Pat McAfee and Scottie Scheffler on College GameDay.
ESPN
Texas is back. That means Scottie is too. On College Games Daythat is
Scheffler, who grew up in Dallas and went to UT, joined the cast of ESPN’s celebrity pregame show as a guest selector before the No. 1 SEC Texas Longhorns at No. 5 Georgia on Saturday. That meant he sat down with Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Rece Davis and Desmond Howard to make his picks ahead of Saturday’s roster.
Here are five takeaways from Scottie Scheffler’s College GameDay appearance.
No. 1 chose no. 1
I spent a few minutes trying to figure out the last time a golfer was ranked no. 1 in the world, while his alma mater was also no. 1 in football. I think we can comfortably agree on Justin Thomas, who technically wasn’t #1 long football season — but when it peaked in May 2018, Alabama was months removed from a national championship and months away from starting the next season at No. 1. Good enough.
Still, Saturday marks a good day for the Longhorns. While Texas is off to a 6-0 start to the season, it has yet to match Scheffler’s win total for 2024 (seven on the PGA Tour, plus the Olympic medal) and faces Georgia on Saturday night.
It wasn’t a shock who Scheffler chose.
“Texas only gave up three hits all year,” Scheffler said. “I think Texas is the No. 1 team in the country and I think they prove that tonight.”
Scottie played Louisville’s pick perfectly
Scheffler would inevitably be looked to for his pick in the University of Miami’s matchup with Louisville. Scheffler was arrested, as you may recall, by Louisville Metro Police in May in a strange incident on his way to Valhalla before the second round of the PGA Championship. While the charges were eventually dropped, Scheffler has a connection to Louisville that he will never forget. So how to play the choice? Scheffler did what he does best: sharp, understated, subtle smile.
“Not to bring anything personal into this with Louisville, the big city, love the people … but Miami is going to smoke them,” Scheffler said.
What about his memories of the lockdown?
“Honestly, prison was a touch boring because you’re sitting there staring at the wall,” he told the panel.
Scottie didn’t get any awards this time
The last time Scheffler was on the show was September 2022; he was coming off a career year that included a Masters win and the Jack Nicklaus Award. His college coach, John Fields, made a surprise delivery to Scheffler on the set.
This year? Scheffler won the Masters and was a dominant world number. The Player of the Year award has yet to be announced, but we like Scheffler’s chances. However, perhaps his fellow constituents decided that he did not need any additional evaluation.
However, he blew the green jacket
“Scottie Scheffler, sweet friend in the jacket,” McAfee said. Sweet jacket, indeed. As the reigning Masters champion, Scheffler is allowed to wear his green jacket in public — though not without restrictions.
Jon Rahm, who won the 2023 Masters, spoke last year about the rules about the jacket. Augusta National, he said, doesn’t like expected public appearances, so it’s safe to say Scheffler gave the club a nod going into GameDay.
“There’s a dress code that comes with it,” Rahm said. “You learn about it quickly when you have to sign documents and stuff about what you’re doing. Of course, we all know the rules around Augusta Nationalright? And they tell you that you’re representing Augusta National and the jacket is Augusta National.”
And while jacket wearers often don an accompanying tie, Scheffler’s white button-down look was apparently within Augusta’s dress code.
“They don’t like to be surprised, so they have to approve everything. I can’t be photographed with a jacket and alcohol. It just goes on and on,” Rahm explained.
And he knows the lyrics
McAfee launched into a lively rendition of “The Eyes of Texas,” much to the delight of the UT faithful behind him. But after opening a few lines he made an admission:
“I don’t know the text.”
But Scheffler did, so he took over from there. Singing, joking, picking games – there’s not much this guy can’t do.
Oh, and he was precisely for Miami.
