Red River Showdown on deck, but ESPN already planning on Georgia-Texas game for ‘College GameDay’

The Red River rivalry hasn’t even started in Dallas, and ESPN is looking ahead to next week’s mega-matchup at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

ESPN announced Saturday morning that “College GameDay” will be in Austin next weekend as No. 5 Georgia faces No. 1 Texas.

The show airs from 8-11 a.m. Saturdays, and UT fans will have to rest up. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

This will be the seventh time in the last four seasons that GameDay has landed in Austin. It’ll be the second time this season UT has been featured as one of the participants. ESPN’s traveling circus was in Ann Arbor for the week 2 matchup and 31-12 win over Michigan.

Texas has an all-time record of 12-11 when featured on GameDay and a 5-4 mark when the show is planted on campus.

Kirk Herbstreit’s famous traveling companion, Ben, is scheduled to be in Austin. It’s hopeful that longtime ESPN personality Lee Corso makes an appearance as well. Corso has been under the weather the last two weeks and off the show temporarily.

ESPN is clearly banking on Texas having a big day against Oklahoma on Saturday. The Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 SEC) are two-touchdown favorites over the Sooners (4-1, 1-1).

OU has been hit with numerous injuries at receiver while Texas is getting quarterback Quinn Ewers (strained abdominal) back into the lineup.

Next week’s game against Georgia will have a similar buildup to Texas-OU. The Longhorns and Bulldogs have met five times, with Texas holding a 4-1 record. The most recent meeting was the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 2018 season.

The Horns won 28-21, but most fans remember the game for the mascot Bevo charging out of his pen at Georgia’s bulldog mascot Uga.