Pat McAfee took off his shirt, picked Ohio State and apologized to Caitlin Clark during Saturday's College GameDay broadcast from Iowa City.
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Some viewers could have done without the shirtless part.
Clark returned to her alma mater as ESPN's celebrity guest picker ahead of Iowa's matchup with the Buckeyes. After she backed the Hawkeyes, McAfee removed his blue blazer and struggled to pull off his shirt when the cuffs caught at his wrists, according to the New York Post.
Nick Saban helped him finish the job. McAfee then made his pick while standing bare-chested beside Clark.
"Caitlin, I apologize to be like this in front of you," McAfee said.
He explained that the "football Gods" had called on him to go shirtless before choosing Ohio State to beat the home team.
Caitlin Clark makes her Ohio State-Iowa pick on College GameDay in Iowa City.
And so does Pat McAfee, while taking off his shirt. pic.twitter.com/QJLEEKgUfL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 3, 2026
The performance divided viewers online:
- "Thank God I live on the west coast. I can just watch the games when they start at 9am and 2 hours of this douche bag" (source)
- "Yall CANNOT make me dislike this dude" (source)
- "People somehow find this entertaining" (source)
- "Do people really not get that this stuff is for the live crowd? The students and fans that have been there for 12 hours? It's really not that serious." (source)
- "Wtf is wrong with him? Serious question" (source)
There was also overly enthusiastic, sarcastic praise for the moment, such as, "OH BOY OH BOY I can't WAIT to see my pal McAfee take off his shirt again for ANOTHER SEC matchup ???" and "Oh my goodness ??? Pat McAfee took his shirt off again! ?"??. He then said he's picking Ohio State instead of Iowa!! ??? what a show!!"
For what it's worth, Clark appeared to take McAfee's routine in stride.
The basketball star heard in-person boos during the picks segment, though those were for choosing rival Iowa State over West Virginia. She followed that selection by predicting an Iowa upset of Ohio State.
