ESPN’s Pat McAfee was the ultimate hype man for the Oregon Ducks during the entirety of Saturday’s edition of College GameDay in Eugene. Or, at least until the final seconds of the three-hour program.
With College GameDay legend Lee Corso and the headgear enjoying retirement, ESPN turned to McAfee to end the college football pregame show with his pick of the main event, usually featuring plenty of theatrics and WWE vibes.
Entering Saturday, McAfee had picked the home team in all five of his chances as the College GameDay closer. It appeared he would do so again for the first 90 seconds of his Indiana-Oregon breakdown on Saturday, sitting next to Oregon basketball legend Sabrina Ionescu.
However, McAfee went with the Hoosiers to win in a shocking fake-out.
“(Indiana quarterback) Fernando Mendoza has no chance to come in here,” McAfee said. “I love Oregon. I love Dan Lanning. I was shirtless with that man this morning.”
“But my wife is a Hoosier, through and through,” McAfee continued, leading to loud boos from the Eugene crowd. “And so am I, baby! Give me the Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers! Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers! Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers! In the biggest win of (Curt) Cignetti’s career, the Indiana Hoosiers tell the world, ‘We’re for real.'”
“I’ll see you both in the College Football Playoffs,” the former Indianapolis Colts punter added. “Indiana gets the win today; changes the trajectory of all of college sports.”
So, there’s proof that, while McAfee loves to be a crowd-pleaser, he won’t only pick the host school on College GameDay.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.