Pat McAfee said he thought it would take a “special effort” for Ole Miss to beat Miami Thursday night at the Fiesta Bowl in the first of 2 College Football Playoff semifinal games.
McAfee picked the Hurricanes to win and advance to the national championship. His peers on the College GameDay desk agreed with him. Nick Saban, Desmond Howard, and McAfee all picked Miami to win the game. Kirk Herbstreit did not pick as he had already left the desk to join the broadcast booth.
Saban gave his reasoning.
“I think Ole Miss can win this game if they can get ahead in the game, take Miami out of their comfort zone, (and) get them tired by going fast,” Saban said. “But I don’t think that’s happening. I’m taking Miami.”
Saban added that, if he was in the locker room in the pregame delivering a message to Miami, he’d be telling them team that “we’re going to kick somebody’s ass tonight.”
McAfee loved it.
“I don’t know if Miami heard that or not, and I’m calling the game so I’d like to be non-biased, but I’ll tell you what, I think Cristobal is delivering the same message,” McAfee said. “Give me the Miami Hurricanes.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
