PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University is the 70th school to host College GameDay bright and early Saturday morning after 15 long years of fans vying for the show to make its way through the Palouse.
33,000 people showed up to the College GameDay set on Pullman's campus when taping started at 6 a.m. That's more than the total number of undergraduate students currently attending WSU.
College GameDay announced Drew Bledsoe would be the celebrity picker at midnight Saturday. Bledsoe played for WSU in the early 1990s. He left his senior year to play quarterback for the New England Patriots as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1993.
Bledsoe was one of two out of the three pickers on GameDay to call the game in the Cougs' favor. Even Lee Corso, an avid Duck fan, chose the Cougs to win Saturday.
Hopes have been high ever since WSU Alumni Tom Pounds began the tradition of waving his homemade WSU flag, also known as ‘Ol’ Crimson,’ behind the set of College GameDay in Austin, Tex. in 2003. Saturday is the first time Coug fans’ hopes of Ol’ Crimson coming to the “promised land” are realized.
One of the trade marks of WSU for College GameDay is the infamous 'Popcorn Guy.' In one particularly trying game for the Cougs, one fan drowned his sorrows in popcorn, pouring a full bag over his face. ESPN, KREM 2 and even the Pullman Police Department tried to track him down, but he was nowhere to be found.
In honor of Popcorn Guy, ESPN told the full story during College GameDay, ending with the full cast of GameDay pouring popcorn on themselves. Mike Leach told ESPN if he ever found Popcorn Guy, he just wants to thank him for elevating the Cougs on the national stage.
"We couldn't have done it without him," Leach said.
READ MORE: College GameDay to visit WSU
While the game between the University of Oregon Ducks and the WSU Cougars will start at 4:30 p.m., fans began gathering for GameDay on the corner of Stadium Way and Ferdinand’s Ln. 12 hours earlier. A maximum of 500 fans were allowed in “the pit,” which opened at 4 a.m.
KREM 2’s Amanda Roley spotted fans lining up for the pit Friday evening. Many of them traveled from far and wide to witness College GameDay’s long-awaited appearance in Pullman, which the show announced would happen for sure after the Ducks defeated the University of Washington Huskies on Oct. 13.
Mark Hanrahan and Darnay Tripp joined the Cougs in Pullman Friday to experience how fans prepared for the big event. They found a couple of people who were standing in line for the pit since noon on Friday, explaining they brought just enough to “sustain life for 18 hours.”
With so many fans and so little space in Pullman, people had to get creative with their living situations. While camping with tents was not allowed at the event, all you needed to do to find somewhere to stay was hop on AirBnB, where the owners of a mini-van and members of a frat have opened up their living-quarters, but for a hefty price.
The small town even declared a public transportation state of emergency in preparation for College GameDay’s arrival, since nearly 100,000 people are estimated to make their way to Pullman. The transit state of emergency allowed for 25 additional service hours on Friday and the buses are running additional routes.
Wazzu has a three game win streak over the Ducks. WSU Head Coach Mike Leach told KREM 2’s Brenna Greene all of his games against the Ducks have some similar qualities, and he expects this one on Saturday to follow suit.
READ MORE: WSU College Gameday: Know before you go