Getty Image / Jonathan Wiggs
Notre Dame and Ohio State meet up in South Bend on Saturday in what is probably the biggest game of the college football season so far. And, ESPN’sCollege GameDay is bringing in an A-lister as guest picker in Hollywood star actor Vince Vaughn.
This is a great pick, as Vaughn played backup quarterback Jamie O’Hara in the movie ‘Rudy’, based on a true story about the Notre Dame football program.
Since then, he’s become one of the biggest comedy stars in all of Hollywood. Vaughn went on to star in classic comedies like “Dodgeball”, “Wedding Crashers” and “Fred Claus”, among others.
The 53-year-old also famously dated Jennifer Aniston when they were starring in, ironically, “the Break-Up”, back in 2006.
Apparently, he’s also been the guest picker twice for Notre Dame games. The first was a win over Stanford, and the second was the team’s biggest win in recent years, an upset of Clemson during the 2020 COVID year.
The Irish may need some of that good juju on Saturday, as they welcome the Ohio State Buckeyes to town. The two teams met last year in Columbus, and Notre Dame played them close last year. Despite having terrible quarterback play from Tyler Buchner, Notre Dame led 10-7 at half, and only trailed 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes pulled away to win 21-10. But, this is a much better Irish team, and the game is at home.
This Irish team is led by Wake Forest transfer quarterback Sam Hartman. Hartman is a bona fide Heisman contender. He’s been unreal this year, throwing 13 touchdowns and zero picks so far this year. With over 1000 yards passing on just 90 attempts, the offense is explosive and can attack a Buckeye defense that has been suspect over the past few seasons at times. If the Irish defense keeps Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr., in check, College GameDay guest picker Vince Vaughn may move to 3-0 for the Irish.