{
  "id": 17457347,
  "title": "Pat McAfee Names Shocking National Championship Sleeper Pick",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/pat-mcafee-names-shocking-national-championship-sleeper-pick",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-31T18:57:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/pat-mcafee-names-shocking-national-championship-sleeper-pick-12645042"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "During ESPN’s “College GameDay,” Pat McAfee surprised everyone by naming a University of Utah football team as his national championship sleeper pick. The Utah team’s sudden rise in popularity and performance left McAfee puzzled, considering the controversy surrounding the school’s recent social media video. The former Indianapolis Colts punter defended himself against the university’s sharing of the video, stating, \"If these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good.\" McAfee even went as far as saying, \"I’ll never see you again, hopefully,\" in a post on his show “The Pat McAfee Show.” However, it seems McAfee’s strong endorsement of the Utah team may have softened the backlash from Utah students towards him.",
  "summary": "Wait… what is happening here? Is this really McAfee talking? Blink in Morse code if you need help.",
  "key_points": [
    "University of Utah named national championship sleeper pick by Pat McAfee",
    "McAfee surprised everyone on ESPN’s College GameDay",
    "Utah team’s rise puzzled McAfee despite recent controversy"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}