Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

ESPN's popular "College GameDay" pregame show is in Louisville for Saturday's much-anticipated showdown between second-ranked Florida State and No. 10 Louisville.

So, what actually goes into that production? How many people are involved? And how did ESPN arrive at the decision to pick this particular game, a pivotal matchup in not only the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division race but also the national College Football Playoff picture?

"At the start of the season, we map out the marquee games that we think we might be at, and that becomes an evolving list as the weeks go on," said Drew Gallagher, ESPN's coordinating producer for College GameDay.

"I don't think this was at the top of our list for week 3 at the beginning of the season. Some of the early results definitely propped it up, not to mention the fact that Louisville has one of the most exciting players in the nation (in quarterback Lamar Jackson). Louisville's become a story, and we like to be where the story is."

Gallagher said FSU-Louisville hadn't "completely locked up" the College GameDay choice until last Friday night, when Jackson's exceptional performance helped U of L (2-0) blast Syracuse, 66-28. FSU, which rallied to beat nationally ranked Ole Miss in the season opener, improved to 2-0 with a comfortable rout of FCS program Charleston Southern.

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It's the first time College GameDay has come to Louisville for football. Its only previous visit was in 2008 for a basketball game at Freedom Hall (unranked Louisville won 59-51 over No. 6 Georgetown).

"We always love going to a campus for the first time because we know the crowd is going to be that much more energetic," Gallagher said. "For the guys, they love coming to a school for the first time, too. It's refreshing for everybody."

The hard part, Gallagher said, is taking down the set after the Saturday show and relocating to the next spot. GameDay was in Bristol, Tenn., for last weekend's Tennessee-Virginia Tech game at Bristol Motor Speedway, so the crew had about a six-hour trip to Louisville.

On-site workers have been piecing together the set at U of L all week, with the GameDay signage going up Thursday and Friday in between the Trager Center, Louisville's indoor practice field, and Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Derek Volner, from ESPN's communications department, said GameDay involves more than 80 on-site crew members. There are two 15-by-19 jumbotrons and a 5-by-9 screen for the set's roof. There will be 14 different cameras used, including an aerial and pole camera.

There are seven transport trucks and two satellite uplink trucks involved, too.

"It's really a whole team effort," Gallagher said. "I can't stress that enough. ... A lot of people are really good at what they do."

Gallagher also said everyone who works on College GameDay, from hosts to production assistants, is involved in the production meeting discussion for show ideas. By Sunday night or Monday morning, there's a "nice laundry list of ideas" from all sides, he said.

They don't discuss what any of the on-air talent – Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard or David Pollack – will say during the show's various topics of conversation.

"Lee Corso always keeps us honest with one rule: We're in the entertainment business," Gallagher said. "Are we putting on an entertaining show? Is there a layer of unpredictability in there, some spontaneity? Are we telling the right stories? Are we building a level of urgency before the games?"

And of course, there is a lot of thought put into the celebrity picker, the show guest charged with making predictions for games. Speculation has run wild this week in Louisville over who ESPN will pick for that job.

"It is a long, well-researched process that goes from coast-to-coast," Gallagher said. "No act is too big, and no name is too big and no name is too small."