Pat McAfee and his crew will be in College Station next weekend as they bring back their Field Pass alt-cast for the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
During his show on Friday, McAfee announced the return of Field Pass, which features McAfee on play-by-play while the cast of A.J. Hawk, Boston Connor, Ty Schmit and Tone Diggs provide commentary from down on the sideline. From the sound of it, McAfee had his pick of games and selected the high-profile clash between the Aggies and the Canes.
Texas A&M is coming off a late-season loss to Texas, while Miami benefited from a late-season surprise jump in the CFP bracket. But most importantly for the broadcast, McAfee said, his show has relationships with both programs, having recently hosted both teams’ head coaches on The Pat McAfee Show.
BREAKING NEWS: We will be doing a Field Pass for Miami and Texas A&M next Saturday #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/BHcZYebF0G
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 11, 2025
During a chat with A&M’s Mike Elko on Friday, McAfee requested an impromptu production meeting with the coach to prepare for the broadcast.
And indeed, the Field Pass shows have been some of the strongest collabs between ESPN and McAfee since he partnered with the Worldwide Leader in 2023. Unlike many other alt-cast hosts, McAfee takes seriously his role as lead announcer. McAfee leans more toward Joe Tessitore or Gus Johnson than Sean McDonough, but he makes a point to actually call the game. With former players in the fold and strong chemistry between them, Diggs and the “Toxic Table” duo, the Field Pass is enjoyable.
In previous seasons, McAfee has hosted the Field Pass through each round of the CFP — including the title game. It creates a busy schedule for the prolific host, especially since College GameDay does not always go to the same game that McAfee is broadcasting.
Next weekend, though, GameDay will be live Friday evening as No. 9 Oklahoma hosts No. 8 Alabama before traveling to College Station for its usual Saturday morning show. Then, McAfee and Co. will call the first-round bout between Texas A&M and Miami.
Field Pass typically airs on ESPN2 while games air on ESPN.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.