College Gameday Crew Give Predictions For BYU/Cincinnati Game

CINCINNATI – The ESPN College Gameday crew gave their picks for tonight’s BYU/Cincinnati game.

For the second time this season, Gameday was on location at the University of Oregon. The celebrity guest picker was former Oregon and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota.

BYU vs. Cincinnati College Gameday Picks

– Desmond Howard: BYU
– Nick Saban: BYU
– Pat McAfee: Cincinnati
– Marcus Mariota: BYU
– Kirk Herbstreit: Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/qYhFLNJb2T

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 22, 2025

Most of the ESPN College Gameday crew likes BYU to win this game tonight at historic Nippert Stadium in Cincy.

ESPN College Gameday picks for BYU vs. Cincinnati

Last week, most of the Gameday crew picked BYU to defeat TCU, except Kirk Herbstreit. Everyone but Herbie was right on that pick. This week, Herbstreit continues to pick against the Cougars, and another College Gameday analyst picked against BYU.

Here were their picks for BYU-Cincinnati:

• Desmond Howard: BYU
• Nick Saban: BYU
• Pat McAfee: Cincinnati
• Marcus Mariota: BYU
• Kirk Herbstreit: Cincinnati

“Give me Cincinnati getting a big-time win and causing full chaos in the Big 12 over BYU,” Pat McAfee said.

Marcus Mariota gave a shoutout to Kalani Sitake

Meanwhile, Marcus Mariota picked the Cougars and gave a shoutout to BYU head coach Kalani Sitake.

“Huge Hawaii contingency at BYU, Coach Kalani Sitake is from Lai’e, where the legendary Kahuku Red Raiders play football. Give me the boys from Provo,” said Mariota.

Herbstreit shared his reasoning for picking Cincinnati over BYU.

“I think Cincinnati surprises BYU with its speed, and I think (Brendan) Sorsby running could be the difference tonight,” Herbstreit said.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

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