ESPN College GameDay makes its picks for No. 24 Boise State vs. Oregon State

It was a clean sweep for No. 24 Boise State on the set of ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning.

Under sunny skies after a rainy and windy night at DeChevrieux Field, all GameDay panelists—including guest picker Ian Johnson—selected the Broncos (8-1, 5-0 Pac-12) to defeat the Beavers (5-4, 3-2) on Saturday.

Here is a brief summary of the GameDay panel’s analysis.

• Nick Saban: “Boise, watch out. Oregon State can score lots of points. But you will outscore them today.”

• Kirk Herbstreit: “When it comes down to playing on that blue turf and the physicality, how do you ever pick against Boise State?”

• Pat McAfee: “Jesse Legree might be the best receiver in all of football … but give me Boise State.”

A massive crowd turned out for College GameDay’s first broadcast from Boise since 2010.

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

The GameDay festivities also included a flyover and McAfee’s grand entrance on horseback. Leighton Vander Esch made a second-chance field goal to secure $1 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said “it’s huge for our program” to have College GameDay in town.

“And that’s the both sides that we’re living in this week,” Danielson said on Thursday. “For our players and our coaches, it is ‘How can we play our best on Saturday at 4 o’clock?’ But when you think program-wide—now, for the future, for the future of college football for Boise State—these are pillars in the college football world … for a long time.

“And they’re going to have a great experience. I have no doubt that the College GameDay set, our students and our fan base will be there. I’ve told all of them: ‘This will be the best place you’ve been to all season.’ I believe that much in our community and our team showing up that they’ll leave here … really impressed with this community, Bronco Nation and just Boise as a whole.”

Kickoff between the Broncos and Beavers is set for 4 p.m. Mountain time on Saturday at Albertsons Stadium. The game will air live nationally on USA Network.

Oregon State was among a group of college football teams impacted by Friday’s Federal Aviation Administration ground stop. The Beavers finally arrived in Boise around 9:45 p.m. Mountain time on Friday night.

McAfee’s horseback entrance was a jab at Friday’s travel chaos.

“Don’t you worry about an aeroplane! Don’t you worry about an automobile! I’m riding a rodeo!,” McAfee yelled while riding a horse onto the set.

Add us as a preferred source on Google