Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk is College GameDay guest picker for Miami vs. UF
The Miami Hurricanes are striving for a national championship and are in the limelight this week with College GameDay in town for No. 4 UM’s matchup against the Florida Gators on Saturday.
So why not have one of South Florida’s most recent champions — and most boisterous personalities — take part in the GameDay festivities?
Florida Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk will serve as the guest picker for College GameDay, the show announced Thursday.
He is the first NHL player to serve as a guest picker on ESPN’s weekly traveling college football pregame show.
“It’s an honor,” Tkachuk said Thursday. “Ever since coming down here to South Florida, I’ve been more into college football, but my love for it started years ago visiting my buddy at Ole Miss. I’ve been a college football fan for a little while, but being the first NHL player to be given this honor of being on this grand stage and for the country to see my picks is going to be good. Hopefully my picks hit. I love college football. I think College GameDay does an absolutely incredible job of growing the sport and grabbing the attention of a guy like me. I’m so excited and I’m so honored to be part of it.”
Tkachuk, who is entering his fourth season with the Panthers but will miss the start of the season while recovering from offseason surgery, has been integral in turning Florida into back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and an annual contender for the title.
In 211 regular-season games with Florida, Tkachuk has 254 points (88 goals, 166 assists). He has 69 points (25 goals, 44 assists) in 67 Stanley Cup playoff games for the Panthers.
He is also close with one of the College GameDay panelists in Pat McAfee, who has had Tkachuk on his show multiple times during the past couple years.
Guest pickers became a regular fixture on College GameDay in 2008, with a celebrity with ties to the host team or area joining the panel to make their picks for the games of the week at the end of the show.
There have been four guest pickers with UM ties over the years. The quartet: 14-time MLB All-Star and 2009 World Series champion Alex Rodriguez (twice, Nov. 11, 2017 for Miami-Notre Dame and Oct. 10, 2020 for Miami at Clemson), Hurricanes star wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin (Aug. 24, 2019, for Miami-Florida in Orlando), rapper and former 2 Live Crew head man Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell (Dec. 2, 2017 for ACC Championship Game between Miami and Clemson) and Jon “Stugotz” Weiner (Sept. 26, 2020 for Miami-FSU).
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM.
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