ORLANDO, Fla. - College GameDay once again had BYU in the spotlight on Saturday, with the Cougars’ road trip to UCF landing on the show’s “Saturday Selections” board.
That made for a clean split in the final tally: four picks for BYU, one for UCF.
Nick Saban backed the Cougars after pointing to what he saw in Provo last week. “For me, in Provo last week, the DNA of this (BYU) team seems like they have it together. I know they will be challenged by UCF today, but I’m going with BYU,” said Nick Saban.
Pat McAfee was just as direct in going with the road team. “How could you not go with BYU? … The BYU Cougars are mature enough to handle it,” said Pat McAfee.
Kirk Herbstreit also landed on BYU, but he got there with a few more details. He noted that last week BYU great Steve Young picked Utah to beat Colorado, helping him earn a perfect 10-0 record. Herbstreit said UCF QB Keyone Jenkins is the “key in this game” but highlighted Bear Bachmeier’s 18-2 record as a starting quarterback.
The only pick against BYU came from guest picker Dalton Kincaid, the former Utah star and current Buffalo Bills tight end. Kincaid followed McAfee in the order and said he doesn’t think BYU is mature enough to avoid the letdown at UCF. “They’re coming off an emotional win last week, and UCF has a homecoming game; I think they pull it out today.”
College GameDay’s final picks for BYU-UCF were:
Desmond Howard: BYU
Nick Saban: BYU
Pat McAfee: BYU
Dalton Kincaid: UCF
Kirk Herbstreit: BYU
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