For the past two seasons, ESPN's "College GameDay" has only done Power Four conference stops. Rece Davis wants that to change.

On "The College GameDay Podcast," Davis was talking to Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel about previews for the week. Then Davis threw in this little nugget regarding North Dakota State-UNLV at Allegiant Stadium on Oct. 10.

“I need North Dakota State to win this game,” Davis said. “We don’t root. We don’t root for teams. Pete says this often. We root for the story. They got a game in New Mexico in a couple of weeks. That could be really, really attractive.”

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When he was lightly pressed, Davis added: "I’m not saying GameDay is going there, but I’m not saying it’s not. So I need North Dakota State to win this game. Need New Mexico to keep winning.”

Davis then UNO reversed and picked UNLV to win the game, and admitted for it to be possible North Dakota State would need to prove him wrong.

The Bison are a fascinating story unto themselves. In their first FBS season, they're 5-0 overall and have won their first two Mountain West games by a combined score of 59-10. The former FCS juggernaut is creeping into playoff talks alongside power-adjacent Boise State and Billy Napier-led James Madison. But they'll need some help to get there.

New Mexico, meanwhile, would be playing host for college football's biggest roadshow in Albuquerque for the first time ever. Jason Eck has had the Lobos rolling, with only a competitive loss to Oklahoma blemishing the schedule so far. They're on a bye this week with Hawaii to follow, and are 4-1 on the year with a 1-0 Mountain West record.

When did "College GameDay" last visit outside of Power Four?

"College GameDay's" last non-Power Four stop came on Nov. 18, 2023, when the crew visited Harrisonburg, Virginia for Appalachian State against a Curt Cignetti-led James Madison. The Mountaineers stunned the Dukes 26-23 in an overtime thriller that week.

The year before, the set was at Montana State for the Brawl of the Wild, and visited Jackson, Mississippi two weeks before that for Jackson State vs. Southern. Non-power visits were generally an annual staple (sometimes occurring twice in a season on a week schedule, and occasionally skipped in some years), so this would be a return to form of sorts.

Has "College GameDay" visited Albuquerque?

This would be Albuquerque's first time hosting and, indeed, would be New Mexico's first time appearing on the show.

North Dakota State is no stranger to this particular spotlight. Fargo has hosted twice (once in 2013 and once in 2014) and had the crew on-site for the Dakota Marker game in South Dakota (which Pat McAfee was incidentally the guest picker for) in 2019.

What other Week 8 games could "College GameDay" visit?

Part of what makes this a possibility is a relatively thin Week 8 schedule.

The biggest game on the schedule as of Oct. 8 is Texas hosting Ole Miss, but Austin has already played host this year and Ole Miss, of course, got the treatment ahead of the Kiffin Bowl. Visiting the same campus twice in a season is hardly uncommon — indeed, in college football's current power distribution, it happens fairly often — but there may be better games to see.

A potential sleeper pick might be Miami hosting Pitt. The Hurricanes have swept up a lot of buzz this year, but an abysmal schedule has largely shunted the limelight away from them. If both of those teams are undefeated, it's a distinct possibility Miami Gardens gets the set.

Houston vs. Utah appears to be the last possibility, despite Houston's loss to Texas Tech earlier in the year. It's hard to ask for a more idyllic setting than Salt Lake City, but both teams need to win to that point to be considered.

Of course, all of this is moot if North Dakota State or New Mexico drop one leading up to this game. But Davis, for his part, will be rooting against that. That's a good sign for anyone looking for a change of scenery on Saturday morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'College GameDay' to Albuquerque? How realistic is NDSU-New Mexico appearance

Source: Yahoo Sports