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ESPN College GameDay announces Lady Vols legend Candace Parker as guest picker for Tennessee vs. Georgia game

by: Alex Byington3 hours ago_AlexByington
Tennessee legend Candace Parker
© Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Two-time Tennessee Lady Vols national champion Candace Parker announced she would be the celebrity guest picker during Saturday’s ESPN College GameDay. The news came in a social media post on Thursday afternoon.

The Week 3 edition of ESPN’s premiere college football pregame show will be televised live from Knoxville ahead of Saturday’s Top 15 SEC opener between No. 6 Georgia (2-0) and No. 15 Tennessee (2-0). Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

“What’s up? It’s your girl Candace Parker, proud alum of the University of Tennessee — if you cut me, I bleed orange,” Parker said in a short 55-second video posted to the @CollegeGameDay account on X/Twitter. “That’s why I’m so excited that College GameDay is coming to Knoxville as the University of Tennessee Volunteers take on the Georgia … (mocks gag reflex) … the Georgia Dogs. And guess what? You’re looking at your College GameDay celebrity guest picker.

“I’m so excited to let the world in on a little secret that 100,000 screaming fans in Neyland will know on Saturday, that the Tennessee Volunteers are going to stop the 10-year drought. Joshua Dobbs, (in) 2016, threw that Hail Mary, and there’s a new Josh that’s going to take down the Dogs, and that’s Coach (Josh) Heupel. High-octane offense, solid defense, we’re ready. And I’m calling it right now. So I look forward to seeing y’all on Saturday.”

Check out Parker’s announcement here:

As Parker pointed out, Georgia has dominated the rivalry with Tennessee in recent years, winning eight straight in a series that dates back to 1899. That includes four consecutive blowout wins inside Neyland Stadium, with the Bulldogs holding an average margin of victory of 30.5 points since a 41-0 shutout in Knoxville in 2017. Georgia holds a 29-23-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Vols.

The two longtime SEC rivals have played every year since 1992, when the league first split into East and West divisions. But with the SEC’s decision to move to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026, there’s concern that this could be the last season as yearly opponents between Georgia and Tennessee, both of which have multiple other major rivals. The SEC will determine three permanent opponents and a rotation of six other league opponents at a later date this season.

Parker is one of the most storied and successful women’s basketball players in the history of the sport, including directing the Lady Vols to back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2007 and 2008, the latter of which she was named the Naismith College Player of the Year. Parker would go on to be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2008 WNBA Draft, where she was a three-time WNBA champion with the Los Angeles Sparks and Chicago Sky. She was also a two-time WNBA MVP in 2008 and 2013, as well as a seven-time WNBA All-Star selection.

David Pollack believes Tennessee ‘has a Georgia problem,’ must prove itself

Ahead of this weekend’s marquee matchup (and site of ESPN‘s College GameDay), college football analyst David Pollack took to the ‘See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack‘ podcast, where he declared that Tennessee has a Georgia problem

“Tennessee‘s got a Georgia problem and has had a Georgia problem for a while now,” Pollack said. “Is it eight straight losses (for Tennessee)? And the last (win) was the Hail Mary. That’s crazy, but a win’s a win. I know Georgia‘s defense is really good. Their defense is going to present a lot of problems for Tennessee‘s offense. Their coverages and coverage in the backend are really good. I think they’ve got solid matchups across the board and really good cover guys. I think they’ve got some physicality up front that can handle the run-game of Tennessee and they have some depth they can rotate in.”

— On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this report.