Clemson a favorite site for ESPN pregame show College GameDay

CLEMSON – ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit has witnessed all of the top college football scenes in the country while traveling to the best college football game each week for 20 years for ESPN’s popular pregame show College GameDay.

The former Ohio State quarterback has Clemson near the top of his list of favorite places to visit.

“You can make a really strong argument that this is one of the best settings for a Saturday in the fall,” he said. “We’re just happy to be here whenever we get a chance to come and be a small part of it. We never take that for granted.”

Herbstreit has the task of keeping fans watching at home entertained for three hours every Saturday morning during the fall. He said Tigers faithful make it easy to do so by showing up in large numbers and staying loud throughout the show.

“There’s an energy that you feed off of. There are some weeks where you have to manufacture that energy because the crowd’s kind of flat for whatever reason. When we come to Clemson, it’s never really felt that way,” he said. “They love their team. They love the Tigers. They love college football. They love tailgating. They love the celebration of the fall … Every time we set up and the fans show up to show their support for their team. We just feed off of their energy.”

College GameDay producer Lee Fitting has been with the show since 2000, serving as an associate producer, feature producer and coordinating producer.

He echoed Herbstreit in stating that Clemson is one of his favorite destinations.

“Clemson’s a top-five venue for us, period. It’s awesome. Every time we’ve been here, the crowd continues to outdo themselves,” Fitting said. “They love their football here. It’s an unbelievable vibe. It may be my favorite place on the GameDay circuit. It’s awesome. The fan involvement and passion is second to none.”

Saturday’s forecast is for sunshine with a high of 82, which is the exact opposite of the weather the last time College GameDay was in town.

Last year’s game against Notre Dame featured pouring rain throughout the morning, but thousands of Clemson fans came out for the show.

“It was raining like crazy, and I’m thinking, ‘Well, they’re all going to leave,’ and they didn’t go away. They had fun with it,” Herbstreit said. “We just love coming here every time we get a chance.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 9:42 PM with the headline "Clemson a favorite site for ESPN pregame show College GameDay."