‘Why so many?’ – College GameDay decision has fans furious as ESPN feels CFP heat

ESPN’s College GameDay have decided which College Football Playoff quarterfinal they’ll be heading to.

Fans were eagerly awaiting where the popular pre-game college football show would be on New Year’s Day, with three huge games across the day.

Getty

It has now been confirmed that Pat McAfee and his crew will head west to Pasadena, live from the Rose Bowl stadium as the No. 9 seed Alabama Crimson Tide plays the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers.

GameDay’s coverage will begin at 9am ET and run until noon as usual before the first game of the day.

Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban and McAfee will all be in Pasadena for GameDay’s show.

However, ESPN’s announcement has frustrated some fans on a cumber of levels, not least for the reason that the Crimson Tide seem to have become a staple of the show.

Thursday’s game will mark the third straight Alabama game that GameDay has attended, having already been at the final game of the regular season against Georgia and the first round tie where they knocked off Oklahoma.

All four quarterfinals offer plenty of intrigue, but with Miami and Ohio State in action on Wednesday, the choice for ESPN came down to the three New Year’s Day games.

GameDay has chosen the Rose Bowl over the Sugar Bowl, between Georgia and Ole Miss in New Orleans and the Orange Bowl between Oregon and Texas Tech in Miami.

“Saban certainly has ZERO influence on this,” one fan wrote in a seemingly sarcastic response to an Instagram post announcing the decision.

The fan is referring to Nick Saban, one of the hosts of the show and the former Alabama head coach.

Saban is considered one of the greatest football coaches of all time and led Alabama to seven national championships.

GETTY

Getty

“When was the last time they went to a NYD playoff game when they could have went to the rose bowl that wasn’t the rose bowl don’t spin this into a Alabama thing,” another fan said.

“Why ?? So many bama games ???,” a third wrote.

“Tell us who you want to win without telling us who you want to win,” another fan posted.

“How stupid is this, you’ve got the No.3 and No.6 playing, but we have to watch No.9 Alabama,” another wrote, referring to the snub of Georgia’s Sugar Bowl game against Ole Miss.

Despite the criticism, the Indiana-Alabama should be a thrilling game

This game is highly anticipated precisely because of the fact, it could go either way.

It is also the first time the two teams will meet in the history of the two programs, making it even more exciting.

Getty

Indiana is the number one seed, and Alabama are some way down at number nine, yet no one would be surprised if the Crimson Tide take home the victory on Thursday.

Their previous game against Oklahoma demonstrated why the Crimson Tide can never be ruled out.

They trailed 17-0 in the first half of that one before Zabien Brown’s interception return for a score late in the second quarter inspired a comeback.

But the Hoosiers’ head coach isn’t worried about the history or “mystique” that Alabama hold, something that developed under Saban.

“You probably know more about the mystique than they do,” Cignetti said. “Our guys just know what they see on tape.”

The winner of the Rose Bowl will play the winner of the Orange Bowl in the next round.

Meaning Alabama or Indiana will play either Oregon or Texas Tech.

Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for news, exclusive interviews and more.