Timothée Chalamet didn’t think twice and was more than alright on Saturday’s edition of “College GameDay” on ESPN.
Some were curious about why Chalamet, a New York-born actor with seemingly no connection to Power 5 football, was chosen to be the guest picker on the college football program that was being held in Atlanta ahead of the SEC title game.
Well, the “A Complete Unknown” star showed he has some chops on the sports punditry circuit.
And, not only that, he seemed to do plenty of research as he made his picks ahead of an important slate of conference championship games.
He particularly stood out for his picks for the SWAC — Jackson State — and the MAC — Ohio.
“Jackson State, eight wins in a row, 11 all-conference players — this should be a comfortable, easy win for them,” Chalamet said with plenty of confidence, getting plenty of love with shoulder taps from show regulars Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit.
Instead of picking a favorite in the MAC title game between Miami of Ohio and Ohio, Chalamet had his reasons to pick an upset.
“The Red Hawks defense looks good, but I’m looking at fourth-year quarterback Parker Navarro. Sixty-five percent completion rate. If he can get going, he’ll tilt this in favor of the Bobcat. I’m going underdog Bobcats here, underdog Bobcats.”
That bold pick earned a strong handshake from McAfee.
And, when it came down to it, Chalamet thought hard about his pick for the SEC championship, and when it came down to it, he went with the Texas Longhorns over the Georgia Bulldogs, much to the chagrin of the large swath UGA fans in attendance.
College football social media was largely impressed with the actor’s sports preparedness.
“You are all fools for doubting Timothée Chalamet’s knowledge of ball. He drank the Water of Life,” wrote podcaster Ross Bolen on X.
“Timothee Chalamet, I owe you an apology — I wasn’t familiar with your game,” wrote College Sports Only in reference to the widely-shared meme of Shaquille O’Neal.
“Timothee Chalamet being a real deal college football fan, being a SMU fan, and knowing about all these teams was so crazy to me. I thought just invited cause famous, but he was a legit great guest picker on College Gameday,” wrote the Ringer’s Chris Vernon.
Fox NFL writer and NFL Network personality Peter Schrager didn’t mince words.
“Timothee Chalamet came prepared , researched, and referenced the Pony Express. Maybe the best College Gameday guest picker yet. NYC guy. Respect,” he wrote.
In a season that’s included plenty of famous folks like actor Keegan-Michael Key, Pirates star Paul Skenes, gymnast Olivia “Livvy” Dunne and swimmer Michael Phelps, Chalamet might have stood out as the best and most prepared.
