Alabama and Texas fans are ready for some football in Tuscaloosa. But to help them kill some time at the Capstone, ESPN brought multiple shows to hype the massive crowd (and viewers at home) for one of the biggest games of the young college football season.

“College GameDay” set up on the Quad across from Lloyd Hall while “SEC Nation” once again parked in front of Wade Hall, as thousands gathered with clever signs, shakers and horns down (and some up) hand signals early Saturday morning.

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ESPN stars like Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, Tim Tebow, Paul Finebaum, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis and Laura Rutledge were on hand as usual, with both shows returning for the same game for the first time since Alabama hosted LSU in 2019.

Nick Saban even visited both shows, while Joe Namath served as celebrity guest picker for “College GameDay” in their final segment. (Broadway Joe picked the Tide, while Corso put on the Texas headgear.)

The weather was perfect, if a little hot, and set up an electric atmosphere in Tuscaloosa, something Crimson Tide fans are more than used to by now.

See the photos from the pregame fun on campus.