Pat McAfee flat out told Utah fans, “Thank you, guys. I’ll never see you again, hopefully,” after College GameDay’s stop in Salt Lake City this past weekend. He didn’t just pick Houston over the Utes, he dug the knife in deep, questioning if Utah had even played anyone yet. This wasn’t just a friendly jab, this was a full-blown declaration of war against an entire fanbase, and it caps off weeks of McAfee using the GameDay platform to air his personal beefs.
This Ain’t His First Rodeo, Folks
Look, McAfee’s charismatic appeal to a segment of the college football audience is undeniable, the GameDay ratings prove that. But let’s be real, his inability to handle criticism and his instinct to punch down at anyone he perceives as taking shots has been a growing problem. This whole thing really ramped up with The Athletic column that called out his role on the show. He’s been slamming The New York Times, who owns The Athletic, at consecutive GameDay stops, making it clear he doesn’t like the idea that GameDay might be losing its connection to actual college football fans. We’ve seen this before, right? He infamously got into a spat with Washington State fans, and he trolled Georgia fans after some were mad he replaced David Pollack on the program. Remember what he said to Georgia fans? “It was a nice little reminder that, hey yea, you can go to hell too for what you said to me all year.” It feels like that spite, mostly kept at bay for a while, just exploded again in Salt Lake City.
The Salt Lake City Showdown Was Different
This past weekend in Salt Lake City, McAfee did his usual schtick, ripping off his shirt and slamming “The Gray Lady,” but when it came time to pick Utah-Houston, he was particularly spicy. He told the crowd, “We appreciate all the love from everybody that camped out and hung out and came out to hang out with us. The fireworks at the beginning were special.” But then he immediately pivoted. He called out the kicking raffle contestant who said $1 million wasn’t enough, comparing it to BYU’s $3 million contest last week and noting his “billionaire friends” didn’t pitch in this time. He also loved that the “university’s Instagram account posted something talking a little trash” about him. Then came the pick, a cold, calculated shot at the Utes: “It’s hard to pick against this mighty Utah student section, but I’m gonna do it ten times out of ten. Give me Houston coming out of here with a big-time dub and proving that Utah hasn’t had to play anybody yet. They’re going to get a little bit of a struggle, and then maybe they get better down the stretch. Congrats to Houston getting a huge win here in Salt Lake City.” And then that mic drop: “Thank you, guys. I’ll never see you again, hopefully.” It’s one thing to make a bold pick, it’s another to actively tell an entire fanbase you hope to never see them again.
So, where does College GameDay go from here? Does McAfee’s ongoing personal crusade overshadow the actual celebration of college football? We’ll be watching next week to see if this trend of analyst-vs-fanbase beef continues, or if GameDay gets back to its roots.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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