ESPN loves Pat McAfee. There are a certain number of fans who also like Pat McAfee. However, there is also a certain group of fans who don’t like Pat McAfee. The ultra-popular football host, however, made sure the feeling was mutual when College GameDay visited Utah for the Houston game.

“The university’s Instagram account posted something talking a little trash about me last night, which I certainly love,” McAfee said on the show, as per Awful Announcing, while announcing his pick for the game. “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. Thank you, guys. I’ll never see you again, hopefully.”

Whether or not McAfee chose the Cougars out of spite is unclear. But the minute McAfee chose the rival team, he was showered with booes from the fans gathered behind the GameDay set.

Now McAfee has been daring in his picks this season, going against rival teams. He picked Georgia against Alabama while the show was at Tuscaloosa, as the crowd erupted in booes behind him. He did that in front of Nick Saban (who playfully landed a punch on him) and Bryce Young, who took him to the ground.

However, he has been firing shots back at fans who have expressed their dislike for him, per Awful Announcing. That was apparent in the Utah vs. Houston pick, too.

Prior to McAfee coming to Salt Lake City for the show, the University of Utah uploaded an Instagram video in collaboration with Utah Student Experience.

One of the students said, “We love you, bro, but, like, bro, keep the shirt on.” Another student said he would bet money on whether McAfee would take off his shirt during the show. (He did.)

This comes after a rather animated McAfee rant against Washington State in 2023, when the show was honoring Ol’ Crimson. The game between Washington State and Oregon State, who were both conference-less at the time after the Pac-12 fell apart, was labeled as the ‘Nobody Wants Us Bowl’ by former GameDay great Lee Corso. Then Wazzu head coach Jack Dickert lashed out at the show, and ESPN.

McAfee, on the taping of the show, said:

“We [West Virginia, McAfee’s alma mater] don’t get it, Washington State gets it, and all of a sudden, Washington State’s going, ‘Now Big Beav’s up there!’ Like, shut up! Washington State, about sick of you! Waste of time on this show…”

Another instance saw McAfee trolling Georgia Bulldogs fans, as fans weren’t happy that McAfee replaced their favorite host and Bulldogs hero, David Pollack. McAfee said Georgia fans “did not love me,” further saying that they are not the “biggest McAfee fans.”

“With that being said, I was very nice to them; I was very cordial to them. But in the biggest moment, in front of ’em all, it was a nice little reminder that, ‘Yeah, you can go to hell too because of what you said to me all year,'” McAfee added.

Now, with McAfee having a beef with yet another college football team, he has added a destination that he hopes he doesn’t come back to.

Weirdly enough, McAfee also seemed to give one back to the New York Times in the Utah-Houston game, too. The Athletic had recently ran an article on him. McAfee, who had taken off his shirt at this point of the show, yelled out a headline that he imagined the publication to already have in mind.

“New York Times already saying it: This a–h— is shirtless at 9:02 a.m. Eastern,” he said, before picking up his clothes. “Sorry, coach [Saban], I’m ruining the whole sport. I’m ruining the whole sport because of this.”

Pat McAfee is no longer in the mood to be quiet about his critics, it looks like.