SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time in nearly five years, ESPN's "College GameDay" is returning to Utah and bringing the spotlight of the college football world to the University of Utah campus on Saturday.
What's in store for the fans both on the university's campus, as well as those at home? Here's a look at the highlights of the show:
Corso and the headgear
Reality shows have come and gone with contests built in to entice viewers to keep coming back until the end to find out which contestant comes out on top.
But those shows have nothing on GameDay's final act, when 80-year-old college football analyst Lee Corso makes his headgear game pick, reserved for the contest being played at their GameDay destination.
A tradition that began in 1996, Corso chooses who will win the game by putting on the headgear of their mascot. Over the years, he has made 262 headgear picks, according to ESPN Front Row, and has accurately picked the winner almost 68 percent of the time.
He is, however, just 1-4 on headgear picks this season and is on a four-pick losing streak.
"Coach Corso is a legend. There are very few must-see moments in television, and we are lucky enough to have one every Saturday morning,” ESPN senior coordinating producer Lee Fitting said, according to ESPN Front Row, when Corso made his 250th headgear selection last November. “Regardless of what Coach does at the end of the show, it brings a smile to your face — what more could you want?”
In 2011, GameDay eloquently shared the backstory of Corso's headgear picks and why it has become such a beloved part of the program.
Corso's most successful headgear picks have revolved around the USC program. He has accurately predicted all 21 games involving the Trojans, including 16 when he predicted USC to win and five others when he picked them to lose.
Guest picks
Corso and other members of the GameDay staff, which includes Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Sam Ponder, also make their picks on several other college football games each weekend, in addition to the headgear pick. They also bring on a guest to make their picks as well.
From entertainers to college football legends, as well as athletes from other sports and plenty of others with ties to the premier games, hundreds of guests have joined the show to predict the nation's top weekly contests. In 2009, for instance, legendary BYU head coach LaVell Edwards lent his expertise for the game predicting session of the show when GameDay headed to Provo for BYU's matchup against TCU that year.
One of the most bizarre guest appearances, though, was when Katy Perry joined the show last season when they visited The Grove at Ole Miss.
Special features
Each week's three-hour program, which airs from 7-10 a.m. MDT, provides ample opportunities to share feature stories from around the college football world. From the wacky and the weird to the touching and the emotional, these segments provide a perfect capstone to the previous week and an inviting window into what lies ahead.
These segments also provide a platform for stories that would usually stay on a local scene to be transmitted on a national stage.
Earlier this year, the early college saga of BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum was shared on "College GameDay."
On Saturday, the Utes' story, which includes them being 4-0 and ranked No. 5 nationally, will be told prior to their matchup against No. 23 California.
Utah ties to GameDay
This is the fourth time "College GameDay" has come to Utah. In 2004 and 2010, the show traveled to Salt Lake City for Utah games against BYU and TCU, respectively, and it headed to Provo for the Cougars' game against the Horned Frogs in 2009.
But Utah and BYU have been more regularly a part of the show in other parts of the program, including the end-of-show game picks. According to GameDay Cole, who keeps a running account of each week's predictions on his blog, the GameDay crew has predicted BYU games 28 times over the years, Utah 27 times and Utah State three times.
Corso has accurately predicted the winner in every GameDay appearance in Utah, projecting a Ute win in 2004 over BYU and TCU victories over the Utes and Cougars in 2009 and 2010. The GameDay crew also visited Utah's road contest at TCU in 2009, and Corso correctly predicted a Horned Frog win their as well.
Here's what the entire crew predicted for the Utah-BYU contest in 2004:
Ol' Crimson
Another of the big traditions of the "College GameDay" show is Ol' Crimson, a Washington State flag that has been seen flying in the background at every show since 2003. Ol' Crimson even has a Twitter account and website.
It's become such an iconic tradition that when Ol' Crimson was stuck in transit from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Tucson, Arizona, two weeks ago, ESPN stepped in.
The flag got held up in Mississippi, according to a GameDay segment, and was in danger of breaking a record of 166 straight appearances on the show. ESPN, looking to keep the streak alive, chose to send in a replica flag that hung in the ESPN cafeteria, using UPS Express Critical to get the replica there just after 3 a.m. Saturday morning.
Washington State's Cougar Athletic Fund also had a back-up plan, according to the Seattle Times, as a CAF staffer took three flights and a drive from Phoenix to Tucson to get another replica flag on-site in time for the show.
Following the replica's successful appearance in Tucson, the Ol' Crimson Twitter profile showed the original flag back in safe hands and ready for the next weekend.
Ol' Crimson is expected to make its 169th straight appearance on the show this weekend in Salt Lake City.
And oh, the signs
Think this story is over? Not so fast, my friend.
Ol' Crimson isn't the only thing you'll see flying through the air on GameDay. Last but certainly not least, there are the fan signs, a major staple to GameDay's atmosphere.
During the show, fans pack into "the pit," the area behind the main stage. There, a well-positioned or comedic poster can earn its owner or their message some serious on-screen time. For viewers at home, the chance to read the posters in the background can be as entertaining as when the hosts do their segments.
TOP 10 SIGNS
Here's a look at the top 10 posters from the first five weeks of the 2015 season
Email: bjudd@deseretdigital.com; Twitter: @brandonljudd