CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati football program has been in the spotlight all season long. But this weekend that light will shine a little brighter when ESPN's College GameDay takes over the Clifton campus.

What You Need To Know

  • ESPN College GameDay will broadcast live from the University of Cincinnati's campus on Saturday

  • Fans are invited to take part in the filming from 9 a.m. to noon

  • The No. 6 Bearcats (8-0) are taking on Tulsa in their homecoming game

  • UC needs a big showing Saturday and the rest of the season to make the College Football Playoff

The college football pregame show will air live from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday from The Commons, which is a few hundred yards from Nipperr Stadium.

The No. 6 Bearcats are set to take on American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa at 3:30 p.m. It also happens to be UC's homecoming.

The ESPN show is typically broadcast from the campus of a team hosting a major game that week. The program features news and analysis of the day's upcoming slate of college matchups.

GameDay's host is Rece Davis. He's joined by analysts Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback who grew up in Centerville, less than an hour from Cincinnati.

Herbstreit often speaks of Cincinnati and its sports history on-air during GameDay or while providing color commentary during game coverage. He lived full-time in the Cincinnati area for years. His youngest son, Chase, plays quarterback for St. Xavier High School.

GameDay also features a celebrity picker who helps predict the outcome of signature games that day. In the past, that person would be someone connected to the featured city or university.

There are rumors and guesses about who it might be, but there's been no official announcement so far. ESPN tries their best to keep it a secret until showtime.

UC plans to live music DJ Rob Swift and other entertainment on campus related to the homecoming game.

Plan to attend? What you need to know

College GameDay will air from 9 a.m. to noon. But fans should arrive much earlier if they expect to find a good spot.

Lineup for "The Pit" area nearest the stage will begin at 5:30 a.m.

The University encourages fans to wear red and bring witty but respectful signs. They asked that fans remember to bring lots of energy as well.

Parking starts at $15 at Eden Garage on UC's East Campus for those that prepay at cpaw.io/cgdparking. Cash parking on Saturday will be $20 from the Eden Garage and shuttles start at 6 a.m.

Beyond GameDay, there will be several other live shots from campus on Saturday.

ESPN's College Football Live will do a shot Friday at 3:00 p.m. as a preview of the weekend festivities.

Other live shots on Saturday include:

  • Saturday, 7:45 a.m. - ABC's Good Morning America
  • Saturday, 8:05 a.m. - ESPN SportsCenter
  • Saturday, 8:30 a.m.  - ESPN SportsCenter
  • Saturday, 9 a.m. - ESPN College Gameday

A live shot inside Nippert Stadium appeared on ABC's Good Morning America Friday morning.

Will the Bearcats make the College Football Playoff?

GameDay is making its first trip to Southwest Ohio in part because of the recent success of the Bearcats. Sitting at a perfect 8-0, UC is in its best position to make the end-of-season four-team College Football Playoff.

The Bearcats have a signature win over No. 10 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. They also defeated Indiana, which despite having a subpar season plays in the Big 10, arguably the top conference this season.

But despite those victories, playing in a non-Power Five conference makes UC earning a spot in the Playoff an uphill battle.

Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State and Oregon earned the top four positions in the first College Football Rankings released Tuesday night by the selection committee. Ohio State sits at No. 5, one spot ahead of Cincinnati. 

Three of the teams in front of UC have already suffered a loss this season – Alabama, Oregon and Ohio State.

At sixth, the unbeaten Bearcats have the best-ever College Football Playoff Ranking for a team from outside the Power Five conferences. UC earned the previous record last season, reaching as high as No. 7.

Cincinnati will need a strong showing on Saturday and dominant performances throughout the rest of their season to have a chance at making the Playoff. They'll need to remain unbeaten as well.

Their biggest regular-season game will be at home against SMU (7-1) on Nov. 20. The high-scoring Mustangs were ranked No. 19 until they suffered their first loss last week in a shootout with Houston (7-1), 44-37. If UC goes unblemished the rest of the way, they'll likely face Houston in the AAC Football Championship game.

The final College Football Playoffs Rankings will come Dec. 5, the day after conference championships are played.

UC's top performers this season

Cincinnati senior quarterback Desmond Ridder has proven to be one of the top players in the nation in 2021. He has the most career wins (39) of any quarterback in FBS football. He has 75 career touchdown passes and is three away from tying the school's career record held by Gino Guidugli.

Led by cornerbacks Ahmad Gardner and Coby Bryant, UC has the nation's top pass defense, allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete only 50.6% of their pass attempts, while snagging 14 interceptions. Gardner and Bryant were both named to the Thorpe Award 12-player semifinalist list last week.

The Bearcats offense is led by dynamic running back Jerome Ford. He is third nationally with 15 total touchdowns and always a threat for a long, breakaway run.

In the passing game, tight end Josh Whyle has four touchdown receptions in the last two games. At 6-foot-3, wide receiver Alec Pierce has proven to be one of Ridder's favorite downfield targets.

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