No College GameDay For Week 0, But One Host Already Took A Shot At Big Noon Kickoff

Everyone's favorite off-the-field college football battle will have to wait one more week. That's right. 

Despite the college football season (un)officially getting underway Saturday afternoon in Ireland, there will be no College GameDay or Big Noon Kickoff this weekend. 

Both shows will save all the built-up offseason ammo for the Week 1 showdown between Texas and Ohio State. Sad, I know. Is it really college football season without Kirk Herbstreit's dog annoying the piss out of us for three hours every Saturday morning? 

Don't think so! 

For those who still need a pregame fix, ESPN will air something called "College Football Countdown" following the morning SportsCenter. Rece Davis will host, alongside EJ Manuel and Roddy Jones. 

And if that doesn't smell like a budget decision, I don't know what does!

Is there a Week 0 College GameDay? No, and here's why (we think)

No sir, it will NOT be. I have a feeling we're gonna see a ton of confused college football fans when 9 a.m. hits Saturday morning. I've seen this movie before. 

I give Big Noon Kickoff a pass here. One, because I work for Fox. Two, because Fox doesn't have a game until the highly-anticipated showdown between Fresno State and Kansas Saturday night. 

No reason to send the fellas over to Lawrence to preview Fresno State and Kansas. 

But, ESPN giving College GameDay Week 0 off? Eh. It's odd, especially because they've had shows in the past. 

It wasn't that long ago that Lee Corso was bouncing around with Mickey Mouse at Disney for the Week 0 game between Florida and Miami. The crew was also in Dublin last year. 

There are a couple of things at play here – mostly involving Corso. 

His next GameDay will be his final GameDay. Lee, who turned 90 two weeks ago, is retiring after next week's show at Ohio State. 

My guess? That's a huge reason why ESPN isn't having a show this week. Corso would never travel to Dublin, and it's odd to have a show without him, considering he's about to retire. 

Right behind that – or, more likely, right in front of it – would be the cost. I'd imagine it costs a lot of money to send the entire GameDay crew to Dublin. They did it last year, because it was unique. Is it as cool this year? Eh. Probably not. 

College GameDay, Big Noon Kickoff will be at Texas-Ohio State

So, this means all eyes will turn to Ohio State next Saturday. Both College GameDay AND Big Noon will be in attendance, likely mere yards apart from each other. 

For years, Big Noon has been trying to make inroads on GameDay, and for a while, they were making some progress. 

GameDay wisely brought in Nick Saban last year, and Pat McAfee two years ago. Both those additions have paid off in the ratings, despite what fans think of McAfee. 

Big Noon's answer this year? Barstool founder Dave Portnoy. He will be a regular on Big Noon this fall. 

Easily the least interesting person on College GameDay, Desmond Howard, said the quiet part out loud earlier this week. 

"They want to compete. I like those guys. To me, our competitor has been the ‘NBA on TNT’ because we’re always battling against them for the Sports Emmy," Howard told Barrett Media. "No disrespect to [‘Big Noon Kickoff’], I’m sure they do a fantastic job."

Any time someone prefaces something with "no disrespect," they're about to bury you. That's what we have here with Desmond. 

OK, we all caught up now? Good!

And now, we wait. The stage is set. College football starts this weekend on the field. 

The off-the-field battle will have to wait another week.