ESPN’s signature college football show College GameDay has been broadcasting live from campuses on Saturdays in the fall since 1993. And since its creation, there’s just a handful of Power Five schools that have never been involved in GameDay, as a host or opponent.
One of them is the Duke Blue Devils.
While we all know Duke as a powerhouse in basketball, its football team hasn’t always been consistently relevant.
But this year, in their second season with Mike Elko as head coach and Riley Leonard at quarterback, the Blue Devils are pretty dang good. Heading into this week’s matchup at UConn, Duke is 3-0 and ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25 Poll – its highest ranking since 1994.
Since Duke has never been part of GameDay as an opponent or host, that means longtime panelist Lee Corso has never had the chance to put the Blue Devil on during his weekly headgear pick. He’s lobbying for that to change.
In a video shared Saturday morning by WSJS (Winston-Salem, N.C.) host Josh Graham, Corso – who is talking with fellow GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit – says “I hope we go up (to Duke) … I’ll pick Duke. I don’t care.”
“I think, personally, even if Notre Dame loses today, we ought to go to Duke.”
“I think, personally, that — even if Notre Dame loses — we should go to Duke.”
Lee Corso is pushing for College Game Day to make its first-ever trip to Durham next week. pic.twitter.com/pB5B2yArxO
— Josh Graham (@JoshGrahamShow) September 23, 2023
Notre Dame plays Ohio State on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana. The Irish would still likely be ranked in the AP Poll even if they lose, creating a ranked versus ranked matchup at Durham, N.C.’s Wallace Wade Stadium on Sept. 30 (assuming Duke, +21.5 favorites on Saturday at UConn, beats the Huskies).
Later in the video, Herbstreit asks Corso, “Cameron Crazies – do they do football too?” And indeed, they do. Duke students rushed the field earlier this season when Duke upset Clemson in Week 1.
Hosting Notre Dame – and College GameDay – would likely create a similar atmosphere in Durham with a rowdy crowd.
Should ESPN follow Corso’s request, choosing a celebrity guest picker for Duke versus Notre Dame should be easy. Retired Blue Devils basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski should be available.
