ESPN Declines to Cut Audio Despite Chant From College GameDay Crowd

ESPN's "College GameDay" aired live from Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday for the top-five Big Ten clash between the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0) and the No. 3 Oregon Ducks (5-0). Fans turned out in droves for the first top-five matchup in Autzen Stadium history.

While Ducks fans in attendance are mainly focused on the Buckeyes, another Big 10 powerhouse was not safe from some intense chatter ahead of the game.

Moments before "College GameDay" officially kicked off, ESPN's Matt Barrie joined Stanford Steve, the show's odds expert, to preview his picks for Saturday's college football slate. After mentioning the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions, the crowd took over ESPN's audio feed.

Oregon fans outside of Autzen Stadium chanted "F*** Penn State," in unison, and ESPN elected to let the audio roll.

"Yeah, we're not going to repeat that," Barrie said with a smirk.

Despite fans arriving very early for the 6 a.m. local start time of "College GameDay," energy was not lacking ahead of the highly anticipated matchup between the Ducks and Buckeyes.

This is the first time the two will meet as conference opponents after Oregon joined the Big Ten in the offseason. Dan Lanning's Ducks narrowly missed a College Football Playoff spot out of the Pac-12, losing to national champion runner-up Washington in the conference championship last season.

Similarly, the Buckeyes fell to national champion Michigan in the Big 12 title game. There's a familiar face on the other sideline in former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, who was hired by Ohio State's Ryan Day as offensive coordinator. He will make his return to Autzen Stadium with the talented Buckeyes in tow.

"College GameDay" will air 9 a.m. ET to noon ET on ESPN. Kickoff between Ohio State and Oregon is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC).

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