BYU football: 'GameDay' putting spotlight on Provo

PROVO — Hey, BYU football fans, ESPN's "College GameDay" is "coming to your city."

That Big & Rich tune is the trademark intro for the two-hour broadcast that kicks off every fall Saturday morning of college football — a healthy dose of pregame programming set against a backdrop of thousands of screaming, scheming-to-get-on-the-screen fans, all wrapped in a rock-concert aura.

And Provo, it's yours this weekend.

For the first time.

So add Provo to the list of the 60-plus cities that have hosted "College GameDay," along with the Gainesvilles, Ann Arbors, Columbuses, South Bends and Knoxvilles of the nation.

Yes, Salt Lake City, too.

And the favorite site of all?

"It's where we're going next for the first time," said "GameDay" coordinating producer Lee Fitting, who's been with the program for a decade. "The kids are so fired up; it almost guarantees a great setting.

"It's electric. Every place has its own unique, crazy atmosphere — and the better the crowd, the more energy the guys on the show have and the guys on the crew have."

Those "guys on the show" are host Chris Fowler, analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit and contributor Desmond Howard — the faces of "GameDay's" 23rd season.

The nomadic college football caravan is already onsite, setting up the "ESPN Compound" in the parking lot west of BYU's LaVell Edwards Stadium.

"GameDay's" live-TV broadcast begins at 8 a.m. Saturday. Fans are encouraged to show up by 7 a.m. for live shots from Provo during "SportsCenter." Fans who can't wait for Saturday are invited to show up by 11:30 a.m. Friday to join the crew as it tapes some segments for Saturday's broadcast.

"GameDay Radio" will broadcast from the same location, from noon Saturday up to kickoff of Saturday's BYU-TCU game. The show will feature Ryen Russillo, Brad Edwards, Trevor Matich, the starting center on BYU's 1984 national championship team, and special guest LaVell Edwards, BYU's legendary Hall of Fame coach from 1972-2000.

Oh, yeah, the game. No. 16 BYU's 5:30 p.m. homecoming contest against the undefeated Horned Frogs — ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 8 in the BCS rankings — is the draw for ESPN, which scours the country for the weekend's best matchups and storylines.

The game — ironically to be broadcast by ESPN's cable-network competitor Versus — is the weekend's only pairing of ranked teams, with both Mountain West Conference foes having Bowl Championship Series aspirations.

"It's an opportunity for the university to be on the national scene, the biggest stage of college football," BYU associate athletics director Duff Tittle said.