For the first time since 1981 -- two years after the network's founding -- ESPN will not air Big Ten football games this fall. The conference sunset its relationship with the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports last August by agreeing to an NFL-style TV arrangement, supplementing its Fox deal by airing mid-afternoon games on CBS and primetime tilts on NBC.
And yet, sources confirm ESPN is not shutting down its college football division. The Big Ten's move will be a net gain for college football: it increases CBS and NBC's investment in the sport (the only other American sport to put games on each Big Four network: the NFL), and it opens up a lot of inventory for other conferences.
In his March piece projecting TV slots for Weeks 0 and 1 of the 2023 campaign, the esteemed Matt Sarznyiak slotted Cal at North Texas into the noon ET window on ESPN. Not ESPNU, not ESPN+, E-S-P-N. I reached out to UNT senior associate AD Eric Capper, who couldn't recall the Mean Green getting a Saturday home game on The Mothership since he joined the university in 2001.
Obviously a Matt Sarz projection is far from official, but the example is illustrative of how different the 2023 season will be than the 40 that came before it. How will effect the sport's preeminent pre-game show? We'll have to tune in to find out.
Week 1 (Sept. 2)
ESPN is all in on Coach Prime. Colorado -- not Alabama, not Georgia -- was the only program to get its spring game on ESPN proper. GameDay already visited Prime at Jackson State, and the Deion Sanders Spectacle has only grown since he arrived in Boulder. CU's schedule is extremely difficult and it's an open question as to what kind of roster Prime will take on the field with him, and so there's a decent chance the Buffs will be most relevant before the games actually start. When taking into account that the biggest Week 1 game, LSU vs. Florida State, isn't until Sunday, this feels like the spot for Colorado at TCU.
Week 2 (Sept. 9)
An easy choice here. GameDay went to Austin in this spot last year even though many thought No. 1 Alabama would beat unranked Texas by 40. This time around, both teams will be in the AP Top 10. The show will be in Tuscaloosa for Texas at Alabama, and expect no less than 90 minutes of "Oh by the way, Texas will be in the SEC and all SEC games will be on an ESPN network next year" content.
Week 3 (Sept. 16)
The GameDay trucks veer off the beaten path a time or two each season, and it was this time last year they did so at perhaps the earliest point in show history, heading to Boone, N.C., for Troy at App State. We're not ready to go there yet -- though James Madison at Troy does look interesting -- so we'll stick with Tennessee at Florida.
Week 4 (Sept. 23)
A zero percent chance the game airs on an ESPN property, but a 100 percent chance GameDay is there anyway: Ohio State at Notre Dame.
Week 5 (Sept. 30)
If Nebraska manages to win in Minneapolis on Aug. 31 -- no guarantee, especially considering this program opened its last three seasons with Big Ten losses -- then both teams could be undefeated (and ranked) when Michigan at Nebraska arrives on the schedule.
Week 6 (Oct. 7)
Though they won't join until next year, the Red River Rivals are already being impacted by the impending SEC move. Oklahoma was supposed to face Georgia this year, but the SEC told both schools to cancel the Bulldogs' scheduled trip to Norman for this season. As such, OU now opens with Arkansas State, SMU, Tulsa, Cincinnati and Iowa State. And so as long as Texas keeps it close with the Tide -- let alone wins -- the show will be in Dallas for Oklahoma vs. Texas.
Week 7 (Oct. 14)
This is about the point in the schedule when GameDay remembers college football is played west of Interstate 35. The show made its first trip West in Week 7 in 2021 and '22 after not going at all in 2019-20. Fortunately, we've got a great matchup of teams vying to unseat Utah and knock off preseason favorite USC... and they happen to hate each other. Oregon at Washington is the choice.
Week 8 (Oct. 21)
The traveling circus could easily stay out West in what looks to be the best Saturday of the season to this point, with a Pac-12 Championship rematch in LA Coliseum, or it could return to Tusacloosa for a rematch of the best game of 2022. But the thought here is GameDay rides with two major brands in what could serve as a referendum game for James Franklin in an "If not now, when?" season: Penn State at Ohio State. This appearance moves Nittany Lions-Buckeyes into first place with 12 all-time appearances.
Week 9 (Oct. 28)
Can you believe it's already Halloween? Time flies when you're making stuff up.
In a bit of a light week across the FBS schedule (only 48 games), we'll say GameDay makes its ACC debut with Clemson at NC State, marking the show's first visit since 2004.
Week 10 (Nov. 4)
The easy choice here would be LSU at Alabama, which enters the season tied with Ohio State-Penn State for most GameDay appearances, especially considering it's a battle of the last two SEC West champs and the easy top two choices for this season. But who got anywhere in life by making the easy choices? While Tuscaloosa hosts the Deep South Super Bowl, Brookings, S.D., hosts the Dakota Marker Game. GameDay has been to town for this game once before, a 2019 airing that happened to mark Pat McAfee's introduction to the show. This time around, North Dakota State at South Dakota State brings McAfee back as a full-time cast member, as well as the pageantry of a rivalry game pitting the last two FCS national champions.
Week 11 (Nov. 11)
It's a battle of the two biggest brands in the Pac-12, for the last time (on-campus, at least). Autzen should be at its rowdiest for USC at Oregon.
Week 12 (Nov. 18)
We haven't seen the 2-time defending national champions yet, and for good reason. Their schedule stinks. Georgia will be heavily favored to win its first 10 games, and the brilliance of it is, so long as Georgia doesn't suffer a major upset along the way, they won't even need to win Georgia at Tennessee to make the Playoff. "They're Georgia," the argument will go. "You can't keep Georgia out with just one loss, on the road, to Tennessee."
We expect Kirby Smart's team to try to win the game anyway.
Week 13 (Nov. 25)
The easiest call on the schedule. GameDay has been on the scene for both of Michigan's wins over Ohio State in the last two seasons. Buckeye Nation may not let Ryan Day cross state lines if he loses Ohio State at Michigan for a third year in a row.
Week 14 (Dec. 2)
The LSU-Alabama winner will meet the Georgia-Tennessee winner for the SEC Championship, and GameDay will be in Atlanta for it.