Pat McAfee was his usual self during College GameDay yesterday. He did a heel turn on his prediction for Ohio State vs. Iowa, tore his shirt, and rallied the crowd. However, one viewer still took issue with what he said on the show.
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After ESPN’s Oct. 3 broadcast from Iowa City, McAfee shared an Instagram message threatening to attack him and another person on his show. The message also contained repeated slurs and referenced McAfee’s criticism of Notre Dame.
“I’m going to break your fu—g jaw and make you bite the curb. Talk more s–t about Notre Dame,” part of the message read. The other part referred to a similar threat for the person who “rides all Boston sports on the show.”
In his next Instagram story, McAfee shared exactly what he said about Notre Dame on the GameDay broadcast from Iowa City. The ESPN broadcaster actually praised CJ Carr’s development since taking over as the starting QB for Marcus Freeman last season. McAfee showed several clips to argue that Carr’s reading of coverages has improved.
On the same show, McAfee spoke with Carr before Notre Dame’s kickoff against UNC. He challenges Carr to hit the crossbar and win money for a charity of his liking. The Fighting Irish QB obliged and successfully delivered to win a $250,000 charitable donation.
The Notre Dame reference in the threatening message has a longer history. McAfee has never hidden that he enjoys poking at the Fighting Irish. In August 2024, he picked Texas A&M over Notre Dame before the season opener in College Station.
Notre Dame won 23-13, and McAfee later admitted on his show that he had actually planned to pick the Irish before the atmosphere around the game changed his mind.
He eventually became more bullish on Notre Dame. In the 2024 Orange Bowl, McAfee again leaned into the joke, telling Irish fans that since they had enjoyed watching him pick against them, he would keep doing it. He picked Penn State over Notre Dame. Marcus Freeman’s team won that game, too.
So there is plenty for an angry fan to disagree with. None of it legitimizes a threat. And this isn’t the first time McAfee has dealt with that line being crossed.
His first experience came long before ESPN. In the 2007 Backyard Brawl, Pat McAfee missed two field goals as West Virginia lost 13-9 to Pittsburgh. The loss ended the Mountaineers’ hopes of playing for a national title. The reaction was ugly.
McAfee received death threats, his car was vandalized, and people close to him were harassed. He later said the abuse became so intense that he considered suicide.
Sadly, that experience didn’t stay in the past once McAfee moved into broadcasting. In January 2024, McAfee revealed that he had received death threats.
The reason was simple enough. Every Saturday, he walked onto another college campus and picked against thousands of fans who wanted to hear him cheer on their team. Then came March 2025.
After McAfee criticized Canadian fans for booing the U.S. national anthem during WWE’s Elimination Chamber in Toronto, he shared messages threatening him and his young daughter.
Just days before the Iowa broadcast, another fake College GameDay post caused trouble. The post falsely claimed McAfee had made a political pick, picking President Donald Trump, that he never made.
Pat McAfee said the post was followed by violent messages. So the latest message was not just another angry reaction to a football pick. McAfee had already been dealing with threats tied to false posts and his weekly predictions. And McAfee continues to give people plenty to react to.
Earlier in the broadcast, the show’s $1 million kicking contest produced another memorable moment when Iowa freshman Finley Banfig missed her seven-figure field goal attempt.
Dallas Clark stepped in for a consolation throw, producing $150,000, which McAfee matched for a $300,000 total. That is McAfee’s GameDay identity.
McAfee can take the boos and the Notre Dame jokes. But threatening messages are a different story, turning the latest backlash into something far more serious than another round of criticism.