ESPN host and sideline reporter Laura Rutledge can do it all as a host and sideline reporter both covering the NFL and college football. And as she showed at the Sugar Bowl in a viral video, she’s also got some wheels as well.
Rutledge was pulling double duty as she was not only a sideline reporter for the ESPN telecast on New Year’s Day, but also served as a halftime show host with the set on site in New Orleans and the College GameDay stationed in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl.
However, this left her with very little time to get from one place to the next. After the game, a viral video on social media showed her sprinting across the Superdome field to get from her halftime interview to the ESPN set to prepare for her hosting duties.
SEC Nation ➡️ Sideline ➡️ ESPN Halftime
🏃♀️💨 @lauramrutledge = built different 🐐 pic.twitter.com/ghBYR9iKjq
— BMillz (@bmillz09) January 2, 2026
But there is definitely a reason why Laura Rutledge was sprinting so quickly. In an interview with The Athletic the day after the game, the ESPN host and sideline reporter said that she had two minutes to get from the sideline to the set. And she just so happened to be on the opposite sideline with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
Things were also complicated because even though she was supposed to interview Smart first, he wasn’t ready. That meant she had even less time to get to the set after her interview followed Molly McGrath talking to Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding. But while everyone might wonder why not have a golf cart ready to zoom her around the field, Laura Rutledge said it’s actually faster if she does it herself. And given the fact she had to run through a marching band, that was probably the best decision.
“From the time I sat down until we went live was probably less than a minute,” Rutledge said. “That’s enough time for them to tell me, ‘OK, you’re gonna see the scoop-and-score play, and then we’re going to come on camera. You’re gonna see the talent. We’re going to introduce everybody. And then we’re going to do a quick comment on the first half.’
“It basically says on the [iPad], the sponsor rollout of break, which is just full sound, so I’m not doing that. And then it says, the play that it’s going to be. But we don’t know what that play is, so I’m looking at it and then they’re telling me in my ear, OK, it’s going to be the Daylen Everette [scoop-and-score touchdown] play.”
When the video of Rutledge running to the set started circulating on social media, some wondered why ESPN doesn’t get her a golf cart to save time. However, with the challenges of getting a golf cart on the sideline, Rutledge says it’s actually faster to to just do it herself.
“Just got to rely on my wheels,” Rutledge said with a chuckle. “I was mad last night because I was kind of wearing a little heel on my shoe. It was making me go a little slower than I wanted to.”
While the video showed a remarkable amount of hustle from Laura Rutledge, the fact that she pulled off both jobs so well shows why she is one of the absolute best in the business. Viewers watching at home probably assumed that she didn’t break a sweat in making the transition from sideline reporter to host so easily. Thank goodness for her, though, that she did it inside at the Sugar Bowl instead of in the monsoon conditions that her ESPN colleagues had to deal with at the Rose Bowl.