Which Power 5 schools have never hosted College GameDay?
Until this year, the University of Duke's campus in Durham, North Carolina, had never hosted ESPN's "College GameDay." That changed when Lee Corso and the rest of the cast of the famous TV show went there for the clash between the Duke Blue Devils and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Week 5.
The Fighting Irish defeated the Blue Devils that day in a close 21-14 clash, and Duke signal-caller Riley Leonard went down with an injury.
That leaves only six Power Five schools that have never been visited by the "College GameDay" bandwagon. Those schools are Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, Syracuse, Virginia and California. Let's take a brief look at each of the programs.
Which Power 5 schools have never hosted College GameDay?
Six Power 5 schools have never hosted College Gameday since it began in 1993. However, California, Syracuse, and Illinois have appeared as the away teams multiple times making three, two and two appearances, respectively. None of the three have a winning record as the away team.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights - Big Ten
The Scarlet Knights aren't what they used to be, but at some point, they were a somewhat powerful Big Ten school. Back in 1869, they won their first and only national title. Between 1958 and 1961, arguably their more successful period, they won three division titles. Their more recent success was a 2012 conference title.
Illinois Fighting Illini - Big Ten
This is perplexing, as the Fighting Illini were a proper national powerhouse in the 20th century. They have five national titles (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927 and 1951), admittedly none while "College GameDay" has been a thing. However, they have 15 conference titles, several after the program started airing. They last won the Big Ten title in 2001.
Maryland Terrapins - Big Ten
Lee Corso and Co. seem to hold something against the Big Ten. However, in this case, it seems justified, as the Terrapins have won only one national title in 1953, although they have 11 conference titles. They had an unclaimed national championship in 1951.
Syracuse Orange - ACC
The way things are going, it looks unlikely the show will go to upstate New York any time soon. Syracuse has had significant success in the late 90s and early 2000s, with three conference titles between 1996 and 2004. The school won another in 2012, although its highest achievement is the 1959 national title.
Virginia Cavaliers - ACC
The Virginia Cavaliers have won five conference titles, all in the last century, and one division title recently in 2019. They have never won a national championship, and an 8-13 bowl record explains why the school has never attracted national attention. It's also the only school on this list to have never won a national title.
California Golden Bears - Pac-12
California's football glories belong almost exclusively to the distant past. They've won seven national titles, but the most recent was in 1937. They also have 14 conference titles. Although "College GameDay" could've visited while Marshawn Lynch was there. He was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year once.