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Timothée Chalamet Was the Only 'College GameDay' Picker to Predict Ohio's MAC Title

Lisan al Gaib?

Tom Dierberger

Chalamet made the most of his time as the celebrity guest picker on Saturday's episode of "College GameDay."
Chalamet made the most of his time as the celebrity guest picker on Saturday's episode of "College GameDay." / ESPN
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Timothée Chalamet was surrounded by college football royalty during his surprise appearance Saturday as the guest picker on ESPN's College GameDay.

To Chalamet's left sat Michigan legend Desmond Howard, renowned journalist Rece Davis, seven-time national champion Nick Saban and Pat McAfee—one of the sport's top personalities these days. To Chalamet's right was Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN's top college football analyst.

And yet there was only one person on the panel who correctly predicted Ohio's 38–3 rout over Miami-Ohio in the MAC championship game—the 28-year-old American and French actor.

"These teams are 2-2 in their last four matchups, and the Redhawks' defense looks good," Chalamet said while making his pick. "But I'm looking at fourth-year Bobcats quarterback Parker Navarro—65% completion rate. If he can get going, he'll tilt this in favor of the Bobcats.

"I'm going (with the) underdog Bobcats here."

Navarro certainly didn't disappoint. He threw for 235 yards and two scores on 20-of-27 passing to go along with 67 rushing yards and another pair of touchdowns in the Bobcats' blowout win. Ohio pulled ahead 21–3 at halftime and never looked back, rolling to its first MAC title since 1968.

Chalamet, who stars as Paul Atreides in the Dune movie franchise, was widely praised by the college football world for his surprisingly insightful picks. The Dune jokes were flying among fans on Saturday, calling Chalamet the prophetic "Lisan al Gaib"—a reference to his character's prophetic abilities in the science fiction series.

Chalamet is actually a perfect 2-for-2 on his picks in the early slate during championship weekend, as he also correctly predicted Arizona State's 45–19 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 title game.

Lisan al Gaib? Lisan al Gaib.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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