The first full weekend of college football is finally here, which means more of Pat McAfee via ESPN’s “College GameDay”. While football fans are clearly thrilled to see the sport return, they’re far less excited about McAfee having such a heavy hand in the coverage.
Pat McAfee Criticized for College GameDay Antics
While some clearly are big fans of McAfee’s approach, he’s not for everyone.
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Right away, spectators were calling for McAfee to be fired from the set.
“Fire pat mcafee. He’s unwatchable.”
Fire pat mcafee. He’s unwatchable
— Logan Bankston (@MAGALogan92) September 5, 2026
Another said that the former NFL punter “ruins everything.”
“Pat McAfee ruins everything.”
Pat McAfee ruins everything
— #FireVogt (@DeLauterAgenda) September 5, 2026
One spectator said they could only handle 10 minutes of College GameDay before he was too annoyed by McAfee to continue.
“don’t normally watch gameday but had it on for 10 minutes and that’s enough mcafee for me to never watch again.”
don’t normally watch gameday but had it on for 10 minutes and that’s enough mcafee for me to never watch again
— olddirtybaroo (@olddirty_baroo) September 5, 2026
Meanwhile, one commenter said that the show has been “unwatchable” ever since McAfee joined in 2022.
“It’s been unwatchable since McAfee joined TBH.”
It’s been unwatchable since McAfee joined TBH
— Kåt (@aryanohtani) September 5, 2026
Another spectator called McAfee “annoying as hell on GameDay.”
“McAfee annoying as hell on Gameday.”
One commenter had a creative analogy, likening McAfee’s antics on GameDay to a disappointing Christmas, when you don’t get any of the presents you asked for.
“College football being back is like Christmas morning, but then seeing mcafee is like opening presents and not getting anything u wanted.”
The sentiment seems to be similar for many spectators tuning in; they have quickly developed a fatigue when it comes to McAfee.
“15 minutes into the college football season and I’m already tired of Pat McAfee”
At this point, ESPN and McAfee have become synonymous with one another, but one college football fan said they “don’t understand” how McAfee took over the network.
“So many things I don’t understand like how did Pat McAfee take over ESPN.”
Ultimately, it’s hard to imagine how ESPN and/or McAfee won’t make some changes if this type of loud criticism continues. If people really do start to tune out and essentially boycott the pregame shows, ratings will dip. If so, changes will surely be coming to the network.
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For now, it appears McAfee’s spot on College GameDay is secure, but that doesn’t mean everyone agrees with it.
