For the first time since 2013, ESPN’s College GameDay is setting up at the University of Georgia campus and will air its show live on Saturday before the Georgia vs. Notre Dame game. The day before the game Home Depot and Coca-Cola presented a corn hole tournament, music and visits from ESPN reporters Maria Taylor and David Pollack.
“It’s a historic game … we’re talking about two of the most legendary programs in college football. We’re talking about the pageantry of the Fighting Irish between the hedges, and it’s never happened before,” Taylor says. “We’re talking about a top 10 matchup and the opportunity to be playing for a college football playoff. All of those things add up to one of the biggest games that will ever happen in Sanford Stadium.”
Students and Georgia fans could participate in a 64-team bracket in a corn hole tournament on Myers Quad. The winner received a backstage pass for College GameDay.
“It just gives fans a nice opportunity to see what goes on a little bit behind the scenes on Fridays before leading up to game day,” says Taylor King, account manager for Octagon, a sports market agency that represents Home Depot for College GameDay. “On Saturdays, it’s obviously super crazy here, and on Fridays it’s just a little bit easier to see what’s going on, see the crew, see the set get built.”
This game is particularly special for one student who stopped by Myers Quad on his way to class.
“I’m in ROTC here so I get to present the colors at the game tomorrow, which is gonna be really cool so I wanted to see the atmosphere and see what it’s going to be like at game day,” says Doster Harper, a sophomore at UGA.
