ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown Makes Rare Road Trip, Visiting New Orleans This Weekend

College GameDay will be nearby in Baton Rouge

ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown is going on the road for just the third time in its 33-year history. On Nov. 4, the three-hour NFL pregame show will originate from outside Manning’s Sports Bar and Grill (519 Fulton St.) in New Orleans, just down the street from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, site of the much-anticipated Week 9 matchup between the NFC’s top two teams: Los Angeles Rams (8-0) vs. Saints (6-1).

In addition to Countdown in New Orleans, ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will be on the road in Louisiana this weekend. It was announced Saturday that Rece Davis and the GameDay crew will travel to Baton Rouge on Saturday, Nov. 3 for the marquee SEC matchup of No. 1 Alabama (8-0) vs. No. 3 LSU (7-1).

“It’s a big football weekend in Louisiana, and ESPN will be a part of it with College GameDay and Sunday NFL Countdown,” says Stephanie Druley, SVP, events and studio production, ESPN. “With the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team and the No. 1 team in college football playing pivotal away games on consecutive days so close to each other, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to send these two signature shows on the road.”

Sam Ponder will host Countdown (10 a.m.–1 p.m. ET) from New Orleans with analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Rex Ryan, Charles Woodson, and Louis Riddick. NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter, along with senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry, will contribute to the show from ESPN’s Bristol, CT, studios.

A year ago, Countdown traveled to Pittsburgh for the late-season Patriots-Steelers matchup, and, in 2016, ESPN’s popular NFL pregame show hosted its first-ever regular-season road show from Chapultepec Park in Mexico City the day before the NFL International Series game on Monday Night Football at historic Estadio Azteca.

Countdown in New Orleans will be free and open to the public. There will be a special giveaway item for the first 100 fans.