Report: ESPN’s ‘GameDay’ headed back to Atlanta

By LARRY HARTSTEIN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ESPN's "College GameDay" has two obvious choices for Week 1 of college football: Alabama vs. Virginia Tech at the Georgia Dome, or Georgia at Oklahoma State.

No official announcement has been made, but it looks like the traveling show, which draws swarms of fans, will broadcast live from Atlanta on Sept. 5.

Commentator Lee Corso said in Sunday’s Orlando Sentinel that he’s targeting the Alabama-Virginia Tech game -- the second annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff event -- for his return to broadcasting. Corso is recovering from a mild stroke he suffered in May.

The two-hour college football preview show usually picks the week’s biggest matchup.

Early rankings, like those put forth by SI.com’s Andy Staples, give a little more juice to the game in Atlanta. Coming out of spring practice, Staples ranked Virginia Tech No. 5 and Alabama No. 10. He put Oklahoma State No. 6 and Georgia No. 15.

The “GameDay” crew also set up outside the Georgia Dome twice last season, for Alabama’s wipeout of Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff and Florida’s SEC title game win over Alabama.