After Michigan State got past Notre Dame a couple weeks ago, the speculation began about College GameDay coming to Ann Arbor on Oct. 9 if both the Spartans and Wolverines are undefeated. Well, fast forward to now and Michigan and Michigan State are in fact both 5-0 and it's looking very possible that GameDay could be making its first trip to Ann Arbor since the Ohio State game in 2007.
Based on last week's polls, these are the matchups that could be between ranked teams this week (rankings are from last week):
No. 1 Alabama at No. 20 South Carolina
No. 12 LSU at No. 7 Florida
No. 18 USC at No. 9 Stanford
Florida State at No. 16 Miami (FSU was almost ranked last week and should be in the top 25 when the polls come out today)
No. 24 Michigan State at No. 19 Michigan
Starting at the top of the list, it's definitely possible that College GameDay could be headed to South Carolina for what will be one of Alabama's toughest tests of the season. Will the fact that the game is going to be on CBS lessen the chances of a trip from the GameDay crew? It's possible, but just because a game is on CBS hasn't stopped them before.
Staying in the SEC, I think you can go ahead and cross the LSU-Florida game off the list. Alabama destroyed Florida on Saturday night, meaning this is no longer a matchup involving two undefeated teams. LSU is lucky to even still be undefeated, because they barely survived an upset bid from Tennessee. I just can't see GameDay picking this game, as they would likely choose Alabama-South Carolina if they are going to select an SEC destination.
Another game that can probably be crossed off the list is USC at Stanford. Both teams lost on Saturday night, so there won't be as much hype as there would be if this was a game between undefeated teams. What's more, College GameDay was at Oregon this week for the Ducks' game against Stanford, so it would have been unlikely for them to go to a Stanford game a second straight week anyway.
The only reason I could see College GameDay going to Miami for the Seminoles-Hurricanes game is because it is one of ABC's primetime games. While there are definitely storylines with this game, they aren't exactly all that interesting. Plus, neither FSU nor Miami is undefeated, and who cares about the ACC anyway, right?
All joking aside, the Michigan-Michigan State game makes the most sense for College GameDay. To me no other games compare when it comes to the vast amount of storylines that exist for this game. After all, you have two undefeated teams, an in-state rivalry game, Denard Robinson (who may be the most hyped player in all of college football right now) and Mark Dantonio's heart attack/recovery. That is just scratching the surface, but those four storylines alone are a lot more intriguing than anything other games have to offer.
I'm biased, of course, but I would personally be shocked if GameDay isn't in Ann Arbor on Saturday. It just seems like a natural fit with all of the different storylines, and GameDay hasn't been to a Michigan game since 2007, so they're due for a visit. Plus, I'm sure Desmond Howard wants to come to Ann Arbor for the game, so I'd be surprised if he wasn't doing everything in his power to have GameDay in Ann Arbor on Saturday.