‘College GameDay’ emanated live from Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday morning. The campus of the University of Utah hosted the premier ESPN pregame show for the 13th-ranked Utes‘ anticipated matchup with the eighth-ranked Oregon Ducks. ‘GameDay’ has seen the Ducks twice this season now, but both times, they were away from Eugene. Two weeks ago, the show visited the campus of the University of Washington. The heavyweight fight between the Huskies and the Ducks was the top attraction that weekend and, thus far, has been the Game of the Year. But despite the fact that they were away from their home dwelling, Oregon got some shine on the show. Head coach Dan Lanning joined the ‘GameDay‘ desk for what appears to be a first-ever occasion.
The crew pointed out to Lanning after he joined them that he’s the first opposing coach to join the show ahead of the matchup at the home setting.
Naturally, Dan took the time to have some fun. “You hear all these guys chanting ‘Bo’ behind us?” he asked, no doubt referring to the chorus of boos following him. “It’s almost as loud as Autzen Stadium,” Lanning said, yucking it up.
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1718257702504186132
Later on in the segment, the Utah fans at the show kicked up another chant. “Dan, you suck!” they could be heard saying on the telecast. ‘GameDay’ host Pat McAfee acknowledged the chant while speaking to Lanning but put his own spin on it, of course.
“They’re saying… ‘Dan’s a Duck?'” McAfee humorously asked.
"They're saying… Dan's a Duck?" pic.twitter.com/U0UXslM8m0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 28, 2023
Overall, this was pretty good television. Lanning is a charismatic guy, as proven by the viral speech before the Colorado game. The Utah fans were fleet-footed with chants and played the role without getting too out of hand. The hosts let the situation breathe. A rare occasion where the visiting coach made it onto the desk at College GameDay proved to be one of the show’s better segments this season.
