ESPN’s College GameDay crew certainly isn’t a stranger to cold temperatures.
With routine November trips to Columbus and Ann Arbor for The Game (which it will likely take once again next weekend), the ESPN pregame show frequently finds itself filming on location in some pretty chilly spots.
But Saturday’s trip to Bozeman, Montana, for the appropriately named “Brawl of the Wild” between Montana State and bitter rival Montana will be on an entirely different level.
In what is already being heralded as the coldest College GameDay ever, temperatures could be in the single digits when the show begins at 9 a.m. ET. The low in Bozeman on Saturday is one degree Fahrenheit, which is actually an improvement from Friday’s low of nine below zero.
A logistics spokesperson for ESPN told Matt Brown of the Extra Points newsletter that some of the equipment used to prepare the set even froze on Friday.
GameDay logistics spokesperson tells me that tomorrow will be the coldest college GameDay EVER. Some of the equipment needed to set up the set today even froze.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) November 18, 2022
Things should warm up a bit by the time the game starts, with temperatures reaching the 20s. So toasty.
Host Desmond Howard, a former Heisman winner at Michigan who is certainly accustomed to playing football games in cold weather, was asked about the frigid temperatures.
Desmond Howard on if he is prepared for the cold tomorrow during College Gameday:
“I’m from Miami” 😂😂
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 18, 2022
It’s always cool to see GameDay highlight an FCS program, especially when it’s for a storied rivalry like this one. But taking its first-ever trip to Montana on the third Saturday in November was quite a choice.
Still, the view from the set will make it all worth it. Maybe.
Sneak preview of the scene we’ll have tomorrow on @CollegeGameDay. Bozeman has delivered with epic views. What a place @MSUBobcats. pic.twitter.com/IRN2g0UHgG
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 18, 2022
