During a standoff that took place between the 2023 college football season and the summer of '24, it wasn't clear that Pat McAfee would return to College GameDay as a permanent fixture on the analyst desk for a third season. Following a critical poll run by The Athletic in which just under 49% of responses said they didn't like McAfee on the show in October '23, McAfee publicly flirted with the idea of leaving GameDay.
That, of course, didn't happen. GameDay stalwart Herbstreit later threatened to leave the show if McAfee walked, and ESPN ultimately came to an agreement with the former Colts punter. In the two seasons since, McAfee has become a staple on the show, instituting a popular new student kicking competition in which he's given away a significant chunk of his own money, and largely filling Lee Corso's role as the final analyst to give his pick for the game hosting that weekend's show. He doesn't put on any headgear, often opting to lead the home fans in chants and cheers—and on one occasion, going off a high dive at Miami.
