Already this season, we've seen the likes of former WWE champion Sheamus, two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, and 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps serve as the celebrity guest picker on ESPN's College Football Gameday. This Saturday, as the long-running pregame show heads to Happy Valley ahead of a highly-anticipated matchup between Penn State and Ohio State, a familiar guest will be joining the crew looking to add to his record total of correct picks on College Gameday.
For the fourth time, which is second-most in the history of the program behind only NBA legend Charles Barkley, comedian Keegan-Michael Key will be picking games alongside Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Nick Saban. And no, it's not James Franklin.
.@KeeganMKey is returning to Penn State as this week's guest picker 🙌 pic.twitter.com/fEGpJkoJXb
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 31, 2024
Not only does Keegan-Michael Key bear a striking resemblance to Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin, he also earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Penn State University in 1996. But over the years, specifically during Franklin's tenure as head coach at Penn State, Key has gotten even cozier with the program. The look alike's have developed a friendship over the years, and Key — cosplaying as James Franklin — even led the Nittany Lions onto the field for their 2018 spring game.
Is it just us, or does @KeeganMKey do a better @coachjfranklin than James Franklin? pic.twitter.com/Ayw4jYi32V
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) April 21, 2018
Fans of the Nittany Lions better hope there isn't a mix-up on Saturday afternoon, because with the 4th-ranked Buckeyes coming to town, they'll need their best man on the job to keep Penn State's perfect season alive. With that said, James Franklin has never defeated Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, and has just one win over Ohio State in his entire coaching career, so perhaps at halftime if things aren't looking too promising, Penn State can call in a substitute.
10 years later, Key & Peele is still one of the funniest sketch comedy series ever. pic.twitter.com/eWAHoLCkhi
— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) March 18, 2022