It was an eventful debut for ESPN’s “College GameDay”, and Pat McAfee did not disappoint when it comes to his self-described polarizing status. McAfee’s picks came after “College GameDay” had a brief break in the action during a weather delay ahead of the Clemson-LSU game.
Fans looking for last-minute college football picks may want to skip McAfee’s predictions.
This is a kind way of saying McAfee’s national championship and ACC picks are interesting to say the least. McAfee picked Bill Belichick’s North Carolina to win the ACC.
For context, North Carolina sits near the bottom of the college football odds at +12000 to win the ACC, per DraftKings. Only Syracuse, Stanford and Boston College have worse odds than the Tar Heels.
It is worth noting that Belichick regularly appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show” during his brief break from coaching.
“Duke is the reigning ACC champ,” McAfee explained in the September 5, episode. “So with that chaos being kind of predicated here, give me the North Carolina Tar Heels winning the ACC.
“Bill Belichick winning the ACC.”
You can watch all of the ESPN “College GameDay” college football picks below. McAfee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbsreit and others offered college football predictions for the conference champions, national championship and the top Week 1 games.
College Football Picks: Pat McAfee Stunningly Predicts Ole Miss Will Play Indiana for National Championship
McAfee’s national championship has a surprise, but it is not as stunning as his ACC pick. The analyst predicts Indiana will take on a surprising opponent in Ole Miss for the national title.
McAfee crowned Indiana as his national championship pick.
“How about this? Give me Ole Miss taking on Indiana in the national championship,” McAfee noted. “You got (Josh) Hoover taking on “Winidad” (Trinidad Chambliss).
“It’s going to be great. Indiana goes back to back. Shoutout to the Big Ten. Four straight (national champions). Sorry about that. Ole Miss got a great football team.”
Fans Push Back Against ‘Too Much’ Pat McAfee on ESPN
McAfee has found himself in a new controversy for two key reasons. The rising media star is being featured on ESPN now more than ever with the company adding the former Indianapolis Colts kicker to “Monday Night Countdown.”
Now, the analyst is on two of ESPN’s biggest college football and NFL pregame shows.
McAfee also released a new country album “The Diary of a Polarizing Figure.” While the album featured some catchy songs, fans who dislike McAfee have used this as more fuel while feeling that the analyst is being overexposed between his own show, appearances on ESPN, being a notable WWE personality and now releasing a music album.
There have also been rumors that McAfee was tied to ESPN removing one of the “College GameDay” producers weeks before the college football season started.
For my money, McAfee’s approach is refreshing compared to the more traditional media personalities. That said, it is understandable that those who do not enjoy McAfee’s style are growing even more frustrated now that he is going to be on ESPN more than ever before.
Pat McAfee’s Unfortunate College Football Picks Amid New ‘College GameDay’ Controversy