ESPN College GameDay 2026 Week 5 Schedule, Location, Predictions and More

In Week 4, ESPN's College GameDay provided the preview for one of the biggest games of the season, a thrilling battle between Tennessee and Texas. This week, the program will head to Iowa for the first time in 20 years for another massive game.

Iowa, which pulled out a stunner over Michigan last week, will host the fifth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

This will mark the first time this season that College GameDay won't be broadcast from an SEC site, though the reason is understandable. The crew will be ushering in one of the biggest Big Ten matchups of the year to date.

Crew: Rece Davis, alongside analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and Nick Saban

Iowa narrowly escaped Michigan last week, winning with a 16-yard walk-off touchdown pass from quarterback Hank Brown to wide receiver Reece Vander Zee. The Hawkeyes' victory was welcomed by College GameDay host Reece Davis.

"I root for the show, and it was going to be really, really good for the show if Iowa won on Saturday," Davis said on the College GameDay Podcast (h/t Qwame Skinner of Awful Announcing). "They did. And now, a big showdown with Ohio State coming up next week."

The showdown is indeed a big one. Iowa is one of four Big Ten teams entering Week 5 with a 4-0 record, while the 3-1 Buckeyes are looking to keep their path to the College Football Playoff open.

Ohio State's lone loss came against top-ranked Texas, which is why they haven't fallen far in the rankings.

This will mark the third time that Iowa has hosted College GameDay . All three occasions have preceded a battle with the Buckeyes.

In the game itself, Ohio State is fairly heavily favored, which shouldn't be a surprise. The Buckeyes have one of the most loaded teams in college football, as evidenced by the fact that they lost by a single point to the Longhorns in Austin.

Led by quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State boasts one of the top offenses in the nation. However, they could face trouble at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa will have the backing of a tremendous crowd, and their physical style of defense could make Sayin and Co. very uncomfortable early on. If the Hawkeyes can turn this into an ugly, methodical, physical game, they could force the kinds of mistakes that deliver another upset.

Let's not forget that the Buckeyes held a 23-3 lead against Texas going into the fourth quarter before collapsing on the road.

The prediction here is that Ohio State struggles early instead of late, but gets a late long drive from the offense and a couple of key defensive stops to pull away. Don't be surprised if this one is a lot closer than many seem to expect.

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