TRENDING Latest NFL updates J-Dub suffers devastating injury NFL Week 7 Winners and Losers Early Week 8 Waiver Wire Luka drops 52 on Jazz Story by Story by Pat McAfee doubles down on criticism of 'very, very uncomfortable' experience with Utah fans Dan Treacy Mon, October 26, 2026 at 11:10 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pat McAfee doubles down on criticism of 'very, very uncomfortable' experience with Utah fans originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
It's a great time to be a fan of Utah Utes football.
The program is in its highest spot in the AP Top 25 since 2019 at No. 6, and the Utes are firmly a College Football Playoff contender under first-year coach Morgan Scalley while former coach Kyle Whittingham struggles to find his footing at Michigan.
Count Pat McAfee among those hoping the good times don't last. McAfee doubled down Monday on his unhappiness with his "College GameDay" experience at the university, which hosted the ESPN pregame show ahead of its win over Houston on Saturday.
If McAfee and the crew do return to Utah, it could make for appointment television after his latest comments.
Here's a look at what McAfee said about his experience on Utah's campus.
McAfee raised eyebrows on Saturday with his awkward sign-off as he made his pick for Utah's game against Houston.
"It's hard to pick against this mighty Utah student section, but I'm gonna do it ten times out of ten," McAfee said. Give me Houston coming out of here with a big-time dub and proving that Utah hasn't had to play anybody yet."
After finishing his pick, McAfee said, "Thank you, guys. I'll never see you again, hopefully."
That wasn't just a bit by McAfee, evidently. On his show Monday, the polarizing host reiterated that he "did not enjoy" his experience at the university.
"I've really enjoyed this college football season. Did not enjoy University of Utah," McAfee said. "Did not enjoy it."
McAfee explained that a video posted by the university in which students were asked to do an impression of him sparked his frustration. One student called McAfee "creepy," while another called him "corny."
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"Okay, if these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good. I mean, everybody's taking shots at me anyways for everything. I get it," McAfee said. "f the two ladies that were hosting that put that out on their own blog, I'd be okay with it. Hey, you, you're allowed to do what you — the university puts that out? Like, as I'm about to go out and do an infomercial for the place, and then I'm walking in front of thousands of these people, this is how the university feels about it?"
McAfee called it an "uncomfortable feeling" and even evoked the 2025 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed at Utah Valley University.
"And then I thought to myself, has anything like really scary happened at like a college gathering in the state of Utah recently? Like, do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university? I don't know," McAfee said.
McAfee said he will "hopefully never go back" to the University of Utah, but the Utes are hoping to force his hand by becoming a Big 12 power after emerging as a regular contender in the Pac-12.
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Source: Sports
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