Pat McAfee, a man who beats to his own drum.
McAfee, a former NFL punter who now hosts his own sports talk show on ESPN and serves as an analyst on College GameDay, isn't afraid to go against the grain. That was evident on the first broadcast of the 2026 season when the crew, along with country music superstar Lainey Wilson, made their predictions as to who will win each major conference this season.
While the majority of the crew went with the same team, McAfee made an eye-popping predicion, one that centers around Bill Belichick and the UNC football program.
Pat McAfee predicts UNC football to win the ACC
Yes, you read that right: McAfee believes in Bill Belichick and North Carolina!
Pat McAfee picks Bill Belichick and North Carolina to win the ACC 🐏 pic.twitter.com/a8Q8V7p50l
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) September 5, 2026
The rest of the crew selected Miami (a very safe pick, especially after their season-opening beatdown of Stanford on Friday night), but McAfee wasn't going to allow the picks to be a consensus.
All of Tar Heel faithful hopes that his pick is the one that ends up being right!
Of course, after a brutal 2025 season, it's a very bold take to believe that things will change at the flip of a switch in Chapel Hill. Especially with some of the off-the-field chaos that's ensued, not many people believe UNC is in a position to be successful this season, even after winning their opener in Ireland over TCU last weekend.
Let's remember: this is still the same team that was projected to finish 15th, yes, 15th, in the ACC this season.
However, McAfee hasn't lost faith in Belichick, and he has made it clear that his faith is unwavering regardless of the circumstances.
Sure, many believe McAfee is simply crazy, but it would be quite epic if his prediction proves true. We sure do love his enthusiastic approach to the UNC football program, giving them support that the majority of the country won't provide.
When UNC makes McAfee's prediction look absolutely brilliant, a trip to Chapel Hill with the ESPN College GameDay crew should be on the schedule so he can flex on being right about the 2026 Tar Heels.
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