show hasn’t been in 20 years.
ESPN announced on Sunday that College GameDay is headed to Iowa City for the first time in 20 years ahead of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Big Ten showdown against Ohio State.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS WE ARE HEADED TO IOWA CITY!
After a dramatic win last night, we couldn’t miss @HawkeyeFootball‘s showdown with Ohio State on Saturday 👏
See you there📍 pic.twitter.com/z5xCyDVOpq
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 27, 2026
No. 17 Iowa stunned No. 18 Michigan with a last-second game-winning touchdown on Saturday at the Big House and will now host a loaded Ohio State team. The Buckeyes, who entered Week 4 ranked No. 7 in the country, were led by a four-touchdown performance from superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith in a 42-19 victory over Illinois on Saturday in Columbus.
College GameDay was last in Iowa City on Sept. 30, 2006, before another Ohio State-Iowa matchup. That time, No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 13 Iowa 38-17.
GameDay opened its season by going to Baton Rouge (Clemson-LSU) in Week 1, followed by Austin in Week 2 (Ohio State-Texas), Oxford in Week 3 (LSU-Ole Miss), and Knoxville in Week 4 (Texas-Tennessee). ESPN passed on the opportunity to make it five SEC schools in a row. Starkville, MS was expected to be a possible location with Alabama set to take on Mississippi State.
While ESPN will be in Iowa City for the festivities, it will be CBS that televises the Ohio State-Iowa game at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.