ESPN’s College GameDay is heading back to Provo for the first time in 17 years, setting up shop on BYU’s campus the morning of Saturday, Oct. 17, before the Cougars host Notre Dame in a top-10 showdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium. It’s only the second time the traveling pregame show has ever come to BYU, and the stakes this time are a lot higher than they were the last time the cameras rolled through town.
According to Deseret News, GameDay previously visited Provo on Oct. 24, 2009, and this will mark BYU’s second time hosting the show. The broadcast is set to air from 7 to 10 a.m. MDT, as reported by KJZZ, with the game itself kicking off that evening. The specific spot on campus where the GameDay set will land hasn’t been announced yet, per Deseret News.
The matchup itself is a big deal on its own merits. BYU enters at 5-0 and ranked No. 8 in the AP poll, while Notre Dame sits at 6-0 and No. 3, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The station’s report notes it will be the first time two top-10 teams have ever met in Provo.
Two Unbeatens Collide With Playoff Stakes
Both teams are rolling into the game on blowout wins. BYU knocked off Iowa State 24-10 on Friday night, while Notre Dame throttled Stanford 58-7 on Saturday, the same account notes. BYU now holds a 28-4 record since 2024, with Notre Dame close behind at 30-4 over that stretch.
There’s more on the line than just bragging rights. The game carries real College Football Playoff implications, since both BYU and Notre Dame narrowly missed last season’s 12-team field, according to Deseret News. A win in front of a national ABC audience during the network’s premier college football window — 5:30 p.m. MDT, 7:30 p.m. on the East Coast — could go a long way toward fixing that.
BYU’s Rough History With the GameDay Crew
History isn’t exactly on BYU’s side when the GameDay bus rolls into town. The Cougars have never won a game that featured a GameDay visit, a drought that dates back to 2004, per Deseret News. In Provo back in 2009, No. 7 TCU throttled No. 16 BYU 38-7. Utah beat BYU 52-21 in a 2004 GameDay game in Salt Lake City, and Coastal Carolina edged the Cougars 22-17 in Conway, South Carolina, in 2020.
There’s a wrinkle in exactly how bad that record is, though. Deseret News lists BYU as 0-4 in GameDay appearances, while NCAA.com puts the Cougars at 0-3, grouping them with Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon State as the programs with the worst records when GameDay shows up. Either way, the Cougars will be trying to snap a skid that’s lasted more than two decades.
A Series With History on Both Sides
The BYU-Notre Dame rivalry itself has plenty of texture. Notre Dame holds a 7-2 edge in the all-time series, but BYU won the last meeting at LaVell Edwards Stadium, a 20-17 decision to open the 2004 season, according to the KJZZ report. The two programs’ most recent matchup came in 2022, when Notre Dame won 28-20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, per BYU Cougars. BYU’s two wins in the series came in South Bend in 1994 and in that 2004 Provo opener, the same account notes.
When the GameDay desk does set up in Provo, viewers can expect the show’s usual cast: host Rece Davis alongside Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee, according to Deseret News. The show’s roots go back to 1993, when its preview format premiered for a Notre Dame-Florida State matchup, per NCAA.com — fitting, given Notre Dame is once again at the center of the action nearly 33 years later. For a program chasing a signature GameDay win since 2004, Saturday offers one more shot to finally get it right.
