ESPN College GameDay hosts make their Syracuse-N.C. State picks, and Pat McAfee takes a few jabs

Syracuse, N.Y. — ESPN’s popular traveling college football pregame show leaned into Syracuse’s Top-20 matchup with North Carolina State on Saturday morning.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” hosts made their game picks toward the end of the show.

And one analyst took a few jabs at the Orange.

Lee Corso was back on set after missing the previous two shows as a result of an illness. He rejoined show regulars Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Pat McAfee and host Rece Davis.

Early in the show, McAfee hit on the quarterback news: N.C. State starter Devin Leary will not play.

McAfee then mentioned the historical rarity of a ranked matchup in Syracuse. It hadn’t happened since 2001.

“Syracuse has been irrelevant for that long,” McAfee said.

Later in the show, McAfee teased his thoughts on Syracuse’s chances next week at Clemson: The Tigers will “win by 50 points.”

When the GameDay crew dug into the matchup with the Wolfpack, it highlighted an SU defense ranked in the Top 10 nationally.

McAfee stood on his own when giving game predictions, calling out the Syracuse alums who work in television, including GameDay producer Jim Gaiero.

“Jimmy G has never been more excited about Syracuse not sucking for the first time,” McAfee quipped. “Give me N.C. State.”

He then howled like a wolf.

Syracuse’s Top-20 matchup with N.C. State is part of a mega-slate of games on Saturday.

Three involve 5-0 teams for the first time in the AP poll era: No. 3 Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee; No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan and No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 13 Texas Christian.

Syracuse is 5-0 for the first time since 1987. It’s plus-122 point differential through five games is the highest since the 1959 national championship season.

Here are the picks from the GameDay panel:

Lee Corso: Syracuse

Kirk Herbstreit: Syracuse

Desmond Howard: Syracuse

Pat McAfee: N.C. State

MORE ORANGE FOOTBALL:

N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary out vs. Syracuse (report)

What experts are saying about Syracuse-N.C. State

How to watch Syracuse football vs. NC State: Time, TV channel, free live stream

Syracuse’s games against N.C. State have been historically close (7 things to know)

Syracuse Orange fans:

How to watch and stream | Syracuse football tickets | Syracuse football gear

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.