Sabrina Ionescu takes the stage as a guest picker on ESPN's College GameDay in Eugene ahead of the Ducks top-10 matchup against the UCLA Bruins Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Predicting ESPN's College GameDay Celebrity Guest Picker For Oregon Ducks, Ohio State

Originally posted on Oregon Ducks on SI
By Arden Cravalho | Last updated Oct 8, 2024 10:23 AM ET

ESPN's College GameDay will be making its return to Eugene for the key Big Ten Conference matchup between the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No.3 Oregon Ducks on Saturday, Oct. 12. Both teams are entering the game undefeated with a 5-0 overall record, 2-0 in conference play.

This will be the 12th all-time appearance in Eugene, and its first since 2022. The Ducks hold an 8-3 record when College GameDay is in town, including a 45-30 win over No. 9 UCLA back in 2022. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu was the guest picker, but she will not be the guest picker this weekend as she is playing in the WNBA Finals.

Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard has a NBA preseason game that Saturday night. No NFL players with a game on Sunday will be the picker. The Oregon Duck was the guest picker in 2014 and will definitely be making an appearance during College GameDay, but not as the guest picker. Phil Knight was the guest picker back in 2009 when the Oregon Ducks beat the USC Trojans, 47-20. He doesn't make public appearances too often anymore, so he's out.

Should Braden Pape come back? As a four-year-old in 2012, he was the guest picker when Oregon lost to Stanford in overtime, 17-14. Lee Corso came up with memorable line "Not so fast, midget!" during that College GameDay. The moment will live on forever.

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Here are some different celebrities, former and current athletes that could potentially be named the guest picker for Saturday's show:

Kaitlin Olson - "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "High Potential" star, 1997 University of Oregon graduate

Ty Burrell - "Modern Family" star, attended University of Oregon in the late 1980's

Sam Elliot - Academy Award nominee, attended University of Oregon in the late 1960's

Glen Powell - "Top Gun" star, will play Oregon Ducks' quarterback in "Chad Powers"

Rich Brooks - Oregon football coach from 1977 to 1994

Dillon Brooks - Houston Rockets guard/forward, 2017 Pac-12 Player of the Year

Mike Bellotti - Oregon football coach from 1995 to 2008

Neil Everett - former SportsCenter anchor, 1984 University of Oregon graduate

Joey Harrington - former NFL and Oregon Ducks quarterback, 2001 Pac-10 Player of the Year

Dennis Dixon - former NFL and Oregon Ducks quarterback, 2x Super Bowl champion

Wyndham Clark - 2023 U.S. Open champion, 2017 University of Oregon graduate

Ahmad Rashad - Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor

Dan Fouts - former NFL and Oregon Ducks quarterback, Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame

Cole Hocker - gold medal winner in 1500 m in 2024 Paris Olympics, University of Oregon alum

Jevon Holland - Miami Dolphins safety, Oregon safety from 2018 to 2020

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

College GameDay features host Rece Davis who is joined by analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, along with college football insider Pete Thamel and reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims. "Stanford" Steve Coughlin is the show's sports betting analyst.

Kaitlin Olson or Ty Burrell seem like the most relevant and the best option to be the guest picker at this point of time. Burrell did a fantastic job as the College GameDay guest picker back in 2023 when the Oregon Ducks destroyed the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City, 35-6.

Make sure to have the coffee ready as it's going to be an early Saturday morning. College GameDay starts at 6 a.m. PT and runs until 9 a.m. PT. The pit opens at 3:30 a.m. PT, and fans can line up early.