Thursday, October 12, 2006

Bring on the Gameday Crew! Yes Lee, Even You're Welcome!


Last week, I commented on Lee Corso's recent picking of the Gators to win games during UF-related Gameday remote broadcasts and their subsequent losses. Thankfully it appears that the "Corso Curse" may have been lifted after Lee picked the Gators to beat LSU, and they did just that, 23-10.

This week, I'm going to comment on a rare occurence for the Gameday crew, and how it could mean good things for the Gators as they travel to Auburn to face the Tigers.

Since 1995, ESPN Gameday has rarely covered the same team in back-to-back weeks. Even more rare are the times that they've broadcasted at the home team's locale, and then gone on the road with them the following week. It's happened five times in the past 12 years.

1995: Gameday broadcasts from Colorado, as CU defeats Texas A&M, 29-21. The following weekend, Gameday travels with Colorado to Oklahoma, and the Buffaloes defeat the Sooners, 38-17.

1996: ESPN sends Gameday to Ohio to cover the Ohio State/Penn State match up. OSU defeats PSU, 38-7. The next weekend, Gameday broadcasts from Iowa, as OSU defeats the Hawkeyes, 38-20.

2001: The Oklahoma Sooners are blessed with Gameday's presence as they defeat Kansas State, 38-37. The following weekend, Gameday broadcasts from Dallas for the Okalahoma/Texas game. Though not a true homegame for UT, it is in Texas. The Sooners grab the victory, 14-3.

2003: Gameday travels to Ohio again, this time to cover the Ohio State/Purdue game. The Buckeyes prevail, 16-13. The next weekend, the Gameday crew travels to Michigan for the OSU/UM showdown. Ohio State loses, 21-35. As of right now, it's the only time that the road team has failed to win after being the hometeam the previous weekend in back-to-back Gameday broadcasts.

2006: Once again, Gameday makes an appearance in Ohio for the Ohio State/Penn State game. The Buckeyes win 28-6. The following weekend, Gameday broadcasts from Iowa as Ohio State comes to town to play the Hawkeyes. OSU wins 38-17.

As you can see, in four out of five instances the road team has won after being the hometeam in back-to-back ESPN Gameday broadcasts. Pretty good odds for a Florida Gators victory. One other thing to consider, the last time that Gameday covered a Florida/Auburn game was in 1997. They were in Auburn, AL, and Florida won 24-10.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Gameday" always picks some cliche site where they've already visited many times. Boring! I'm waiting for them to do a game at Baylor, or even better, Temple!