The 40th season of ESPN’s “College GameDay” kicked off with a major dud in Baton Rouge.
Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban traveled to Louisiana this Saturday to cover LSU’s season opener against Clemson. While the energy was through the roof, it didn’t take long for the show’s first episode of the 2026 season to go off the rails.
Midway through the first hour of “College GameDay,” the crew had to relocate due to lightning in the area. This weather delay forced ESPN to take a break from “College GameDay,” which effectively drained the life out of the show.
Even once Herbstreit and the rest of the crew returned to TV, it didn’t feel the same since they relocated to an empty theater.
Fans upset by Week 1 weather delay.
As you’d imagine, the football world isn’t thrilled about watching a fan-less version of “College GameDay.”
“Only at LSU would there be a weather delay for College Gameday,” Sharief Ishaq of WDSU said. “The most LSU baseball thing ever.”
“I’ve never seen College GameDay have to move inside for weather until Lane Kiffin tried to get NFL players on his roster,” one fan joked.
“College Gameday is in a weather delay for Week 1? This is not how I wanted to start my Saturday,” a second fan wrote.
“Now there’s a weather delay,” another fan said. “What a disaster start for College GameDay.”
Hopefully, the weather in Baton Rouge clears up before “College GameDay” ends at noon ET.
