Pat McAfee closes out College GameDay with dramatic pick for Ohio State-Michigan game
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Pat McAfee has taken the College GameDay closer’s role from the retired Lee Corso and run with it on Saturday mornings this fall.
And on the final Saturday morning of the 2025 regular season, the ESPN host and college football analyst provided that same high energy when making his closing pick for the Ohio State-Michigan showdown. With the show in Ann Arbor for the Big Ten rivalry of all rivalries, McAfee saved his best for last when discussing the top-ranked Buckeyes and their pursuit of a perfect regular season against the 15th-ranked Wolverines.
Despite Ohio State being the defending national champion, Michigan has owned the rivalry lately, winning the past 4 meetings. But McAfee believes that streak will end on Saturday, with the Buckeyes coming into The Big House and finally taking down those hated Wolverines.
“The Ohio State Buckeyes come into The Big House, and they end this (losing streak to Michigan). O-H-I-O!” McAfee shouted. “The Buckeyes finally beat the Michigan Wolverines, and every Ohio person gets a chance to breathe for the first time in a long time. The Buckeyes and the Ohio people are raising a glass and saying, ‘We never lose to Michigan again.’ And that’s what happens today.”
In a few short hours after the noon ET kickoff on FOX, we”ll know if McAfee was on target, and we’ll know if Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day finally got the monkey off their backs and beat Michigan.
If McAfee is right, the Buckeyes will have followed a national championship run with an undefeated regular season.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
