Every Saturday, College GameDay showcases the best college football games in the country. Before the South Carolina-Oklahoma contest, the GameDay crew was in Austin, Texas for the Top 5 showdown between Texas and Georgia. As usual, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Rece Davis and Nick Saban were on the podium. Lee Corso also returned after an absence of several weeks.

(For those interested, a Texas student missed the field goal for the advancement scholarship. When College GameDay was in Columbia for the game against LSU, a South Carolina football fan had the most embarrassing attempt of the year, which somehow… went behind.)

(See what other fans are saying in the Insiders forum!)

Last week, the College GameDay team didn’t even debate the South Carolina-Alabama game, but the Gamecocks almost pulled off the upset. This week Shane Beamer’s team was part of the conversation.

With a big race taking place in Austin this weekend, GameDay created a segment asking Formula 1 drivers for college mascots. Mercedes driver George Russell took one look at Cocky and asked, “What is that?!” Haas Racing duo Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen explained that Cocky must be the “Carolina Male Chickens” mascot. At the time, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri didn’t believe “Gamecocks” was a real team nickname.

With GameDay broadcast from the home of the Texas Longhorns, the audience was clearly pro-USC leading up to the Gamecocks’ first-ever game against their hated rival, the Oklahoma Sooners. One of those in attendance even brought a giant Gamecock sign, which got plenty of TV time.

When it came time for the College GameDay crew to make their selections, the panel couldn’t reach a consensus. Howard and Saban picked the Gamecocks. McAfee angered the crowd with a fake Oklahoma leaning, but also chose the “Cocks.” Prominent guest picker Scottie Scheffler, a Texas Class of 2018 graduate, wowed the crowd by picking the South Carolina Gamecocks. Kirk Herbstreit was the only panelist to pick the Sooners, but said he wanted to choose USC.

South Carolina and Oklahoma begin at 12:45 p.m. Fans can watch the contest on the SEC Network or the ESPN app.