Getty Image
Fox Big Noon kickoff fired the first salvo at ESPN College GameDay in the college football pregame wars on Saturday morning.
And College GameDay has nobody but itself to blame.
Let’s start with a history lesson.
Several years ago, a Washington State fan brought the school’s flag, Ol’ Crimson, to an episode of College GameDay.
That grew into something bigger as a network of Wazzu fans across the country formed a network to ensure that the flag flew on the set of every episode of the show.
But when Lee Corso subtly threw shade at the Cougs a couple weeks ago, saying that the Oregon State-Washington State game was the “nobody wants us bowl”, that relationship began to fracture.
“I think nationally, there’s a lot of noise out there. I caught something this morning, I was watching GameDay, and Corso comes on and he says ‘The No One Watches Bowl.’ And I don’t really understand that,” Washington State coach Jake Dickert said of Corso. “What’s the merit, once again? Because the facts say people watch the Cougs and the people watch the Cougs more than every team that’s left over in the Big 12.”
Sure, Dickert didn’t quite hear Corso correctly.
But that sparked a war that new GameDay host Pat McAfee took to an entirely new level.
So, how did Big Noon Kickoff respond?
Big Noon Kickoff has Matt Leinart and Mark Ingram flying Ole Crimson on set after Pat McAfee dissed Wazzu last week on College Gameday.
I love college football so much 😂 pic.twitter.com/dXboDonaEO
— Ralph Amsden (@ralphamsden) October 7, 2023
Big Noon Hosts Matt Leinart and Mark Ingram pulled out a Wazzu flag and waved it on the set of this week’s show in Columbus, Ohio.
Shots fired? Shots fired.
It’s unlikely that College GameDay even acknowledges the jab. But it’s also possible that McAfee just can’t help himself.
Either way, it’s clear that Big Noon Kickoff is here to stake its claim as the premier college football preview show, and it’s not going away anytime soon.