Update 1:30 -- Tomahawk Nation has confirmed through an additional source that College Gameday will be in town for the Clemson game.
Original: Ever since ESPN announced that the September 20 Clemson at Florida State game would be the primetime showing on ABC, Clemson and FSU fans have been wondering if ESPN's College Gameday would be coming to town.
After talking with sources who would need advance notice for such an event, it seems that College Gameday in Tallahassee is probable. Here's what we have gathered:
-A source tells Tomahawk Nation that ESPN's "SEC Nation" show plans to be in Tuscaloosa for the showdown of Florida at Alabama. That game is considered the top Gameday competition for Clemson v. Florida State, and we are told that ESPN doesn't want to have Gameday and SEC Nation in the same location if at all possible.
-Speaking of Tuscaloosa, it seems very likely that Texas A&M and Alabama will have one or fewer combined losses on October 18. October 18 is important because that is when Notre Dame comes to Tallahassee -- the game for which many originally suspected College Gameday would come to town. Texas A&M at Alabama later in the season is a potential top-five matchup, and is a better draw than Florida at Alabama. ESPNCGD prefers to not go to to locales more than once in a season; and Tallahassee first, Tuscaloosa second seems like the way to go. ESPNCGD also has a tendency to not cover the CBS SEC game if possible (for obvious network reasons), but both Florida at Alabama and Texas A&M at Alabama project to be on CBS, and ESPNCGD will show up if the game is of huge import (see Alabama v. Auburn several times over the years).
-Further, people associated with parking have been told that they must be to work at 7 a.m. Granted, this was probably going to be the case anyhow, because FSU's early entry booster lots open at 8 a.m. for select games. But others have been contacted by ESPN about working for Gameday if the show does roll into town.
-Does this mean that Gameday is definitely coming to Tallahassee? No. The show routinely books hotels and settles its logistics and staffing in advance at multiple locales. We will continue to update this article as more information is made available.