Johnny Knoxville makes outrageous picks on College Gameday

Johnny Knoxville, appearing as the celebrity guest picker on ESPN's College GameDay, made a series of provocative and humorous statements during a broadcast from Knoxville, Tennessee. The event coincided with the presence of President Donald Trump and the No. 1 ranked team in the country, while co-hosts Pat McAfee and Lee Corso reacted to Knoxville's remarks with visible disbelief and laughter. Dressed in a complete Tennessee Volunteers football uniform, Knoxville delivered comments that echoed the outrageous nature of his previous work on MTV's Jackass. When selecting between Missouri and Mississippi State, Knoxville joked that he would punish himself by listening to Pat McAfee's new album on repeat until Halloween if Missouri lost. McAfee laughed loudly at the comment, to which Knoxville added, "No offense." During the selection for the Georgia versus Oklahoma game, Knoxville described the matchup as choosing between "gout" and "syphilis," ultimately picking Georgia. He noted that he is from Knoxville, implying a local bias for the "gout" side. Both McAfee and Herbstreit reacted with shock to the medical metaphor. Knoxville also took aim at LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, referencing Kiffin's recent departure from Ole Miss and his team's loss to his former squad. Comparing Kiffin to college football in the same way toe fungus relates to flip flops, Knoxville picked Texas A&M over LSU. The segment also featured a discussion on Tennessee's defensive questions and a critique of Texas' offense before Knoxville made his final pick for the Texas versus Tennessee game. He stated that after the game, Tennessee would remain "the real UT," while Texas would remain "the real UTI." Co-hosts Rece Davis and Desmond Howard reacted with disbelief to the pun. In a pregame interview, Knoxville also jokingly attempted to slip a referee a $20 bill. The broadcast included interviews with Holly Rowe and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, marking their first interview since an abrupt ending to a previous conversation following Texas' upset win over Ohio State.