Florida State fans have yet another reason to boycott ESPN. The network announced its Week 6 destination for its flagship college football pre-show, College GameDay, and for some reason it's not Tallahassee. No. 18 Florida State hosts No. 3 Miami in a massive battle with ACC title and College Football Playoff implications.
Instead, ESPN is sending Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban down to Tuscaloosa to preview No. 16 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Alabama.
WEEK 6: TUSCALOOSA π
β College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 28, 2025
Weβre heading down to Alabama as the Crimson Tide take on the undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores π€@AlabamaFTBL | @VandyFootball pic.twitter.com/ZrGqZhAR2D
It should come as no surprise that ESPN picked an SEC matchup to make its marquee destination. Though, this contest does have an interesting storyline. It's a rematch of last season's massive upset by the Commodores but this time they travel to 'Bama with a rare Top 25 designation.
ESPN's SEC bias is hard to hide with Week 6 College GameDay destination pick
Florida State fans have a case against ESPN for spurning them on the sport's primetime stage. Two seasons ago, the Seminoles were undefeated but lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a serious injury ahead of the College Football Playoff selections.
Many ESPN pundits advocated against the inclusion of the Seminoles in the then-four-team playoff bracket because of the injury and ultimately that was the decision made by the selection committee. But wait for it, the team that made it into that year's playoff ahead of Florida State was... Alabama.
So, it's understandable to see why Florida State fans would be angry to see the Crimson Tide favored over them again.
We always knew how they felt. Now itβs just clear as day.
β Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) September 28, 2025
unreal matchup in FL next week despite FSU losing last week and yet theyβd rather show this so they can force me to hear about that Diego Pavia/Theo Von story for the trillionth time https://t.co/TKzSqBu1UP
β ππ π« (π-π) (@poeltlszn) September 29, 2025
FSU vs. ESPN fued continues. Rare bad/ awful choice for show picking this one over Canes vs. Noles. https://t.co/CoCYOlHDXI
β Eric Lopez (@EricLopezELO) September 29, 2025
Herbstreit is no fool. He knows folks in Tallahassee are waiting for him with pitchforks and tiki torches.
β R. D. Liddy (@ryandlibby) September 29, 2025
Weβll never forget the playoff snub. https://t.co/oUW9r8mRiR
When you really think about it. There's no good reason to choose Tuscaloosa over Tallahassee except for the Alabama branding. It's not like Vanderbilt has a legitimate shot at the SEC title even if they do beat the Crimson Tide. Even so, Florida State crushed Alabama 31-17 in Week 1 and should have the competitive advantage.
The Miami vs. Florida State game will have much more of an impact on the ACC standings and the CFP race by far. A second loss for the Seminoles will put them at risk of missing out on an at-large bid and a loss for the Hurricanes would level the playing field in the conference.
Granted, Florida State's Week 5 loss to Virginia may be the lone reason ESPN demoted them from hosting GameDay. If that's the case, its not a good enough reason. Miami vs. FSU has the prime time slot on the network anyways so why not feature it like it has with other matchups that aren't even played on their airwaves.
Whatever went into the decision-making process, ESPN was always going to anger some fanbase.