Alright, football fans — you have two options.
First match-up: ASU, the new boss of the Pac-12 South and a growing power in the West takes on the historic Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the desert in front of fan base that hasn’t been this amped in a decade.
Second match-up: Ohio State, a perennial Big Ten superpower playing Michigan State, another perennial Big Ten superpower in the frozen tundra of East Lansing. As a side note, we get to see this game almost every single year.
If you picked the first, congrats! You know excitement when you see it.
If you picked the second, congrats to you too! You may have a long future enjoying the stupid picks of those insufferable bores in charge of ESPN College GameDay.
That was harsh; but it is frustrating to watch ESPN fall back on a tired, yet safe narrative when there is such a compelling one outside of its comfort zone.
Yes, the Big Ten is an excellent conference, and yes, the outcome of the contest between Michigan State and Ohio State has important implications for the winner of the conference, but games like that happen every year.
In fact, ASU and Notre Dame have played each other a total of 3 times, never with stakes higher for both teams. Total number of meetings between Ohio State and Michigan State? 42.
In the oft-neglected part of the country, the Southwest, there was a chance to capitalize on something special this upcoming weekend. Coming off a victory that was more difficult than it should have been, Notre Dame is looking for redemption and riding a four-game winning streak. ASU is looking to jump into the national title picture for the first time in decades and has a coach that should be in the Coach of the Year discussion.
And yet instead of picking a matchup between two flashy, exciting and spotlight-ready teams, those in charge of College Gameday opted for the methodical, plodding behemoths of the Big Ten, which will likely grant them an above-average pregame gathering and a defensive battle.
Ohio State and Michigan State have more successful histories as college football programs, but it isn’t upper echelon mainstays that captivate audiences; the true intrigue lies in teams that are forging a name for themselves and have something to prove like ASU does.
ESPN College GameDay needs to mix it up a little bit when the occasion calls for it. When it gets an opportunity to show a off a unique game in college football, it needs to do that. After all, Tempe hasn’t hosted College GameDay since 2005.
Maybe we should blame the East Coast bias that so often irritates West Coast fans. However, ASU may be suffering further from simply not being USC or Oregon; ESPN would have pounced on a game between Notre Dame and either one of those two.
There is a great football culture in Tempe. Just because ASU fans don’t have to wrap themselves in four layers of clothing doesn’t mean they are less enthusiastic about their squad. After all, we've got Camp Fargo.
Maybe Tempe will get a chance to host College GameDay at another point this season, but the fact remains that ESPN missed a golden opportunity — Saturday will prove exactly that.
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