Let me start off by saying I’m not a big fan of Homecoming Week.
Don’t get me wrong, I love that the school as a whole gets excited to celebrate the great history this university has. I’m just a man of routine, which means I don’t like when my schedule gets interrupted by events that aren’t normally going on. So sue me.
But this year, it’s different. This year, I might just go to the Crimson Rally. I might dust off and lace up the old running shoes to participate in the Scholarship 5K (don’t bet on it). Hell, I even thought about going to the Homecoming Dance last Friday.
The reason why I, and every other student on this campus, should be excited for Homecoming Week is because the greatest, unplanned event will conclude the week on Saturday — College GameDay.
Late Saturday afternoon, word on Twitter began circling that the weekly show — which airs on ESPN at one university each week for typically the biggest game in college football that week — will be making its next stop in Salt Lake City. As fans, students and alumni proceeded to freak out over the possibility, the worldwide leader in sports (ESPN) confirmed on its Facebook and Twitter pages that College GameDay will, in fact, be heading to the Beehive State for the first time since 2010.
It’s no secret that this has been a magical season so far for the Utes, who now sit at No. 5 and 7 in the AP and Coaches polls. They’ve been the Cinderella story, gaining a ton of traction in the race for the four College Football Playoff spots — a thought that would have been deemed improbable at the start of the campaign.
But now with GameDay coming to town when Utah hosts No. 23 Cal on Saturday, it has the opportunity to make yet another statement on college football’s biggest show ever in a season that has been full of statements. Oh, and we are only entering Week 6.
The Utes have answered every call in the booth so far this season. When Michigan came to town for the biggest home opener in Utah’s history, Utah took care of business. When the Utes traveled to Eugene to take on what was supposed to be an explosive offense in the Ducks, Utah switched roles and put up 62 points.
Now comes Challenge No. 3, and if the other two were any indication, the Utes will have no problem conquering this one as well.
Prior to GameDay’s commitment, this Homecoming game already had a ton of hype. It’s a matchup between two top-25 teams, the first home game in three weeks, the new turf at Rice-Eccles Stadium looks good and ready to go and, finally, the Utes will be donning some clean, crisp throwback uniforms in honor of teams past.
But this game was taken to the next level when ESPN decided to come to “Sack Lake City.” Utah has another big opportunity during its Homecoming Week to back up its recent rise in the rankings, and the Utes will be smiling as they do it.
They are going to be on national television (again) after all.
@GriffDoug