Where is ‘College GameDay’ this week? Location, schedule, guest picker for Week 1 on ESPN

It’s Week 1 of the 2023 college football season, which means it’s the first road trip of the year for the “College GameDay” crew of Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Co.

The first on-site episode of the season will see “GameDay” head to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Classic between South Carolina and No. 20 North Carolina. The Gamecocks won’t be favored to win against their Carolinian neighbors, but they have reason to believe they can score a Week 1 victory under third-year coach Shane Beamer.

That likely will be predicated on the play of second-year starting quarterback Spencer Rattler. He’s coming off a season in which he completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 3,078 yards and 18 touchdowns to 12 interceptions (adding three rushing touchdowns as well). He will only be expected to grow in his second year in Columbia, and his QB duel with projected top-five pick Drake Maye (4,321 passing yards, 38 touchdowns to seven interceptions in 2022) could be one of the best of the season opener.

Here’s everything you need to know about “College GameDay” in Week 1, including time, date and location for the season opener between South Carolina and North Carolina.

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Where is ‘College GameDay’ location in Week 1?

This will be South Carolina’s ninth all time appearance on “GameDay.” The Gamecocks have gone a combined 3-5 in previous appearances, and their last time on the show saw them lose 21-20 to Missouri in 2014.

Conversely, North Carolina will make only its third appearance on “GameDay,” losing both of its previous meetings to Florida State in 1997 (20-3) and LSU in 2010 (30-24).

This will be the first time South Carolina meets North Carolina on “College GameDay.”

REQUIRED READING: See South Carolina football’s depth chart vs. North Carolina in Week 1 of 2023 season

‘College GameDay’ schedule on ESPN

The “GameDay” crew will set up at Romare Bearden Park in Charlotte, North Carolina ahead of Saturday’s meeting between the Gamecocks and Tar Heels. For a full breakdown on visitors’ info, click here.

“GameDay” will air on ESPN, though Spectrum viewers will be unable to watch it after the cable provider dropped several Disney-owned stations such as ESPN, ESPN2, the SEC Network and more on Thursday.

The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, which appears to be unaffected by Spectrum’s dispute with Disney.

As for Week 2, the most attractive option on paper is the soon-to-be SEC battle between No. 3 Alabama and No. 12 Texas. Another potential meeting of top-25 teams is between No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 23 Tulane in New Orleans.

Week

Matchup

Location

Guest picker

Headgear

Result

1

South Carolina vs. No. 20 North Carolina

Charlotte, N.C.

Darius Rucker

TBD

TBD

S.C. PREVIEW: Can South Carolina football exceed expectations in 2023? Our game-by-game predictions

Who is the guest picker for ‘College GameDay’ in Week 1?

Darius Rucker announced on Thursday that he will be the first celebrity guest picker of the 2023 season:

Gamecock fans will also be happy to hear the South Carolina native and USC alum — along with Lainey Wilson and The Cadillac Three — will be the new voices of the “GameDay” anthem, “Coming to Your City.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Where is ‘College GameDay’ in Week 1?