Could 2025 finally be the year that the University of Virginia?
Virginia is one of a handful of power four schools (Rutgers, Syracuse, SMU, Maryland, and Illinois) who have never hosted college football’s premier pregame show on campus before. Cal got taken off the list last season when they were able to host Gameday and it ended up being one of the most memorable games of the season, with Miami pulling off a frantic comeback in the second half to spoil the Golden Bears hosting debut. It is kind of amazing that Virginia has never hosted Gameday before, but could that change this season?
The honest answer? It is not likely at all.
Virginia has one of the easiest schedules in the entire power four and while that has its advantages when it comes to the win-loss column, it diminishes any hopes of hosting College Gameday (though Indiana got them last year).
Let’s look at the home slate for UVA.
You can automatically throw out games in September against Coastal Carolina Stanford, and William & Mary, there is zero chance that College Gameday would come to those games. Florida State might be slightly appealing, but that game is on a Friday night. The Oct.18th game against Washington State is actually intriguing, but there are several things working against it. There are a number of marquee games that weekend, including Notre Dame vs USC, Ole Miss vs Georgia, Oklahoma vs South Carolina, SMU vs Clemson, and Tennessee vs Alabama. If Virginia were to be undefeated and WSU were to be better than expected, could Gameday do what they did when they went to Cal last year and check UVA off the list? Probably around a 5% chance that happens, but it is not the most far fetched scenario.
The only other opportunity to host would be when Virginia Tech comes to town to end the season. If both teams were way better than expected and there were some stakes involved in the game besides bragging rights, it is a possibility, but there would have to be something serious at stake in that game. That weekend of course falls on rivalry weekend and games like Ohio State vs Michigan, Florida vs Florida State, Clemson vs South Carolina, and LSU vs Oklahoma also fall on this day. In all honesty, both teams would need to be 10-1 or better heading into this game and a spot in the ACC Championship would have to be on the line for Kirk Herbstreit and the rest of the crew coming to one of the most underrated rivalries in the country.
So, in all likelihood, UVA is probably not going to host College Gameday for the first time ever this season, but the chances are not zero. They are going to have to surpass their expectations in a big way while also hoping that either Washington State or Virginia Tech can hold up their end of the bargain and make Charlottesville an attractive destination for one of the biggest spectacles in the sport.
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