With a marquee Pac-12 matchup between the Utes and Oregon Ducks set for Saturday afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium, college football’s biggest show is returning to the Wasatch Front.
The University of Utah is hosting ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday morning, the fifth time the show has visited the U.
Here’s a look at Utah’s “GameDay” experiences over the years.
No. 6 Utah 52, BYU 21
Nov. 20, 2004
(The Salt Lake Tribune) ESPN's "College GameDay" program tapes in the parking lot west of Rice-Eccles Stadium with several hundred noisy Utah fans in the background before the BYU-Utah game on Nov. 19, 2004.
Utah was on the verge of busting the BCS when “GameDay” came to Salt Lake City in November of 2004.
“It’s been the story of the year,” ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said.
“The whole country is focusing right here on Salt Lake City,” added ESPN analyst Lee Corso. “This is a really great opportunity for Utah to showcase its football program.”
Utah’s coach Urban Meyer simply said it would be “a week that not many people will forget.”
Led by quarterback Alex Smith, the Utes were 10-0 … and all they had to was beat BYU to punch a ticket to the Fiesta Bowl. Corso was correct in his prediction that day: The Utes won, handing their rivals a 52-21 drubbing. They would go on to complete their perfect season with a win over Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl.
Danny La | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Head Coch Urban Meyer gets doused as time runs out. Utah Beats BYU to go 11-0.
Herbstreit’s prediction that week, meanwhile, wasn’t quite as strong. Asked if he thought Meyer would leave Utah for a bigger program, the analyst hedged: “One day he probably will go, but I think right now the thing to remember is he is committed to Salt Lake City and to Utah.”
No. 4 TCU 47, No. 6 Utah 7
Nov. 6, 2010
Scott Sommerdorf l The Salt Lake Tribune Lee Corso gets into an energetic description of how he feels the game will go as fans of both teams watch behind the GameDay set. The ESPN College Gameday program did its broadcast at the University of Utah prior to the TCU at Utah game, Saturday, November 6, 2010.
A national showdown between two top-5 teams had plenty of pregame hype.
There were an estimated 10,000 in fans in attendance for “GameDay,” some of whom camped out for 30 hours to represent their Utes on national television. They were met with taunts from Corso.
“This place,” Corso said, facing west toward downtown Salt Lake City, “is almost as nice as Provo.”
The analyst projected that the No. 5 Utes would lose that day.
Scott Sommerdorf l The Salt Lake Tribune Longtime ESPN GameDay analyst Lee Corso arrives on the set of the program early in the morning Saturday. The ESPN College Gameday program did its broadcast at the University of Utah prior to the TCU at Utah game, Saturday, 11/6/2010.
It was a blackout game for the Utes. But by the time the clocks showed zero, it was a memory to simply block out.
The Horned Frogs senior quarterback Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes and Utah found its BCS dreams busted, while TCU improved to 10-0.
“They out-coached us. They out-played us,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
No. 5 Utah 30, No. 23 Cal 24
Oct. 10, 2015
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Hundreds of fans cheered for their teams Saturday, October 10, 2015, at The University of Utah's President's Circle, during the filming of ESPN's "College GameDay," a sports television show that previews and predicts winners of the nation's college football games and picked No. 5 Utah to beat No. 23 Cal.
Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton was sitting on the “GameDay” set wearing a Utah ball cap when Corso went looking for some headwear of his own.
In the show’s climactic moment, Corso reached under his desk, grabbed the head of the Utah mascot, Swoop, and plopped it on his own noggin.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune l-r ESPN's "College GameDay," cast Rece Davis, local celebrity John Stockton, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit laugh as Corso places the head of Swoop, Utah's mascot, on his head, predicting the Utes will win the game. Hundreds of fans cheered for their teams Saturday, October 10, 2015, at The University of Utah's President's Circle, during the filming of ESPN's "College GameDay," a sports television show that previews and predicts winners of the nation's college football games and picked No. 5 Utah to beat No. 23 Cal.
The whole “GameDay” panel picked the Utes that morning.
Then the Utes got busy picking Jared Goff.
The California quarterback would go on to become the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, but not before being intercepted five times at Rice-Eccles Stadium that night.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Hundreds of fans cheered for their teams Saturday, October 10, 2015, at The University of Utah's President's Circle, during the filming of ESPN's "College GameDay," a sports television show that previews and predicts winners of the nation's college football games and picked No. 5 Utah to beat No. 23 Cal.
No. 4 Washington 31, No. 17 Utah 24
Oct. 29, 2016
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune After doing an interview with ESPN's Samantha Ponder, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham gives a fist bump to a young Utah fan during the ESPN College Gameday broadcast at President's Circle on the University of Utah campus, Saturday, October 29, 2016.
A year later, “GameDay” was back on campus. This time, however, Corso wouldn’t get the same reception.
“I love coming to Utah. Beautiful scenery, fresh air and great people,” Corso said. “You know what else they got, this city? They have a big home underdog. I always like the underdog, you’re right. But not this week. Give me Harry Husky!”
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune ESPN college football commentator Lee Corso picks Washington to win the matchup with Utah by donning the Husky mascot's head during College Gameday at President's Circle on the University of Utah campus, Saturday, October 29, 2016.
The analyst turned out to be right thanks to Dante Pettis’ 58-yard game-winning punt return.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah fans yell their support during the ESPN College Gameday broadcast at President's Circle on the University of Utah campus, Saturday, October 29, 2016.