Excitement builds on Temple campus for ESPN's 'GameDay' visit

IN PROFESSOR Luca Pallucchini's calculus class in Wachman Hall on Monday, Kevin Cremi couldn't keep his eyes off his cellphone.

It was after noon, and the freshman undeclared major was anxious, waiting for an announcement about where "College GameDay," ESPN's weekly national college football pregame show, would set up on Saturday.

At 12:41 p.m., Cremi's phone vibrated, with one notification from ESPN "SportsCenter" and another from Bleacher Report.

After a quick glance, Cremi began pumping his fist from his table and smiling. It was official - "College GameDay" was coming to Philadelphia.

"I usually don't use my phone in class, but I knew the announcement was coming," Cremi said. "I checked it and got the update, and lost it in class. I was so pumped."

It will be the first time in school history Temple will be on "College GameDay," which will broadcast live from Independence Mall, beginning at 9 a.m. It also is the first time the show will be in Philadelphia since November 2002, when Penn defeated Harvard, 44-9, at Franklin Field.

"Everyone is pumped," Cremi said. "It's getting the whole campus excited for the game. People who usually don't get too excited about the games are getting excited about it. It's huge for the campus."

When No. 9 Notre Dame comes to Lincoln Financial Field Saturday (8 p.m., ABC), it will be the first time the No. 21 Owls face a ranked opponent this season.

The Owls enter Saturday 7-0 for the first time in program history. Three times before, the Owls were 6-0; the latest in 1974 - when they finished 8-2.

It will be the second time this month that the Fighting Irish (6-1) will be featured on "College GameDay." Notre Dame traveled to Memorial Stadium to face Clemson on Oct. 3, losing to the Tigers, 24-22.

"People seem more excited," Cremi said. "With 'GameDay' and everything, it's such a huge show . . . You hear people talking about (the game), especially with Notre Dame being a big program. People are, like, 'Oh, we play Notre Dame on ABC during prime time.' It's a big deal around campus.

"If we aren't playing Notre Dame, the buzz isn't as strong as it is," Cremi added.

Emily Jordan, a sophomore secondary English education major and secretary of the Cherry Crusade - Temple's student section - has already noticed a change in the atmosphere around campus.

"When I am in the Student Center or the Dining Hall, I hear people talking about the game," Jordan said.

Temple announced Oct. 13 that the game was sold out to the general public, marking the second time this season an Owls game has sold out at Lincoln Financial Field; the other was the Sept. 5 season operner against Penn State. The university also made 10,000 student tickets available.

"Since the game was announced, I've seen people waiting in line at the Liacouras Center," Jordan said. "Everyone is excited."

But not all students were impressed by the wait.

With student tickets being available only at earlier Temple games before being offered for sale to students at the Liacouras Center box office Monday, senior computer science major Jeff Heckman said the crowds were not worth the hassle and decided he'd rather go back to his home in Reading because of previous obligations.

"The lines are around the Liacouras Center," Heckman said. "I'm not willing to wait for that."

He added, "I'm not going to go out of my way to go get a ticket."

Before Monday's announcement that Temple had been selected for "GameDay," students and members of the Cherry Crusade tweeted at Lee Fitting, the show's producer, as well as the program's Twitter account, with such tweets as "#TUFB4gameday" and "Temple4gameday."

Cremi said he sent over 200 tweets between Temple's 24-14 win against East Carolina last Thursday, and Monday.

" 'College Gameday' being here - how big that it, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Cremi said. "It's going to get the campus, the university and the football team that attention."

Jordan has been working with the other members of the Cherry Crusade to coordinate a plan for the week's activities. The group met Wednesday night and will participate Friday at the pep rally on Liacouras Walk.

The student group also has a Google Doc set up for members to share their sign ideas for "GameDay" and is preparing to debut their tifo - a painted banner that measures 60 feet by 24 feet. With the help of GoFundMe, the Cherry Crusade reached its donation goal of $2,000 in 29 days after posting.

"It's going to add a lot to the 'GameDay' experience," Jordan said. "We put a lot of work in it."